I know, I know. I’m jumping on the bandwagon, but I think it’s worth taking the opportunity to talk about some of the ideas we’ve seen discussed in the news in the last couple of weeks because they’re as important in the property as they are in politics.
Transparency and accountability. They are big issues, and rightly so.
In residential real estate, I think the role of a sales agent is often misrepresented. We don’t ‘sell’ real estate. It’s the property owner who ‘sells’ the property. As sales agents, our role is to facilitate a sale, but it is always the owner who is in charge. It is the owner who has the final say on whether to sell or not to sell.
However, while the accountability around doing a deal rests ultimately with the owner, achieving success requires absolute transparency which is the vital role of the sales agent.
The role of a sales agent is to provide advice, present strategies and identify opportunities to achieve the goal of the property owner. It is to offer the owner researched based guidance on a realistic, achievable value and to present and market each property to the right target market as efficiently as possible with the aim to maximise the result and minimise the time and cost involved.
Absolute transparency is essential around price guidance, buyer interest, buyer feedback and market movement so our vendors can feel totally confident when making a decision around whether to list and ultimately whether to accept an offer and sell their property.
I know it might seem obvious but it’s incredibly important right now because of the fact the market is moving, and it is moving in the opposite direction we’ve become so accustomed to in recent years. It makes it harder than ever for vendors to know if they are making the right decision to list and to sell. What is the right deal? What is the right value for their property? What is the right decision for their circumstances right now?
They are all questions only a vendor can answer. As real estate sale agents, we are accountable for identifying and bringing the best deal to the table and being transparent in what, how and why that is the best deal available.
It’s the vendor who is the boss. They make the final decision.