When it comes to finding the best real estate agent in Calgary, Edmonton, or anywhere else, some things are universal. Some things are also specific to the area or the concerns you wish to meditate on, but do not worry; together with jdrealestatecalgary.ca, we will look at both the specific and the general traits that make the best professionals in the property game.
The Best Traits for All Real Estate Agents
All real estate agents should have some similar traits. After all, most professionals in any industry will be cut from a similar cloth, which can help us as homebuyers or sellers to weed out any potentially negative choices. The traits you should look for include knowledge about the market, experience, a drive to improve and a desire to communicate effectively. Let’s look at these all in a bit more detail to understand why they are common and desirable across the industry.
Communicative
When buying or selling property, there are several things in motion at once. The buyer and seller, their representatives and anyone else that will occupy the property all have their own desires and needs. Plus, there are the documentation requirements like permits, inspections, loans and whatever else is needed to complete the sale effectively.
With so many variables up in the air, it is critical that you have a constant line of communication open with your real estate agent. This will give you the time and opportunity to plan your decisions with a full understanding of the sale. Plus, if there are any problems or hiccups, you should be one of the first to know so that you have time to adjust your plans accordingly.
Knowledgeable About Their Market
One of the biggest benefits of working with real estate agents, in general, is their knowledge of their property market. For some, this is a relatively narrow field composed of commercial buildings in a certain district of a city. For others, it is a more expansive view that includes many available properties from a few different brokerages and a lot of trusted professional allies. Both of these views are valid in different situations and with different clients.
What is totally unacceptable is not knowing about the market at all. You can sometimes see this with inexperienced or poor-quality professionals who only worry about their existing listings and don’t expand their horizons. Keep in mind that the larger the scope of any individual professional, the more likely it is that they will be able to find you the perfect property for your needs in most cases.
Experienced
Experience is an essential trait in real estate professionals for a number of reasons. Perhaps the most important one is that a suitably experienced professional can protect your interests better. If you are selling a home, you want someone who has the experience to advocate for the listing price rather than backing off at the first sign of trouble.
Another important reason to choose experienced realtors is that they have often established themselves within their industry. This can open doors to properties held by professional acquaintances, insights into new developments and other perks that only come with an established professional in an industry they thrive in.
Consistent Improvement
Experience and knowledge are both great traits, but they lose significant value when not attuned to the current needs of the real estate industry. That is why consistent improvement and a desire to be the best in the field are essential when looking for the best real estate agents. Consistent improvement can take many forms, such as attending professional training seminars, independent research or belonging to an organization that promotes professional development.
Specific Traits for the Best Real Estate Agents
While the above traits are a great place to start when looking for the best real estate agents, they are not the only things you should consider. Below we look at the traits of being a good listener, being cooperative and being dedicated to clients, as these traits are more specific to individuals but just as indicative of quality agents.
Willing to Listen
The best real estate agents will be there to listen to you. Your property is important to you, and that should be respected. This means when you are looking for a specific property feature or options in a specific location, that’s what you should be presented with. Sometimes, your desires cannot always be met exactly, but having a professional who gives their all to find the perfect property for you is worth its weight in gold.
Cooperative
Alongside the willingness to listen is the need for true cooperation. After all, if you feel that your real estate agent is a great listener who then comes back with totally different results than you asked for, there is clearly an issue with the cooperative aspect of your professional relationship. Plus, it is also important to be cooperative with the buyer or seller on the other side of the real estate deal. This can help prevent hurt feelings, disagreements and other issues that would prevent a successful sale.
Dedicated to Their Clients
The very best real estate agents should be dedicated to their clients. Many relationships can last a lifetime as families grow and move into bigger spaces or as wealth grows and the number of assets increases with it. In either case, having a professional relationship that remains strong, upright and honest can make all the difference in the long term.
How to Find the Best Real Estate Agent
Judging by the traits listed above, you should have a fairly good understanding of what to look for when choosing a real estate agent. Still, in actually trying to find these professionals, you may need some advice about best practices.
One way to narrow down your search is to speak with several professionals before making a choice. You may not always choose right in spite of speaking with multiple agents, but you are far more likely to find someone who impresses you when you do. First impressions may not be the best way to make a decision, but they can certainly help inform it with the other information presented above.
Another way to narrow down your search is to speak with family and friends who have already purchased property. Crowdsourcing your decision may lead you to a narrow scope or selection, but that isn’t always a bad thing. After all, depending on the individual circumstances, there is a good chance that someone has already done the work of parsing a larger set.
Finally, you can narrow down your search using the power of search engines and customer feedback. It is important to be wary of information that you find online, but generally, aggregate information is difficult to affect. This means that real estate agents with many generally positive reviews are more likely to be accurate than those with one or two very positive reviews.
Together, this information should give you a strong starting point for finding the best agent to represent your interests. Although every situation is unique, so make sure that you take time to do your research and conduct your due diligence for the very best results.
