Royal LePage - Your Community Realty, Independently Owned and Operated, (905) 731-2000

 Jim Reid, Broker, (905) 731-2000

 

 

 

CHOOSE YOUR REALTOR WISELY!

With 27,000 realtors in the GTA, it is inevitable that  a few will be perfect for you,... and many will be unsuitable.

Surprisingly, very few Buyers or Sellers take the time to carefully select their realtor.

  • 25% choose a family member or a family member's realtor.

  • 25% choose someone who is active where they live.

  • 25% choose a realtor who will Offer a low commission rate.

  • 25% work with the Seller's realtor.

     

About 80% of Vendors use a new  realtor to Sell their second home. Most people aren't fully satisfied with the job their realtor did for them.

Similarly, about 70% use a different realtor to Sell and a different realtor to Buy their next property.  They go looking for a new property before they list their home and then decide to use a local realtor to sell their old home.

Many people think that realtors are all the same and that it doesn't matter who they choose.

Did you know that over 30% of properties that are listed for sale don't get sold during the listing period. Many agents are exceptionally good at selling themselves and the large number of deals they do. They take lots of courses and training in how to get listings. But after they take your listing, they don't have the expertise to effectively market and sell your property. Many just talk you into reducing the price until someone grabs a great deal.

Did you know, that to get a real estate license you don't need to take any selling courses, no marketing courses, no advertising courses, no sales promotion courses, no photography courses, no technology courses, no negotiating courses, etc., etc. But wouldn't you think that these are important skills to do the job effectively?

Many Vendors don't even ask  a realtor what their average selling price is vs. their original list price. Yet this is a key indicator of their marketing and negotiating expertise. Most do the odd deal at 98% or 99% or 100% or even 105% of list price.  But the market average is close to 95%. Thus, many homes sell at 7-10% below original list price. (By the way, every time the price is reduced, the realtors create new listings so that the statistics show a faster sale. This way, their "Days on Market" data comes in at about 32 days instead of the true average of about 60 days.)

Thus, an average realtor who has 30% expiries and gets only 95% of list price isn't doing you a favour by cutting their commission 1-2%! A wise person realizes that if a salesperson can't even negotiate a fair commission rate, how can you rely upon them to get you top price for your home!

Jim performs well above average:

Performance Criteria

Average Realtor©

Jim Reid, Broker

Jim's %/$ Better

Expired Listings

33%

10%

23%

Days on Market

60

21

35%

Sale Price % of Original $List

95%

98%

3%

% Discount from Original $List

5%

2%

3%

GTA $Avg. (2007) - $376,236

$357,242

$368,711

$11,469

Below are some tips on: Buyer's Agency, Seller's Agency and Ethnic Concerns.

Buyer's Agent

For example, to be an effective agent for a Buyer, one must be able to narrow down the neighborhoods to the one or two that will be perfectly suited to the client. The GTA is primarily a quilt work of mono-cultural communities. There are only a few truly multi-cultural areas left. It is also very income-group segmented.

The agent must be able to comprehend your particular lifestyle requirements and priorities for the next five years.

They must understand and be able to demonstrate to you that your perfect home doesn't exist yet. Their job is to work with you to help find a suitable property that you can turn into your personal "Home Sweet Home".

They need to be able to analyze the local market in enough detail to establish the highest amount you should be willing to pay for a property. No one wants to learn later that they paid above market!

 

Seller's Agent

 

Similarly, your agent must have suitable expertise and experience to ensure you get your property sold at the best price with a suitable closing date and within the shortest time-frame.

Some agents use "high pressure" techniques to get as many listings as possible. They move a lot of properties, but they also tend to have the highest levels of unsold or "expired" listings. Unfortunately, their Sellers can suffer through 4 to 6 months of inconvenience and unfulfilled expectations or promises.

As the current market shifts from a "Seller's" to a "Buyer's" market in 2006, the depth and breadth of your realtor's marketing program will make a major difference in your selling price and your time on the market. Average days on the market will increase, so it is very important that your realtor has the resources to keep promoting your property for the full length of the listing.

It will also be crucial to utilize a full spectrum of marketing activities to generate showings. (Print advertisements generate only from 0 to 3 enquiries!)... Jim uses more than 10 traditional and technological advertising & promotional techniques which each have specifically contributed to his total sales results.

Depending upon the type of property you are selling, some marketing activities are useless while others may be crucial. For example, low priced properties, (under $200k), can benefit from local community print ads, but properties over $500k benefit from multiple Internet sites and regular "Open Houses". (Very few realtors do "Open Houses".)

Pricing a condominium or townhouse unit is straight-forward, but pricing unique homes in complex neighborhoods requires analytical skills and area expertise. A professional realtor knows how to fully research a neighborhood and how to adapt their marketing programmes to meet local market conditions.

(Jim Reid's extensive corporate market research experience enables him to quickly acquire local market expertise. Thus he has sold and bought properties for clients all over the GTA, and even into cottage country. If you aren't going to be using Jim, then he suggests you find local agents to work with in the neighborhood or community where you are buying or selling. Jim can refer you to excellent realtors in most markets!)

What about listing commissions? Realtors are not allowed to fix commission rates in a market.

Low-service discounters are available, but don't expect them to spend a lot on marketing your property or to attend showings by other realtors or to prepare professional promotional materials or to handle legal-type issues, etc. These agents tend to have high rates of unsold or "expired" listings.

The best way to sum up "you get what you pay for..." is to realize that, "Someone who can't negotiate a fair price for their services is most likely incapable of negotiating a top price for your property!"

Sellers need a realtor who understands your competition, and how to improve your competitiveness. The competitive strategy you adopt, ( or neglect to consider), will have a material affect on your pocket-book. Make sure your realtor has a good understanding of your competition.

The ethnic question!

If your english is poor, by all means work with a realtor fluent in your native language. However, if you are confident in english, then work with the best professional you can find.

A real estate professional is very effective in every one of Toronto's diverse marketplaces. If your buyer is likely going to be from a different ethnic group, they will have their own realtor to represent them. If the ethnic factor is very strong in your area, then your agent will most likely take on an associate from that culture to work with him. This way you get his expertise, plus you can make the cultural adjustments to maximize your opportunities.

In considering Jim Reid, you should know that Jim's business career involved purchasing hundreds of $millions of merchandise from people from many nations for retail chain stores and wholesale importers. He understands the negotiating tactics of many cultures.