Some may feel that they do not need a Toronto real estate agent. There always seems to be an abundance of free advice from friends, family and colleagues about property prices. People have differing reasons for not wanting to hire an agent, these reasons vary from lack of trust, to wanting to save money and even not knowing exactly what an agent does. Some people simply do not understand all that a Toronto real estate agent does behind the scenes, nor do they understand that it is the seller that pays the buyer’s agents fee. The key reasons for buyers or sellers not wanting to use a real estate agent include:
• Lack of personal relationship between buyer or seller and the realtor leading to unawareness as to what a real estate agent does
• People are apprehensive about the underlying motives of a real estate agent. They simply don’t trust them.
• Self-doers are those people who trust that finding home or selling home is something that they could do by themselves.
• Some people just don’t recognize the value an agent provides and thinks their cost grossly outweighs their benefit. This is again the lack of awareness of all that an agent does.
It seems that real estate agents are either appreciated or condemned. They are condemned by people who either are not satisfied with past results or those who do not understand the nature or value add provided by a realtor.
Will I really need a Toronto realtor in this market?
It all depends. It depends on the abilities of the individual and the market conditions. In certain markets it is easier for a buyer to go without representation and in other markets its easier for a seller to go without representation.
• If there are more buyers than sellers then it is deemed a seller’s market. In this market most Toronto homes will move very quickly and at multiple offers. It is easier for a seller to sell their home on their own in this sort of market but it is much harder for a buyer to execute the purchase without representation in this sort of market.
• If there are more sellers than buyers this is considered a buyer’s market. In this circumstance it is easier for a buyer to buy a home on their own but it is much harder and riskier for a seller to sell their own.
• In a realistic world that is neither a buyers nor sellers market – the scope of a realtor magnifies. Armed with abundance of buyer and seller information and a huge reach, they add immense benefits to their client. In their absence, one loses out on the enormous market reach real estate agents have.
Why Home Sellers Should Hire a Real Estate Agent
A person whose occupation is to help clients sell their home have an incredible amount of experience. The typical Toronto real estate agent will have been involved in more real estate transactions in the last 6 months than the average buyer/seller in their entire life. Their job is dependent on them knowing everything that is going on in the market and their neighbourhoods of focus. They know why one home is selling at a premium and others at a discount, and similar questions that the average person would and should not be expected to know. Real estate agents act as consultants as well as guides. They will help make a complicated purchase/sale process easy and work to ensure you get the best deal possible.
Toronto real estate agents provide a plethora of value-adds to the sellers:
• Well defined sale processes to ensure quick & profitable deals
• Ability and knowledge on how to best market a property online
• Promos at various events
• Networking with other realtors to ensure maximum market exposure
• Advice on pricing the property for the prevailing market condition
• Filter potential buyers to ensure the seller only sees serious offers
• Negotiate with potential buyers
• Value-able suggestions from meetings with prospective clients
• Unbiased opinion. This is helpful as a seller can sometimes let their emotions overcome logic
Why Home Buyers Should Hire a Real Estate Agent
At the end of the day your real estate agent will work with your best interests at heart. Your real estate agent will understand the pros and cons of the properties that you are considering and compare them to what they know you are looking for. And most importantly your agent will engage the seller during negotiations and work to get you the best possible deal.
A buyers’ realtor provides many value-adds to the home buyer
• Suggests ways to get tax benefits associated with the purchase
• Filters the listings that are for sale so that you do not have to sort through irrelevant listings
• Presents historical sales from your desired neighbourhood for comparison sake
• Can pull meaningful information out from the realtor’s MLS site that only they have access to
• Arrange the immense amount of documentation on your behalf
• Perform valuation analysis on the properties that you are interested in to see if they are priced appropriately
• Provide insight into the neighbourhoods that you are looking in
• Suggest strategies for arriving at an offer price
• Review the offer and write backs and provide advice on different clauses in the contract
• Interact and negotiate with the sellers real estate agent
There are many different facets to the role of a real estate agent. If you are considering going it by yourself be sure that you realistically review the different roles of an agent and make sure you are comfortable fulfilling each one.
