Do You Like Your Real Estate Agent?

In every relationship in life, it really works better if you like the other person. The home seller-real estate agent relationship is no different from any other partnership. Of course, it helps if you think your real estate agent is the perfect match for you.

Yet according to a recent survey, home sellers are not feeling the love towards their agents. Home buyers seem more satisfied with their fate but home sellers are a dissatisfied lot at the moment. According to J.D. Power & Associates, a marketing-data company, the home sellers' satisfaction score is down 40 points from last year. In the meantime, buyers' satisfaction with their agents has risen 12 points.

The discontent seems to have grown because home sellers are blaming the messenger. With the end of the Federal Home Buyers' Tax Credit and the general economic climate, sellers might have to consider reducing their prices. Some home sellers are not taking kindly to that message. Real estate agents are bearing the brunt of the blame.

Industry observers say that most agents are doing an expert job for sellers. The real estate agents are negotiating and marketing to the best of their ability. Their popularity keeps slipping, however, and their image is being influenced by the state of the economy.

The reality is that home sellers have to be prepared to put forth extra effort in a buyer's market. Some sellers are not willing to do that and, after all, it is much easier to blame your real estate agent. When home buyers can have their pick, sellers want to make certain that they pick their home.

Maybe it will require a reduced price to make that sale. Maybe it will take more renovations and better landscaping. When buyers have a choice, they are going to choose the best model. Home sellers might want to pay attention and listen carefully to their real estate agent.

It may not be smart to stick to the price that houses on the street were selling for in past months. What are homes selling for today on your street? Sometimes people even make the mistake of focusing on the price of a similar house across town.

Home sellers have to be realistic because real estate is a very 'local' matter. Sellers should stay with the price trends in their neighborhood. They do not want to go above those prices and be left the loser. Home sellers should be open to their agent's suggestions. Problems with the sale of a home are not always the fault of the real estate agent.

Of course, as in every profession, there are real estate agents who do not want to put in any extra effort. Home sellers should always take some time to choose the right agent for their individual needs. Since marketing of the home will be the key to a successful sale, sellers should check out the agent's tools and approach.

Sellers need someone who will do everything possible on their behalf – online marketing, open houses, and more. Yet home sellers cannot expect the real estate agent to be able to control the economy. Sometimes the seller just has to go with the flow.

Home Sellers: How to Maximize Your Commission Savings

In today’s world, an informed home seller has many more options available when making a decision to sell. It’s no longer about having several salespeople in suits pressuring you to sign listing contracts and telling you their fee isn’t negotiable. The traditional “sale by owner” concept has changed too, to take advantage of all the new Internet tools to market and sell your home for the highest price possible, to the right buyers. In many markets, home owners can list their home for sale in the MLS for as little as $500. There are so many choices now, how do you decide which is the best method for you?

Flat-Fee MLS and Limited Fee Approach

Many of the “limited fee” or flat fee MLS methods that are available today only offer limited services to the home seller. For example, there may not be anyone available to answer your questions about a buyer’s offer that you get over the weekend if you are only paying a service $500 to list your home. Or maybe you are making a common mistake of overpricing your home for your market, resulting in delays which require a substantial investment in additional mortgage payments. On the opposite side of the spectrum, home sellers relying on flat fee MLS listing, may “undersell” their property by failing to recognize and promote the home’s strongest features. Let’s face it – all of us are not natural born marketers when it comes to selling a home. The reality is that almost 95% of all for sale by owner homes are eventually listed with a professional real estate agent.

Advantages of Hiring a Professional Real Estate Agent

When it comes to selling your home, there are obvious advantages to relying on a real estate agent to sell your home. You benefit from the agent’s years of real estate marketing expertise and unique knowledge of your neighborhood. Understanding how to write and interpret real estate contracts, and knowing what hidden pitfalls to look for. A good agent is proactive in anticipating possible problems or delays in the home sale transaction. Real estate agents keep you informed on how the transaction is progressing and utilize the most effective strategy to market your home. But what about the cost of hiring a real estate agent to market your property? Traditionally, home sellers would pay 6% to sell their property with a real estate agent. With technological advances in the real estate field, home sellers are now able to enjoy lower commission rates offered by online discount brokerages.

The “Best of Both Worlds” Approach to Selling a Home

Combining the benefit of professional expertise and unique knowledge offered by professional real estate agents and the lower listing commission costs, the new CashbackBids.com auction platform provides a solution for home sellers to get the maximum listing commission discount from their local real estate agents. How it works is simple: 1) You create an auction and provide information about the property you are selling, 2) You local real estate agents submit bids with their listing commission to sell your property, 3) You review the bids, select the best bid and enjoy the commission savings.

Let real estate agents compete for your business by offering their best commission rates in your area. Create alisting commission auction today and enjoy the lowest commission rate available in your area!

Long Awaited Changes in Real Estate Landscape for Today's Home Buyers

Home buyers in 2010 have a whole different set of tools available to them to make the right choices for their home purchase. Not only are there many sites with free access to the MLS today, there are websites such as Trulia.com, Home Gain, Realtor.com and others that give the buyer much more information. Gone are the days when home buyers walked into real estate offices, met with a real estate agent and went through thick books containing printouts of listings. Real estate agents used to be the “gate keepers” for all real estate transaction information – for buying or selling -- not anymore.

Today’s buyers have the opportunity to learn everything they want to know about the neighborhoods they are interested in, where there are homes for sale, and what price homes have sold for in the past. On some web sites, there are even helpful tools that chart the average dollar per square foot by zip code or neighborhood. You can see what the asking price of the home was, how long it was on the market and what the eventual selling price was.

The point is, usually this information is what home buyers have relied on real estate agents for – but not anymore. The traditional models of the real estate agent being the gate keeper for all the information in a real estate transaction have changed. Now more than ever, buyers are in control of choosing what services they need in a real estate transaction. Why not pay only for the real estate services you need?

Traditionally, buyer’s agents have earned a 2 ½ to 3% commission for helping a buyer close on a home sale. Many real estate models today give the home buyer some of the agent’s commission in exchange for the business. That is just the new reality of today’s real estate market. Like it or not, things have changed forever.

Now with CashbackBids.com, home buyers like you can take advantage of commission rebates offered by their local real estate agents. That means more cash in your pocket to do those new home projects you will need to do after the sale closes. How it works is simple: 1) you indicate your home buying preference such as location and price (there is no obligation to accept any offers from agents and your contact information is kept private), 2) your local real estate agents submit their best cashback offers for your home purchase, 3) you select the best offer most suited to your particular situation and enjoy your savings.

The bottom line is that today’s home buyers have a lot more choices and opportunities to get commission rebates when buying their next property. Real Estate 2010 is a new game, and home buyers are in control. Let real estate agents come to you and offer their best rate or rebate in exchange for your business.
Be in control - create a Cashback Auction now and walk away a winner!