The real estate industry relies heavily on a number of statistics and rankings, both nationally and locally. Consider doing some research to find out which agents and agencies come out on top. Often the same names will consistently appear on lists of “top workplaces” or “number of closed sales”.
Many business journals do quarterly or annual assessments ranking real estate companies for these and many other things. Finding an agency that is a top place to work might not seem very important to you as a client, but consider: The best agents are in high demand and probably have their pick of companies to work with. They are more likely to go someplace where there is an excellent work atmosphere, a good team with competent support staff, and an all-round outstanding reputation.
It is also a good idea to learn the significance of some real estate industry stats, and compare potential agents to the national or local averages. In a recent article, we made the distinction between top agents vs. average agents in a number of categories. For example, top seller’s agents sold an average of 481 homes per year in St. Louis, while average agents were only responsible for 92. Top buyers agents negotiated deals at an average of 86% of asking prices. Average agents’ clients paid 89%.
True, it can be hard to unearth actual statistics for individual agents or agencies, but knowing the regional or even national averages can be helpful. It offers some context for comparison. During an interview, an agent should be able to answer the question about their own success and their company’s. In fact, the better their numbers or rankings on “best of” lists, the more likely they are to publicize that information on their websites or social media.