There is often a steep learning curve involved in buying or selling your first home. Thereafter, the process becomes far less complicated and intimidating. Buyers and sellers also have a wealth of knowledge at their fingertips and can access an endless number of online resources to help answer any questions they may have. Despite this, the knowledge and expertise a real estate practitioner can offer are invaluable, even to the most experienced of buyers and sellers.
Adrian Goslett, Regional Director and CEO of RE/MAX of Southern Africa, explains that while it is possible to learn a lot about how real estate transactions work when you are a repeat buyer or seller, nothing beats the first-hand knowledge that agents have as well as their years of experience in the industry.
“Real estate professionals have an innate knowledge of their local markets. From experience, they know what can influence property values in the area and can help sellers price their homes correctly from the start. While repeat sellers might learn a lot about how the sales process works, they might not be as well-equipped when it comes to knowing how to market the home. Experienced real estate professionals know the best strategy for preparing the home for sale and will be able to market it in such a way that will sell the home for the best possible price,” he explains.
For experienced buyers, agents can provide them with access to listings that have not even come onto the market yet. While online searches can provide buyers and sellers with a lot of information, Goslett says that the one thing these searches cannot provide is access to an agent’s network. “Real estate professionals work hard to build relationships with a wide range of sources, from other real estate professionals, buyers, sellers, and even developers. Through these networks, they gather information about the conditions of both the property market as a whole as well as the conditions of certain properties, buyer interest, and even owners who are planning on selling soon. This inside information can be very useful to buyers and sellers,” he adds.
Rather than avoiding knowledgeable buyers and sellers, real estate professionals can view these clients as an opportunity to sharpen their skills and really highlight their value offering.
“Today’s real estate consumers are more educated about how property transactions work. For this reason, good real estate professionals know that they will need to provide even more value when working with these kinds of clients. This helps them to become even better agents, which in turn helps clients receive better service. There are plenty of fly-by-night real estate professionals out there, so be selective and choose the one who will provide the most value to you,” Goslett concludes.
