Buying A Home? What To Look For When Picking A Real Estate Agent

While it is technically possible to buy a home without a real estate agent, you’re limiting your choices by doing so. Some buyers and investors wrongly think that estate agents are needless expenses – that’s not the case. Sure, they command a fee for their services, but the benefits of picking a good agent more than make up for it, as they can: 

• Help you identify properties that might not be on the market yet
• Negotiate better deals so you save money on the sale price
• Find as many options as possible, placing the purchasing power in your hands
• Allow for faster closing times

So, it’s an absolute given that you should work with a real estate agent – but what should you look for when picking your partner? Here are a few of the main considerations to ensure you get the most out of this agreement. 

Location Expertise & Experience

When buying a home, you need a real estate agent who knows the location you’re interested in inside and out. They should be able to tell you the average prices in that area – which helps you avoid being ripped off – as well as things like: 

• Common property issues to be aware of
• Which neighborhoods are nice or not
• How long properties stay on the market before selling

All of this information lets them identify the most relevant homes for you to consider buying. Someone with experience in this location market is always better than someone without any. A real estate agent who’s never sold or bought homes in an area won’t know the nuances behind the scenes. It’s a really quickfire way to be pushed into a bad decision. 

Property Type Expertise & Experience

Similarly, you may be interested in a particular type of property, such as: 

• Luxury homes
• New-builds
• Retirement properties
• Buy-to-let properties

An experienced real estate agent will know everything about your desired property type. Take luxury homes, for example. Someone who specializes in this type of property will be able to help you find all the best listings. They’ll know the key features to look out for and what red flags to be aware of. 

By contrast, you should avoid real estate agents with no expertise in specific property types. It’s fine if you’re only interested in a standard house – but if you need something more specific or targeted, then also look for experts in that domain. 

Good Reviews & Testimonials

Client reviews will tell you everything you need to know about estate agents and how they work. Someone’s website might look fantastic – and they may even have a cool Instagram or TikTok page that makes them look super professional. 

But what are they really like to work with? 

Conduct some research and look for online reviews and testimonials from people who’ve hired this estate agent before. You should be able to find these by searching for the estate agent’s company – or using their name. If nothing shows up, then you may as well be staring at a massive red flag. 

What kind of real estate agent doesn’t have any reviews? A bad one, that’s what. 

In a similar light, if you find reviews and most are negative, then you know to avoid that real estate agent. The ideal agent will have lots of nice reviews with previous clients saying positive things about them. This lets you know they are good at what they do and don’t take advantage of customers. 

Reasonable Fees

It’s the elephant in the room, but you can’t avoid discussing commission fees when talking about real estate agents. It’s how they make their money – and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. 

Historically, agents got paid by the sellers. They listed the property for them and found a buyer (you), taking a cut from the final home sale price. That’s not the case these days: the National Association of Realtors implemented a new rule in 2024 that forces buyers to pay an agent fee in some circumstances. 

This will mainly be the case if you approach a real estate agent to buy a home, but they don’t list properties. They help you search for properties from other listers, meaning they won’t technically take commission from the sale. You agree a fee – but make sure it’s reasonable. If you look across all markets in the real estate industry, a rate of between 2.5% to 3% of the home’s purchase price is normally about right. 

Armed with this information, you can now begin your search for a real estate agent to help you buy a home. Whether it’s an investment property or something to live in, the right partner will assist you in getting exactly what you’re looking for.