The Benefits of Using Just One Agent

MARCH 2004

When a buyer starts out to look for a home, in many cases their natural inclination is to hold out for as long as possible without committing to an agent. They will use up hours of their time scouring through newspapers trying to find the perfect house or drive all over town hoping to see a sign that will guide them right to the place they want to live. Their time saver is actually the least efficient way of looking for a house.

The likelihood of finding the perfect house by looking at ads or following open house signs is slim. The buyer is ignoring the best source available to help someone find the ideal house. The real estate agent! Real estate agents (in most cases) have access to virtually all of the available inventory in their area. In most parts of the country, they have access to a computer database that allows them to enter detailed information matching the criteria set by the buyer. In a few minutes, they can eliminate on paper all those houses that are missing features that the buyer feels they absolutely need. This also eliminates the frustration of looking at one house after another that does not match what the buyer is looking for. Agents will probably also be familiar with many houses in the area. That can allow them to eliminate some houses that look good on paper, but don’t match the description in the ad.

To get the full benefit of an agent’s expertise, the buyer has to be willing to commit to one agent. It’s difficult to expect that an agent will be dedicated to helping a buyer to the fullest extent possible, if the buyer is not willing to show some loyalty in return. An agent that expects to stay in business for any length of time simply cannot afford to repeatedly spend time with buyers who are likely to put the commission in someone else’s pocket.

Many consumers take this as meaning that agents are not interested in helping buyers. This is not the case at all. It is merely a financial reality for the agent. Real estate is like any other profession, in that the agent needs to pursue the course of action that is going to earn an income. Real estate agents are not paid any kind of salary or wage by their company, so they are dependent on loyal and committed buyers and sellers to earn a living.

This may mean that an agent doesn’t always have time to research, mail out or fax listings for someone who isn’t willing to meet in the office first. The agent is not being given the opportunity to provide the service that they are actually trained for. If they did too much work for people that are not committed to them, that would take time away from the buyers that are actively working with them, and would be a disservice to those buyers. This means that the buyer that thinks they are getting the benefit of having multiple agents from different companies looking for properties, really isn’t getting full service from anyone.