I am interested to hear the opinions of both buyers and sellers as to the value that real estate agents brought to your transaction: - Do you think they added 7% value (3.5% each) to your transaction? - For sellers: Did you think about selling your apartment on your own, but ended up using an agent? If so, what caused the shift in your decision? - For sellers: What were the major value points that... [more]
I am interested to hear the opinions of both buyers and sellers as to the value that real estate agents brought to your transaction:
- Do you think they added 7% value (3.5% each) to your transaction?
- For sellers: Did you think about selling your apartment on your own, but ended up using an agent? If so, what caused the shift in your decision?
- For sellers: What were the major value points that your agent brought to the transaction (e.g., showing people your apartment, creating a listing, staging, vetting buyers, etc.)
- For buyers: Did your agent ultimately find the apartment that you ended up buying? Do you think you could have found your apartment just as easy on an online listing (e.g., Streeteasy)?
- For buyers: If you purchased a co-op, did you agent add much value in helping pull together your application? Could it have been done on your own?
- For buyers/sellers: Did the agents ever detract value from the transaction (other than the $ fee) (e.g., created unnecessary roadblocks, not very knowledgeable on the apartment, etc.)
Any other thoughts would be much appreciated!!!
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Response by feelhong
almost 11 years ago
Posts: 62
Member since: Nov 2009
Co-op buyer here:
- In terms of the search, I felt like the agent added no value. I found the apartment myself on streeteasy and throughout the search I was often quicker than the agent in identifying potential properties to check out.
- In terms of the bidding process, the agent added some value. It was very much a sellers' market and there were multiple bids on the property, so there wasn't room for negotiation and I couldn't gauge the value-add there. What he did well was extracting information from the selling agent, which in the end helped me decide on a best and final number that I was comfortable with and still won.
- In terms of the co-op application process, the agent (more like his assistant) added a lot of value. Basically helped me put together the whole thing and saved me a lot of hassle. That said, I was well-qualified financially and didn't need advice on the application/interview. Mostly the agent just added value in terms of logistics.
To me they add minimal value in condos and some value in co-ops, but definitely not worth 3% of the purchase price. That said, whether to use an agent or not depends on what you can get back without using one. You might be able to negotiate a lower price, or the selling agent could consider you more favorably and push the seller to take your offer. In that case I'd probably not use one. But often the selling agent will just end up taking the buying agent's cut anyway, so there's no harm to have one in that case. For my next buy if it's a condo I'd probably do it myself, and if co-op I'd probably use one who offers a rebate of the commission - I believe that business model is at least a step in the right direction
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Response by raddoc
almost 11 years ago
Posts: 166
Member since: Jun 2008
whatever their dessicated mineral weight brings on the open market
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Response by jelj13
almost 11 years ago
Posts: 821
Member since: Sep 2011
I wanted to downsize and get a smaller apartment within my building. I sent out a notice asking if anyone in a smaller apartment wanted to arrange a "swap" to a larger one. It was a very unpleasant experience, so within a week I took it off the market and hired a broker. He sold the apartment quickly at a price beyond my wildest dreams, even considering the commission I paid.
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Response by fieldschester
almost 11 years ago
Posts: 3525
Member since: Jul 2013
jelj, what were your wildest dreams?
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Response by Apt_Boy
almost 11 years ago
Posts: 675
Member since: Apr 2008
check out this recent blog post on The Value of An Agent...
#Apt_Boy LOL... I wonder what an article about the value of an agent from "Warburg REALTY" is going to say. Agents add little value to buyers due to the internet and the fact minimal negotiation is going on these days. This is coming from someone who has their license and has invested in real estate for 15+ years, but is not an agent as a profession.
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Response by Snuffles
almost 11 years ago
Posts: 173
Member since: Apr 2010
Selling agent is worth the 6% I've paid each time. But I work a full time job and so does my wife. Even when I was single, agent would make my bed, tidy up the place when showing on the fly etc.
Buying I guess if I was looking in a city that I didn't know/live in, might be handy. But I think they are too handcuffed with fair-housing rules. Honestly any neighborhood I'd want to know the full demographic before buying in. Its nothing personal but I don't want to be in a neighborhood where I just don't belong or have to be the 'pioneer', nor do I care about 'making a difference' for change.
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Response by front_porch
almost 11 years ago
Posts: 5317
Member since: Mar 2008
I have so many perspectives on this -- I'm a broker, and I work both the buy and sell sides, and I've bought and sold (once without an agent) multiple times. I do think Fair Housing laws shackle buyers, especially first-time buyers, somewhat ... oftentimes when I see a "wow, this is overpriced" post on this board, I think it's because the posters are overlooking the value of the public school district. But hiring a buyer's broker who can't communicate about school districts obviously isn't a fix for that.
Shoppers who COULD be helped by a buyer's broker, I think, are ones who are daunted by the co-op process and think that the Internet makes things "so easy" -- there is a slice of that cohort that I think overpays for condo living (and yes, I own a condo as well as a co-op) or defaults into co-ops with "easy" boards, rather than ending up in other co-ops where they'd be really really happy long term.
So I think buyer's brokers are of value for buyers with fairly long (5 years+) time horizons, and a tendency towards seasickness/anxiety to steer them through the choppy waters of that process and encourage them to stay the course.
ali r.
{downtown broker}
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Response by cc2015
almost 11 years ago
Posts: 43
Member since: Jan 2015
I can't say. I put an offer on a home last weekend, and its been days without any response from the sellers agent. Not so such as an email, phone call, or text. Now I know why its been listed since Dec.
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Response by KeithB
almost 11 years ago
Posts: 976
Member since: Aug 2009
It's a valid and interesting question. But unlike other industries such as travel, finance, shopping, the real estate biz has been pretty static. New technology has produced better websites, however the important stuff like data, search capability is available to everyone with an internet connection. Agents. brokerages have to re-define themselves to stand out from the crowd. However the technology has not reduced the costs associated with a transaction to the consumer. So it becomes more of a search to find a compatible (and of course) a competent agent to assist you. Some of us are trying to add something different to that conversation.
The question of having your own representation is a no brainer for me. If there is no financial incentive to work solo (which 99% of the time there is not) it's probably a good idea to vet out a good agent to partner with. Many states have outlawed duel agency , the NY DOS General Counsel has some thoughts on it as well, http://www.dos.ny.gov/cnsl/dualagcy.html To each his own though, FSBO, buyer broker, listing agent, solo shopper whatever works best for you.
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Co-op buyer here:
- In terms of the search, I felt like the agent added no value. I found the apartment myself on streeteasy and throughout the search I was often quicker than the agent in identifying potential properties to check out.
- In terms of the bidding process, the agent added some value. It was very much a sellers' market and there were multiple bids on the property, so there wasn't room for negotiation and I couldn't gauge the value-add there. What he did well was extracting information from the selling agent, which in the end helped me decide on a best and final number that I was comfortable with and still won.
- In terms of the co-op application process, the agent (more like his assistant) added a lot of value. Basically helped me put together the whole thing and saved me a lot of hassle. That said, I was well-qualified financially and didn't need advice on the application/interview. Mostly the agent just added value in terms of logistics.
To me they add minimal value in condos and some value in co-ops, but definitely not worth 3% of the purchase price. That said, whether to use an agent or not depends on what you can get back without using one. You might be able to negotiate a lower price, or the selling agent could consider you more favorably and push the seller to take your offer. In that case I'd probably not use one. But often the selling agent will just end up taking the buying agent's cut anyway, so there's no harm to have one in that case. For my next buy if it's a condo I'd probably do it myself, and if co-op I'd probably use one who offers a rebate of the commission - I believe that business model is at least a step in the right direction
whatever their dessicated mineral weight brings on the open market
I wanted to downsize and get a smaller apartment within my building. I sent out a notice asking if anyone in a smaller apartment wanted to arrange a "swap" to a larger one. It was a very unpleasant experience, so within a week I took it off the market and hired a broker. He sold the apartment quickly at a price beyond my wildest dreams, even considering the commission I paid.
jelj, what were your wildest dreams?
check out this recent blog post on The Value of An Agent...
http://www.warburgrealty.com/blog/?p=3351
#Apt_Boy LOL... I wonder what an article about the value of an agent from "Warburg REALTY" is going to say. Agents add little value to buyers due to the internet and the fact minimal negotiation is going on these days. This is coming from someone who has their license and has invested in real estate for 15+ years, but is not an agent as a profession.
Selling agent is worth the 6% I've paid each time. But I work a full time job and so does my wife. Even when I was single, agent would make my bed, tidy up the place when showing on the fly etc.
Buying I guess if I was looking in a city that I didn't know/live in, might be handy. But I think they are too handcuffed with fair-housing rules. Honestly any neighborhood I'd want to know the full demographic before buying in. Its nothing personal but I don't want to be in a neighborhood where I just don't belong or have to be the 'pioneer', nor do I care about 'making a difference' for change.
I have so many perspectives on this -- I'm a broker, and I work both the buy and sell sides, and I've bought and sold (once without an agent) multiple times. I do think Fair Housing laws shackle buyers, especially first-time buyers, somewhat ... oftentimes when I see a "wow, this is overpriced" post on this board, I think it's because the posters are overlooking the value of the public school district. But hiring a buyer's broker who can't communicate about school districts obviously isn't a fix for that.
Shoppers who COULD be helped by a buyer's broker, I think, are ones who are daunted by the co-op process and think that the Internet makes things "so easy" -- there is a slice of that cohort that I think overpays for condo living (and yes, I own a condo as well as a co-op) or defaults into co-ops with "easy" boards, rather than ending up in other co-ops where they'd be really really happy long term.
So I think buyer's brokers are of value for buyers with fairly long (5 years+) time horizons, and a tendency towards seasickness/anxiety to steer them through the choppy waters of that process and encourage them to stay the course.
ali r.
{downtown broker}
I can't say. I put an offer on a home last weekend, and its been days without any response from the sellers agent. Not so such as an email, phone call, or text. Now I know why its been listed since Dec.
It's a valid and interesting question. But unlike other industries such as travel, finance, shopping, the real estate biz has been pretty static. New technology has produced better websites, however the important stuff like data, search capability is available to everyone with an internet connection. Agents. brokerages have to re-define themselves to stand out from the crowd. However the technology has not reduced the costs associated with a transaction to the consumer. So it becomes more of a search to find a compatible (and of course) a competent agent to assist you. Some of us are trying to add something different to that conversation.
The question of having your own representation is a no brainer for me. If there is no financial incentive to work solo (which 99% of the time there is not) it's probably a good idea to vet out a good agent to partner with. Many states have outlawed duel agency , the NY DOS General Counsel has some thoughts on it as well, http://www.dos.ny.gov/cnsl/dualagcy.html To each his own though, FSBO, buyer broker, listing agent, solo shopper whatever works best for you.
Keith Burkhardt
TBG