Why Agents List Homes

It's not (only) what you think

This should seem like a no-brainer. If all those agents are sending you fliers and seeds for mums and who-knows-what week after week, then the homes in your area must be selling like hotcakes, and all those agents want to list your home because they know they can sell it, right?

Well, yes and no. Sure, your agent wants you to sell your home, because she makes a commission on your home if it sells. So selling your home is certainly foremost on the agent's mind. But it may not be the only thing the agent has in mind.

What Your Agent Gets Just from Having a Listing

What many consumers don't know about listing a home is that it benefits the agent who's listing the home even if the home doesn't sell. Let's look at some of the things the agent gets out of having the listing on your home:

• A yard sign. This increases the agent's brand recognition, while at the same time bringing in buyer calls. If your home is priced too high, your agent will be happy to sell the buyers who call someone else's home. The higher your home is priced, the longer the agent keeps his sign up.
• Web Site Advertising. Just as your listing brings in local buyers through the yard sign, listing your home exposes it to buyers on Realtor.com, Homes.com, Sacbee.com, and many other national and local sites. through listing your home.
• Open House Opportunities. Realtors® want you to get out to the movies on Sunday to hold your home open to sell it, right? No, because the serious buyers are already out there looking for homes with their agent, as often as not during the week. So the "buyers" for your open house may be buyers two years from now, but for today they're likely to be lookie-loos. On the other hand, your neighbors might stop by to figure out the price on their home, and hey, there's another listing opportunity for your agent. Check out the article on Realtor.com, for example, Who Benefits from an Open House?

What it Means for You

What all this means for you as a consumer is that it's unlikely your agent is going to give you too much of an argument if you price your home unreasonably high. Even if your agent never discusses a price reduction with you, he or she still benefits from having the listing.

It also means that if you really want to sell, you should Get a Second Opinion. as to the price of your home.