What to Look For in a Listing Agent

Even in the strong sellers' market we're experiencing right now, some listings sit on the market for far too long and create a stigma that leaves buyers asking "Why hasn't this home sold?" or "What's wrong with this house?" Or, on the other end of the spectrum, some hot new listings sell within a day or two leaving the sellers wondering whether they could have gotten more money. A good real estate agent can help prevent both of these scenarios.

How to Choose the Right Listing Agent

When choosing a Charleston SC listing agent, here are some hallmarks to look for to ensure you're hiring the right person. Your listing agent should:

• Offer professional photographs and a virtual tour. Simply put, better photographs help create more showings. Virtual tours especially help out of town buyers who need to narrow their list of homes to see when they come into town. At The Keadle Group, we pay for this photo and tour service ourselves because we're confident we'll get the money back when your home closes!
• Have experience working with both Charleston home buyers and sellers. It's important for listing agents to be in the flow of buying trends, new communities, and direct competition because these factors are constantly changing. We find that being able to see your listing from a buyer's perspective is incredibly helpful in getting it sold.
• Be able to market your home on a range of platforms from the national conglomerates like Zillow to social media outlets to local agents working right here in the Charleston South Carolina real estate market. One of our best tools is getting our listings on Caravan - an agent open house that is exclusive to Carolina One Real Estate and tailored to the local offices.
• Provide a comparative market analysis (CMA) of your home based on recent sales and listings in your neighborhood (and sometimes comparable neighborhoods). Listings that are priced in the best price per square footage for their category will reliably sell faster.
• Work for one of the top selling real estate companies in Charleston. Sales don't happen by happenstance. They're the result of hard work, experience, dedication, and a strong marketing plan. The most successful companies will be able to get your home sold for the best price within a planned time frame. The same is true for individual agents or teams. Don't be afraid to ask how much business an agent does a year or how they're ranked within their company or the MLS as a whole. Successful agents produce successful listings.

What's Your Home Worth in Today's Market?

Contact The Keadle Group for more information on selling your home. The form below will help us get started on establishing a base line price, and we'll be happy to schedule a time to view your home so that we can get more specific based on floor plan, upgrades, time frame, etc. We look forward to helping you!

Fill out the form below for your free home evaluation: