This is a common question that a proportion of home-sellers ask themselves. The perception of some is that an Agent’s life consists of obtaining listings, taking a few photos of the new property and publishing them onto the web – then, all the agent needs to do is wait for a buyer to turn up and then collect the commission! The reality is far different! A good agent constantly works on their properties, good agents will be working the buyer market – identifying all of the prospective buyers that are looking in the target areas, and matching their needs to the current inventory of properties. There’s an awful lot of behind-the-scenes activity that’s required before most buyers are matched to a property.

Of course, being in the industry, we’d strongly recommend that you use the services of a real estate agent (preferably us!) - Here’s a list of benefits of hiring an agent: -

They hold an active list of buyers.
This is an excellent reason for hiring a real estate agent. Agents talk to active buyers every day, and all good agents have a list of buyers that are ready to buy, as well as a list of buyers that are likely to purchase in the next 3-6 months (or beyond). One of the first things your agent will do is contact all of the qualified buyers that match your property – you get immediate access to their buyer list. In buoyant markets it’s common to have many buyers looking at your property in the first few days – Often you can get competition from two or more interested parties in the very early stages which will increase your chances of an early sale.

Broader range of AdvertisinG.
Agents are experienced property marketers. The have access to specialty advertising outlets that non-agents cannot use (a primary example is the largest internet portal – www.realestate.com.au ). They can also use specialist property magazines (which again, are not open to the general public). professional  photography and tuned copywriting skills to really showcase your home.

Negotiating Skills.
This is a critical skill set that many DIY sellers will not have – And failing to negotiate effectively could lose significant $s (you could end up losing a lot more than the cost of using an agent). A good agent will be a strong negotiator. They’ll know how to extract the maximum price from a buyer, and will understand how to manage offers from multiple buyers, so that you achieve a higher sales price. Having a third-party negotiate on your behalf is definitely a benefit. Often DIY sellers can feel intimidated or embarrassed to keep pushing for a higher dollar, they can’t adequately substantiate claims of worth, they lack the persuasive skills of an agent, or they end up getting too close to the action. This can make it difficult to push harder, and can result in either a lower offer, or the prospect walking away without having reached an agreement.

Selling Skills.
Your agent should be a master of persuasion. They’ll know how to look at a property impartially (again you may be too close to your home to be able to do this). They’ll anticipate the buyer’s needs and will be highlighting the benefits of your home and relate them to the emotional needs for the buyer. They’ll also know how to prompt action. Few DIY sellers will be able to build ‘instant rapport’ with prospective buyers (a key skill of a good agent) – fewer still will be able to translate that rapport into action – getting the buyer through the door, or getting the buyer to make and offer.

Overcoming Objections.
Often, when a prospective buyer is looking through your home, they will raise objections (yard too small, kitchen too dated, etc…). A good agent will probe further and make suggestions to overcome the objections. Often the objections are buying signals – A good agent understands this and is always on the lookout for them. Most DIY sellers either won’t have the skill to handle objections, or they won’t get to hear them in the first place – This last point is important. You see, when an agent conducts a viewing, a buyer will ‘open up’ more to them. It’s a lot harder for a buyer to criticize your home (to your face). Instead they’re more likely to say “we’ll think about it” rather than risk offending you. Of course, more often that not you won’t here from them again. They’re a lost prospect.

Time-Intensive Process.
Selling a home is a time-intensive process. Building the advertising campaign, working a buyer list, conducting viewings, running open homes, negotiating, and closing all take a lot more effort than you may think. Unless you have ample time, you may end up under-doing the sales job.

Pricing Skills.
If you’re considering a DIY sale, then you’ll probably get a valuation to determine the price you’re likely to achieve –  you also need to determine the price at which to market your property and you need to understand the process of re-pricing if you’re not attracting buyers. This can be harder than it sounds – the two most important factors that determine whether buyers are being attracted to properties on the market are: the pricing of the property and it's marketing exposure. 

Usually your agent will do a good job of marketing your property through the various channels. If the property is marketed above the recommended selling price, then, at a pre-determined checkpoint, you may look to lower your price to bring it in line with the market if not recieving offers or viewings from potential buyers. If you’re building your own marketing campaign, then it’s quite possible that you’ll attract as many buyers (as an agent) – but you may have a difficult task as a non experienced seller of determining whether the non-offer or lack of buyer interest is due to a poor marketing campaign or due to an issue with your pricing. You may end up dropping the price to compensate for a weaker advertising campaign.

Weeding out the serious buyers.
You’ll probably have difficulty in determining which of your buyers are serious (and deserve most effort) versus the ‘just browsing’ or ‘the perpetual looker’ brigade. Agents are well tuned to the ‘serious’ buyers signals.

Working through the technical bits.
Even when a buyer has been found and a price is agreed, there are still a lot of things that can go wrong prior to an exchange or even during the "cooling-off" period. Your agent will know how to handle these issues and work with the purchasers/vendors/conveyencers/solicitors to resolve the problems. They’ will assist with the inspections, and make sure that things stay on track. This is a completely different skill set to the sales process, as parties become tense, emotions run high and even the smallest problem can turn into a show-stopper if not handled properly.

Missing your advocate.
Having said all of the above, the softer side of things that can catch you out - doing it yourself can often feel like doing it alone. It’s a lot harder to cope with the stress of the process if you don’t have a strong advocate alongside you. You may manage very well if everything goes smoothly. But, most sales have the odd hiccup. These are part-and-parcel of the job for an agent – they know how to cope with them. With DIY, when you hit the (inevitable) bumps - you’re on your own!