Should I choose the lowest priced agent to sell my property?

Residential Sales – Selling Your Property

If all agents are the same, it makes sense to choose the cheapest agent. 

In Ireland at the moment selling prices often are 10% or more above asking. 

In an environment like that, a good agent, who earns their fee, can generate many thousands extra for their client. 

A vendor choosing the cheapest agent might “save” up to €10,000 (1% of €1m) in fees.

In comparison, I just closed one sale at €405,000 (30%) over asking and I have another property currently at €500,000 (52.6%) over asking – and I still have 2 of the 16 registered bidders competing for it – both chain free, cash buyers. 

Over a 10 year period I achieved on average 4.2% more than direct competitors selling similar properties around the same time. (Calculated by taking the price of the previous similar property sold on the open market plus the next similar property sold, dividing by two and comparing it the price I achieved). For a €1m property that equates to €42,000 – far more than you would pay to even the most expensive agent.

As a top performing agent – you just need to get the message out to get more business. 

My approach is to attract business, don’t chase it. 

Some fools will insist that paying a pittance to the person selling an asset worth decades of wages is a sound decision. I will leave them to the foolish agent who works for nothing.

For me job satisfaction comes before being overworked and under-paid. Profit and self-respect are more important than volume.

A reputation is built by doing a brilliant job every time. Referrals are the best (and cheapest) way of generating profitable business.

Phil Thompson, MA(Communication), MIPAV. MMCEPI