Choosing a Realtor is one of the most important decisions you’ll make when selling your home.
How do I know?
Because I picked the wrong real estate agent when my wife and I sold ours.
Our house spent months on the market, the process was stressful, and we sold for less than we should have.
This was before I got into the real estate industry.
My biggest mistake?
Hiring the agent I liked the most, trusting the referral, and believing his price.
I learned the hard way that finding a good real estate agent isn’t about who gives you the highest number or makes the best first impression.
It’s about knowing what to look for before you make your decision.
These seven steps will show you how to evaluate your options and choose the right agent to sell your home.
1. Find two or three real estate agents to consider
Some sellers aren’t sure when to reach out to a listing agent.
Others don’t want the hassle of talking to more than one person.
But if you only speak with one, you have nothing to compare.
Talk to at least two or three agents before deciding who to hire.
Referrals, open houses, local brokerages, and online searches are all common ways to find agents.
If you’re not sure where to look, here are some of the best places to find a real estate agent.
Look at each agent’s online presence
Before you meet with anyone, look them up online.
Google the agent’s full name plus “real estate agent” or “Realtor.”
Look for three things:
- Reviews: Don’t just read the glowing ones. Look for negative reviews and repeated complaints about poor communication, lack of follow-through, or being disorganized. One bad review may not mean much, but the same issue showing up repeatedly is a red flag.
- Listing presentation: Pull up a few of the agent’s recent listings and look at the photos, property descriptions, and overall presentation. If their listings look sloppy, there’s a good chance yours will too.
- License status: Check your state’s real estate licensing website to confirm the agent’s license is active and in good standing. You can also see whether there’s any disciplinary history.
Pro tip: Don’t confuse paid advertising with a professional credential. For example, Zillow Premier Agent is an advertising program. That doesn’t mean the agent isn’t qualified, but the label itself isn’t proof that they’re a better agent.
2. Verify the agent’s track record of selling homes like yours
Years of experience can look impressive.
So can a big sales number.
But neither one tells you enough about whether an agent is the right person to sell your home.
What matters more is their recent selling experience.
Before hiring a listing agent, look at the homes they’ve represented for sellers over the last few years.
Pay attention to the property type, price range, and your local market.
You don’t need to find someone who has sold a house on your street.
But you should see enough relevant experience to know they’ve recently done the job you’re hiring them to do.
And make sure you’re looking at the right transactions.
Some agents combine homes they’ve listed with properties they helped buyers purchase when talking about their sales.
Those aren’t the same thing.
When choosing someone to sell your home, their track record as a listing agent is far more important.
The same goes for impressive-looking statistics.
A high sales volume can show experience, but it can also mean the agent is juggling a lot of clients.
A strong sale-to-list price ratio might look great until you realize the homes were intentionally priced low.
And a short average days-on-market doesn’t tell you much without knowing the pricing strategy behind it.
So don’t select an agent based on one number.
Look at the full picture.
Recent listings for homes similar to yours are a much better indication that the agent has the experience you need.
3. Compare each agent’s pricing, marketing, and negotiation strategy
A strong track record tells you an agent has experience.
But it doesn’t tell you how they’ll sell your home.
Pricing, marketing, and negotiation are at the core of how they’ll do that.
That’s why they should be part of the questions you ask a listing agent.
Understand how they would price your home
A good agent will be able to support their pricing recommendation with a comparative market analysis (CMA).
That analysis should include recent comparable sales, competing listings, and the differences between those homes and yours.
But be cautious when one agent’s number is noticeably higher than the rest without a good reason.
In real estate, that’s called “buying the listing.”
Here’s what usually happens (and what happened to me)…
A seller gets a few pricing recommendations, and one of those agents pitches a number that’s higher than the rest.
So the seller picks that agent.
Showings slow down because buyers compare the asking price to those of similar homes nearby.
Then the agent comes back and says the market has “spoken,” so the seller should reduce the price.
The end result?
A stale listing and a price reduction that might have been avoided with a more competitive list price from the start.
And the seller still pays a commission to their agent.
A big number can sound great, but don’t confuse confidence with accuracy.
Your home is worth what a qualified buyer is willing to pay.
And if the market supports a premium?
An experienced real estate agent should be able to show you why.
Review their marketing plan
Almost every listing agent will tell you they’ll put your home in the MLS and promote it online.
That’s the baseline.
What matters is how they plan to make your home stand out once it’s there.
Look for a strategy built around the property itself.
At a minimum, that should include professional photography and presenting the home in a way that gives buyers a reason to pay attention.
The rest of the plan should have a purpose too.
Open houses, social media, agent outreach, and other marketing can all help.
But more tactics doesn’t automatically mean better marketing.
A long checklist can sound impressive without doing much to create buyer interest.
Pay attention to whether the agent can explain why they’re recommending each part of the strategy and how it fits your home.
The plan should also account for what happens after the listing goes live.
If buyer interest is weaker than expected, the agent should already have a process for figuring out why and adjusting the strategy.
You’re not looking for the agent who promises the most marketing.
You’re looking for the one with the strongest plan to create demand for your home.
Find out how they negotiate
Getting the highest price is only one part of negotiating an offer.
A good listing agent looks at the entire deal.
The buyer’s financing, contingencies, closing timeline, appraisal risk, and requests for credits or repairs can all affect how strong an offer really is.
That’s why the highest offer isn’t always the best one.
An experienced negotiator should recognize those trade-offs and clearly explain them to you before you make a decision.
They should also know how to protect your leverage.
That might mean knowing when not to reveal information or using interest from other buyers without unnecessarily putting the deal at risk.
And their negotiating ability still matters after you accept an offer.
Inspections, appraisal issues, and repair requests can change the terms of the sale before closing.
So don’t put much weight on an agent simply telling you they’re a great negotiator.
Pay attention to how they think.
The strongest negotiators catch details that can change the deal and know when pushing for more is worth the risk.
4. Check the agent’s dual agency history
Steer clear of agents who have a history of dual agency (representing both the seller and the buyer in the same transaction).
Why?
Because it creates an inherent conflict of interest.
The same agent is trying to represent two parties with opposing interests.
And there can be a financial incentive for the agent to represent both sides.
It creates an opportunity for the agent’s financial interests to compete with the interests of both clients.
One dual agency sale doesn’t necessarily tell you much.
A pattern does.
That’s why an agent’s dual agency history is one of the key data points we analyze at SoldNest when vetting agents for sellers.
Our general rule of thumb is to look for listing agents who have represented both sides in fewer than 10% of their sold listings.
Dual agency rates can vary by market, so 10% isn’t a universal cutoff.
But a high percentage is one of the warning signs of a bad agent that I wouldn’t ignore.
5. Choose an agent who fits your selling situation
The right agent for your situation is someone who knows how to handle the challenges specific to your sale.
Look for experience with your type of sale
Certain types of sales require more specialized experience.
For example:
- Relocating out of the area: Selling remotely requires an agent who is used to managing access, vendors, and decisions when you can’t be there.
- Selling and buying locally: Coordinating two transactions can get complicated when closing dates, contingencies, or moving timelines don’t line up.
- Inherited, trust, or probate sale: Selling an inherited house can involve extra paperwork, legal requirements, and multiple decision-makers that add complexity and slow down the sale.
- Rental property: Tenants, showing access, and notice requirements can affect how the property is prepared, marketed, and shown.
- Divorce: Disagreements between spouses can make selling a house in a divorce more difficult. An agent with experience in divorce sales should know how to stay neutral and keep the transaction moving.
An agent can still be capable even if they haven’t handled your situation before.
But you risk a lot of needless friction if the sale of your home is their learning curve.
Choose a working style that fits yours
Think about how involved you want to be during your sale.
Some sellers want frequent updates and to be involved in every decision.
Others would rather have their agent take the lead and only bring them in when needed.
Communication is another part of the equation.
You might prefer quick texts as things come up, scheduled phone calls, or more detailed updates by email.
And consider how much hands-on help you’ll need.
Some agents are more involved with preparing the home, coordinating service professionals, and managing the details.
Others expect the seller to handle more of that themselves.
There isn’t one working style that’s right for every seller.
What matters is choosing an agent whose approach matches what you’re looking for.
Confirm they have enough time for your sale
Your listing can start to feel like it’s waiting its turn if your agent is juggling too many clients at once.
That’s why you shouldn’t overlook an agent’s capacity.
The number of homes an agent sells tells you how much business they do.
But capacity tells you how much attention they can give yours.
That doesn’t mean you should avoid a busy agent.
Some high-volume agents have a strong team and systems in place that allow them to manage more clients without sacrificing service.
But without the right support, details can get missed and important tasks can take longer than they should.
Reliability is one of the qualities that make a good agent.
And it’s harder to be reliable when an agent takes on more clients than they can effectively manage.
6. Make sure you can cancel the listing agreement
You can do all the right research and still end up hiring the wrong agent.
How?
Some problems don’t become obvious until the sale is underway.
Their communication might not match what you expected.
They might not follow through on the marketing plan or commitments they made before you hired them.
That’s why you should know how to get out of the relationship before you get into it.
The listing agreement you sign will spell out the terms of your relationship with the brokerage, including how and when the agreement can be canceled.
Those terms can vary.
I recommend choosing an agent who will let you cancel without charging you a fee or commission just for ending the relationship.
That’s one of the standards we use at SoldNest when vetting listing agents for sellers.
Choosing carefully reduces your chances of hiring the wrong agent.
Having the ability to cancel gives you a way out if you still do.
7. Compare the agents side by side before you choose
If one agent clearly stands out, trust the process that got you here.
Still torn between two or three?
Don’t replay their pitch.
Replay their precision.
Compare the agents side by side using the same criteria you evaluated throughout the process.
But don’t assume every difference matters equally.
A small advantage in sales volume matters less than a major difference in negotiating ability, marketing strategy, or experience with your selling situation.
And don’t overlook an agent’s dual agency history.
A pattern of representing both sides can reveal more about an agent’s character than their sales numbers do.
Pay attention to the differences that could have the biggest impact on your sale.
Who was more transparent about price and trade-offs?
Who noticed things the others missed?
Who gave you the clearest picture of how they would handle your sale?
The best pitch shouldn’t make the decision.
The evidence should.
Final thoughts
Choosing the right listing agent takes more research than most sellers realize.
Their marketing strategy, relevant selling experience, dual agency history, and willingness to offer a cancellable agreement are all part of the decision.
If you’d rather not do that research yourself, that’s exactly what we do at SoldNest.
We analyze agents’ transaction history and vet them using many of the same factors covered in this guide.
Learn more about how SoldNest works and see the agents we recommend for your sale.
