Why Do We Need Real Estate Agents?

In October of 2016 alone, 9,768 homes have been sold compared to roughly 8,000 homes in October of the previous year, according to The Toronto Real Estate Board.  Newly-released information from The Canadian Real Estate Association also recorded that national home sales rose 2.4%, and newly-listed homes increased by 1.7% from September to October.

As a prospective home buyer or seller, below are some benefits of having a licensed real estate agent by your side throughout the entire process:

• Knowledge and Training

In the same way we consult a doctor who is an expert in a particular field of medicine for a diagnosis, you can consult a real estate agent on anything related to leasing, purchasing, or selling a house. In order to become a registered Real Estate salesperson, particularly in Ontario, aspiring real estate salespersons have to register and complete  an education curriculum administered by the Ontario Real Estate Association. Throughout the program, they learn about Land, Structures, and Real Estate Trading, Residential and Commercial Real Estate Transactions, and Real Property Law, among others. Even after acquiring their Basic License, real estate agents must still complete a certain number of hours of continuing courses every two years to maintain it.     

This means that they are not only equipped with practical knowledge and skills, like knowing how to negotiate in today’s housing market, but are also knowledgeable of the technicalities of the buying and selling process, and the language of the business.

• Experience

Armed with this training, a real estate agent, especially an experienced one, can save you time and energy, not only by sifting through online real estate listings for you, but also allowing you access into their own network of available listings that may not even be available online yet. From a seller's perspective, a real estate agent will sift through the onslaught of callers, and determine which ones are actually serious offers/inquiries.  They will make use of all the resources possible in order to find you a home that suits, and caters to your preferences. 

• Representation

Naturally, finding the perfect buyer for our home, or the perfect house to buy will consume a huge amount of our time - from going through listings, answering calls, negotiating prices, and conducting or visiting open houses.  Real estate agents are meant to represent your interests, whether it be by presenting your case in a favourable light to acquire you the best value for your money, or by disclosing market conditions that will guide you throughout the whole buying or selling process. 

Aside from that, they are also always on-call to answer any of your questions and requests regarding a myriad of real estate-related questions regarding prices, neighbourhood or area information, existing negotiations, and purchase agreements.

These are just a few of the benefits of having a licensed real estate agent to hold your hand through the process.