What Do People Expect From A Real Estate Agent

As a real estate agent, have you ever considered what do your clients expect from you? What actions will give you referrals and establish you as a prominent realtor in your community? To help agents to better connect with their prospects and clients we have put together this short list of qualities and services people expect from an experienced real estate professional.

1. Prospects expect experience and knowledge in their agent. If you are just beginning your real estate career, make an effort to understand your local real estate market and gain the trust of your prospects by providing them with accurate information timely and in a professional manner. That will help you to establish yourself as an expert in local real estate. Rarely people are interested in knowing how long you have been in real estate because let’s face it, it’s not how long you have been working as an agent counts, it is how much you know and how much you care about your client’s interest.
2. When sellers are looking for an agent they expect him/her to find a legitimate qualified buyer and weed out all tire kickers. As an agent protecting seller’s interest you have to act as a filter or a buffer brining only qualified inquiries to your client. Our in house mortgage service is a perfect filter to weed out all window shoppers.
3. One of the most valued qualities of a real estate agent is a solid knowledge of local real estate market, its conditions, prices and potentials. A good real estate agent should be able to provide clients with information on demographics, schools, environmental data, crime rates, etc. Clients also expect CMA’s (Comparative Market Analysis) when buying or selling a home. Besides relative closed comps in the area, this report also includes data regarding price per square foot, median and average sales prices, and average time on a market and more.
4. People like real estate agents who are skillful negotiators. If you want to keep your clients from shopping around with different agents, they most certainly need to believe that you possess this skill. This is one of the most obvious differences between an experienced agent and a newbie. Unless, you are negotiating a listing, your clients will likely never see your negotiating skills so your clients will infer your prowess based on the knowledge you demonstrate, body language and speech patterns. Your client’s must believe that your negotiation skills and experience will get them the best deal. Show your clients that you’re the person best represent their interests aggressively and they will stick with you.
5. Since real estate transactions involve volumes of paperwork, clients expect their agents to handle all documents in a professional matter. As a real estate agent, please treat the paperwork part of your job with upmost respect. Sloppy paperwork handling will cost you referrals and reputation. Not to mention one of the most common unwanted side effects of incomplete or incorrect documentation is transaction delays. It also may happen that some things may come to light after the transaction. Even after the closed transaction a good agent should always assist her client with paperwork questions if need be.
6. Any experienced agent will confirm that referrals and long term relations with clients means good business. Show your skills and care for your clients and establish a solid transaction pipeline for years to come.