The Importance of a listing agent to sell your home and how to find a listing agent

A good listing agent can be a golden key in your home selling process.

Finding a real estate agent is one of the most important steps of selling a home, especially if you’re selling for the first time. A listing agent is a trusted, knowledgeable ally who can help you navigate the home-selling process with expert advice and smart strategies to maximize your sale and profit. But how do you find a listing agent who’s the right partner for you?

Here’s how to go about finding a real estate agent to sell your home:

Understand what to look for in a listing agent.

Finding a real estate agent to help you sell a home is a bit different than the process you may have gone through when buying a home for a few reasons:

A listing agent helps you prepare to sell.

A listing agent is an expert on pricing homes.

A listing agent, well, lists your home on the Multiple Listing Service, or MLS.

A listing agent is a pro at marketing and staging homes.

If you’re a first-time seller, find an agent with serious teaching skills. When surprises come up or negotiations get tough, they’ll know what the best move is for you.

Start finding a real estate agent early.

When you’re selling, an experienced listing agent can be a huge help, even when you’re still thinking about if you’re ready to sell your house. They’ll help you decide how much your house is worth, they’ll help you understand how to market your home, and they can also make suggestions for minor fixes or upgrades to consider before listing it.

 Start your listing agent search as early as possible—months before you plan to put your home on the market—so you have plenty of time to prep your home for sale.

Not all agents are the same. Learning an agent’s official title—and what it means—can help you understand the level of expertise and accreditation they have.

Make a list of needs.

Knowing what you want will help you choose the right agent. Agents have specialties. Many work in particular neighborhoods. Some focus on condos, coastal homes, or fixer-uppers. Finding an agent with the right specialty will ensure they understand your needs and can respond to you quickly throughout the home selling process.

Make a list of the following things to keep on hand as you start your search:

Type of home you’re selling

How much work you’re willing to do to prep the home for sale

Your neighborhood and neighborhoods similar to yours

A budget for the costs of selling your home

Characteristics in a real estate agent, like a tough negotiator, thoughtful listener, or speedy communicator

Get referrals.

Start with friends and family and online. Look at home-for-sale signs in your neighborhood or ones nearby, or similar in home style and size to yours, to see which real estate agent’s name appears most often. That agent is likely to know the area and type of home well.

 Connect with trustworthy agents who will work hard for you through their Premier Agents resource. You can request to be connected with a Premier Agent on any property listing, so you know you’ll have a great home buying experience with their personal support.

Look on individual website to see if they’ve won any awards or have any special certifications. You can also find out how many years of experience the agent has.

Interview more than one agent.

You’re hiring someone to help you maximize the return on what is likely your biggest investment. So make sure they’re a good fit for your personality and needs. Arrange interviews with listing agents who look promising. Ideally, they’ll treat the opportunity to interview with you like a prospective employee would—eagerly and professionally.

Bring a list of questions for the real estate agent, and expect them to answer thoroughly. Ask them about their real estate background, but also about their personality and the way they work. You’ll be close partners with this person for months, so making sure you’ll enjoy working together is important.