The real estate industry is filled with licensed professionals ready to help you buy or sell a property. But have you ever wondered what separates an average real estate agent from a truly great real estate agent? When navigating one of the biggest financial transactions of your life, understanding the difference is crucial. It's not just about unlocking doors or putting a sign in the yard. The best real estate agents operate on a different level, providing immense value that significantly impacts your bottom line and overall experience.
As an observer of the real estate market, I've seen firsthand how a successful real estate agent elevates the process. This isn't just about facilitating real estate transactions; it's about expert guidance, strategic thinking, and unwavering advocacy. Whether you're selling your long-time family house, a first time homebuyer entering the market, or looking to invest, knowing what do the best real estate agents do helps you choose the right partner. This guide dives deep into the actions, skills, and mindset that define top-tier real estate professionals.
Deep Market Expertise: More Than Just Comps for Your Real Estate
Any licensed agent can pull comparable sales (comps). However, a good real estate agent, particularly an experienced real estate agent, possesses a much deeper understanding of the local market. This expertise goes far beyond listing prices of recently sold homes.
What the Best Do:
Nuanced Market Analysis: They analyze micro-market trends, absorption rates, inventory levels, days-on-market for specific property types and neighborhoods, and even anticipate future shifts based on economic factors or planned developments. They understand the subtle differences in property values from one block to the next.
Strategic Pricing Guidance: For sellers, this deep analysis translates into a data-driven listing price strategy designed to attract more potential buyers and achieve the best price in a reasonable timeframe, avoiding the pitfalls of overpricing or underpricing. For buyers, it means crafting competitive offers informed by true market value, not just asking price.
Providing Valuable Insights: Top estate agents don't just present data; they interpret it. They provide context, explain why the market is behaving a certain way, and offer valuable insights that help clients make truly informed decisions. They stay constantly up to date on shifts that could impact their clients' deal.
Understanding Value Drivers: They recognize factors beyond square footage that impact value – school districts, neighborhood amenities, property condition, architectural style, potential for improvement – and factor these into their pricing and negotiation strategies.
This level of expertise is fundamental. It ensures you're not flying blind but making choices grounded in a solid understanding of the current real estate market.
Proactive & Excellent Communication Skills: The Cornerstone of Trust
Perhaps one of the most consistently praised personality traits of a good realtor is their commitment to communication. But the best agents practice proactive communication.
What the Best Do:
Setting Clear Expectations: From the outset, they explain the buying or selling process, potential timelines, communication methods, and their role, ensuring everyone is on the same page.
Keeping Clients Informed: They don't wait for you to call. They provide regular updates, feedback from showings (open houses results, online interest), progress on the transaction, and next steps without prompting. They respond quickly to questions.
Educating Clients: A great real estate agent acts as an educator, patiently explaining complex contract clauses, inspection reports (home inspection findings), financing options, and market shifts in plain language. This empowers clients, especially a first time homebuyer, to feel confident.
Practicing Active Listening: Strong communication skills aren't just about talking; they're about listening. Top agents take the time to understand your needs, goals, fears, and preferences. They ask clarifying questions.
Transparency: They are honest and upfront, even when the news isn't ideal. A transparent agent will discuss challenges openly and offer solutions. This commitment helps build trust and maintain trust throughout the often-emotional process. Good communication skills are arguably among the most important qualities.
Effective communication from your agent reduces stress, prevents misunderstandings, and ensures you always feel informed and supported. They understand that consistent, clear communication is key to a successful real estate experience and helps maintain relationships long after the deal closes.
Sophisticated Marketing: Getting Sellers' Properties Noticed
For sellers, the listing agent's marketing approach is paramount. The best real estate agents employ sophisticated strategies that go far beyond simply listing the property on the MLS (Multiple Listing Service).
What the Best Do:
High-Quality Listing Presentation: They invest in professional photography, compelling property descriptions, virtual tours, drone footage (where appropriate), and detailed floor plans. They understand presentation is everything in attracting potential buyers.
Strategic Staging Advice: They advise on decluttering, repairs, and professional staging to showcase the home's best features and appeal to the target market.
Targeted Multi-Channel Marketing: They develop a comprehensive marketing plan that might include:
Email blasts to their network of clients, other agents, and potential buyers.
Targeted social media advertising campaigns.
Premium placement on major real estate portals.
High-quality print materials (brochures, flyers).
Networking with fellow agents who may have interested buyers.
Effective Open Houses & Showings: They don't just unlock the door. They plan and execute well-promoted open houses, ensuring they arrive early, the house is presented perfectly, and they are prepared to answer questions knowledgeably and engage effectively with visitors to generate leads for the home sale. They provide timely feedback to the sellers after showings.
This comprehensive approach ensures maximum exposure, attracts more potential buyers (and often, better-qualified ones), and ultimately helps secure the best price and terms for the seller's property.
Expert Negotiation Skills: Championing Your Best Interests
Negotiation is where a truly great real estate agent can provide immense value. It's a critical skill that directly impacts the financial outcome of your deal.
What the Best Do:
Strategic Approach: They understand negotiation is more than just haggling over price. They consider all terms – contingencies (financing, appraisal, home inspection), closing dates, included items, repair requests – to structure the most advantageous deal for their client.
Skilled Advocacy: They represent their client's best interests firmly but professionally. They know how to build a case, present arguments logically, and leverage market data effectively.
Creative Problem-Solving: When negotiations stall, top agents often find creative solutions or compromises that keep the deal moving forward while protecting their client.
Emotional Intelligence: They remain calm under pressure and help manage their client's emotions during potentially tense negotiations. They know when to push and when to hold back.
Understanding the Other Side: They try to understand the motivations and constraints of the other agents and parties involved to find common ground.
Strong negotiation skills can save or earn clients significant money and ensure the final agreement truly reflects their goals. It's far more than just relaying offers back and forth.
Leveraging a Strong Professional Network: Your Agent's Connections are Your Resources
A successful agent doesn't work in a vacuum. They cultivate and leverage a robust network of other real estate professionals and service providers.
What the Best Do:
Connecting Clients with Trusted Partners: They can provide reliable referrals for mortgage lenders/mortgage broker options, home inspectors, appraisers, contractors, stagers, real estate attorneys, and more. This saves clients time and helps ensure they work with competent professionals.
Collaborating with Other Agents: Good relationships with other real estate agents (even competitors) can be invaluable. It can lead to smoother transactions, off-market opportunities, and more cooperative negotiations. Top agents often engage in industry networking events to build these connections.
Accessing Resources: Their network provides access to information and resources that might not be readily available, helping to solve problems or find solutions quickly.
This network effectively extends the agent's ability to serve their clients, providing a support system throughout the complex buying or selling process.
Meticulous Transaction Management & Proactive Problem Solving
A real estate transaction involves dozens of steps, deadlines, and potential pitfalls. A top agent excels at managing this complexity with diligence and foresight. This commitment to smooth operations is one of the key personality traits of successful professionals.
What the Best Do:
Systematic Approach: They use checklists, transaction management software, and potentially dedicated support staff to ensure every detail is handled correctly and on time. This provides quality assurance.
Attention to Detail: They meticulously review contracts, disclosures, reports (like the home inspection report), and title work to catch potential issues early.
Proactive Problem Solving: This is a huge differentiator. Instead of just reacting to problems, the best real estate agents anticipate them. They foresee potential hurdles with financing, appraisals coming in low, inspection issues, or title clouds and proactively work to address them before they derail the deal. This problem solving skill is invaluable.
Coordination: They skillfully coordinate between all parties involved – the client, the other agent, lenders, appraisers, inspectors, title company (in some regions), attorneys – ensuring everyone is informed and working together.
This meticulous management minimizes stress for the client and significantly increases the likelihood of a smooth closing. It's a critical part of the job that often goes unseen but is essential for success.
Unwavering Client Advocacy: Key Traits of a Good Realtor
Ultimately, what do the best real estate agents do? They act as unwavering advocates for their clients. This goes beyond just facilitating a sale; it's about prioritizing the client's needs and goals above all else.
What the Best Do:
Upholding Fiduciary Duty: They understand and strictly adhere to their fiduciary duties – loyalty, confidentiality, disclosure, obedience, reasonable care, and accounting. This means always putting the client's best interests first, even if it means advising against a deal that might result in a higher agent's commission.
Integrity and Honesty: They operate with the highest ethical standards. They are transparent, provide honest advice, and maintain trust through their actions. These are non-negotiable important qualities.
Client-Centric Mindset: Their entire business approach revolves around client satisfaction. They aim to build long-term relationships, not just close a single transaction. They understand that happy clients lead to repeat business and referrals, crucial for a successful real estate career. Many top agents started as new agents but built their business on this principle.
Persistence and Motivation: They are often highly self motivated and persistent in pursuing their client's goals, navigating obstacles, and seeing the deal through to completion. They are dedicated to their job.
Continuous Improvement: The best agents are committed to lifelong learning. They engage in continuing education, attend industry conferences and networking events, and seek out ways to improve their skills and knowledge to better serve potential clients and new clients.
These key traits, combined with the skills previously discussed, define the difference between a standard estate agent and a truly great real estate agent or good realtor.
Conclusion: The Tangible Value of a Great Real Estate Agent
Navigating the real estate market, whether buying or selling homes, is complex and carries significant financial implications. While any licensed agent can technically facilitate real estate transactions, the best real estate agents provide a level of service, expertise, and advocacy that profoundly impacts the outcome.
They are expert marketers, skilled negotiators, diligent project managers, insightful market analysts, resourceful networkers, proactive problem solving experts, and staunch advocates for their clients. They leverage excellent communication skills to build rapport and guide you through the process, ensuring you make informed decisions. They understand the local market, property values, and how to position you for success, whether you're a buyer's agent client or working with a listing agent.
Choosing your real estate agent is a critical decision. By understanding what do the best real estate agents do, you are better equipped to identify these important qualities and select a professional who will not only help you achieve your goals but also make the entire selling or buying journey smoother and more successful. Look beyond the surface, ask the right questions, and choose an agent committed to excellence and to serving your best interests.
