Is it worth changing real estate agent?

I've had my home on the market for almost 9 months with about 6 people looking at it. My agent says their office wants its agents to focus mainly on advertising on the net and not in print. I want both. I mean what do we pay these agents for... limited advertising? My question is... should I change? I have another 3 months left on the contract and I'm sure he would agree to release me if I wasn't happy with their services. I'm just not sure if another agent can do better, even if they did advertise in the paper and net.

Condition - Price - Location are primarily the reasons a house does or does not sell. While maximum exposure is key, feedback from those who have seen your home is important information. What was the feedback from the six units of traffic you did get? If none, has there been a Broker Open House to get their feedback? Feedback helps to gauge the direction of your efforts should any improvements be needed to make a property saleable.

I have never before heard a brokerage firm discourage print advertising. Popular as the internet is today, still does not make it the mandated venue for advertising. The internet is not accessible to EVERYONE as is print ads are typically. I wouldn't buy into what your agent is telling you. Sounds suspicious to me. More likely, your agent isn't wanting to spend the bucks to advertise.

Bottom line, if your agent is not as motivated as you are to get it sold, you need to sign termination papers and quickly move forward with a motivated, qualified, full-time professional who is consistent in advertising their listings. Without that, you are not positioned in the marketplace as you should be.

whats the point of asking if you already have your mind made up. Its sometimes good to listen to other points. Report It

The company has probably been in the market long enough and has developed a lot of experience. Advertising by print is generally ineffective, just like open houses. When they advertise by the net, it is also by the means of the MLS. Through the MLS potential buyers are brought in by agents. These are quality buyers because they are serious in hiring an agent, and are already pre qualified. Advertising in prints is a generic and broad way of advertising. Most of the people who see these ads are generally not interested in buying at all. It is more cost effective to market through the MLS and net. Trust me, serious buyers have agents, and if your house is on the MLS then all of them will see your listing. Maybe you should consider your price and house presentation. I know its fustrating, but you have to consider all of the factors in this situation. The fact of the matter is this isnt a good market to get top dollar.

If you are not happy then change. A real estate's job is to sell as many properties as possible. So they try to list as many properties to make sure that they can have the most opportunities for sale. If you feel like your agent isn't doing a good job then you should go somewhere else, especially if you feel that they are not marketing your property correctly. That is a real estate agents job and the only way in this market that your house will sell.

On the other hand, the market has been very slow as a whole. You may want to contact other people that are selling houses in the area and see if they are getting more responses to their houses or ask another agent what the usually days on market are in your area.

85% of buyers come from the internet. As a seller it is nice to see your home in all the books and papers but realistically a buyer never buys the home he/she calls about in the ad. Agents that advertise in all the papers do so to get more leads and to have a presence in the community. If you hired a reduced service or reduced commission real estate company they may not spend money on paper ads.

The market in general is very slow. Has your agent had any suggestions for you? For instance, lower the price (sorry), hold an open house once a month, or merchandising the property? It could very well be that the right buyer just hasn't seen your property. I would stay with the current agent until the end of your listing contract then decide on whether to go with another firm. Good luck.

Research has determined that most people who are looking for a home are using the Internet. You've not paid your Realtor any money, so s/he is using their own money for advertising. Print advertising makes the Seller feel better (as do Open Houses) but no longer capture the attention of most people qualified to purchase.

Ask your agent how he gets paid. If he says by commission, then ask "whose commission?" If he seems confused, spell it out for him:

HE'S WORKING FOR YOU, NOT HIS REAL ESTATE AGENCY!!!

I had to do this to the agent I listed my condo with. We had already moved out of state, and I wasn't there to keep an eye on what was going on. He did a lot to get the unit shown, but when it came down to closing the deal, it took forever. The people buying the property were getting an FHA loan, and my agent let it slip that the girl's mother was her lender, and was trying to hold out for better rates. I guess he thought I would be sympathetic and say, "Oh, well in that case, I just take the unit off the market and continue to pay the mortgage, taxes and association dues until they can get the rate they want". I was furious. I said to him "Who are you working for, me or her???" When he didn't answer, I said "This is not a rhetorical question, Tony. Who are you working for?"

Fortunately, my husband's best friend had sold real estate for a short time and said that since the closing date on the contract had passed, they no longer had a valid contract. When I informed Tony of this, and said I wanted the house back on the market if we didn't have a new closing date within 2 weeks, it lit a fire under his behind, and we got a closing date.

Turns out this guy had only been selling real estate for 6 months (a question I never thought to ask, and a mistake I will NEVER make again). We asked him to take half percent off his commission because of the problems, and he did.

Bottom line is, if you want your property listed in the paper, then tell him to list it in the paper. If he refuses, then I'd ask him for a reduction in commissions so you can pay for a running ad in the local paper.