Why does an intermediary, such as a broker, offer better selling opportunities

Some owners who wish to sell their home hesitate between selling themselves or taking a real estate agent. A real estate agent does not work for free, so it is natural to make this consideration.

At Kasper & Kent, we offer a lot of added value, including strong digital marketing (click here to watch a video about our digital showcase) and a large reach of potential prospective buyers but even without that added value, working with an "intermediary," such as a real estate agent, almost always provides an advantage.

Over the years, we have noticed that there are a number of mechanisms that ensure that a real estate broker usually has a higher success rate to sale. Simply by the mere fact that he is an "intermediary".

Below we briefly share with you the 3 most important mechanisms:

 

1 - A real estate agent can talk "hypothetically"

As a real estate agent, we are not the owner and therefore cannot decide whether or not to accept an offer. At first glance, this may seem like a weakness, but it is one of the greatest strengths we have as a real estate agent.

Because we are not the owner, we can freely discuss a possible selling price with buyers without committing to anything. We can name a target amount to obtain an opening bid, without fearing that it will stop there.

After all, the buyer knows that we are "only" the broker and that we have to present it to the owner. On the other hand, if the owner were to suggest that we make an initial offer for a certain amount, there is a very good chance that the buyer will not want to go higher after that either. Because, the owner himself has expressed an amount.... He is the owner, right?

So it is precisely because the broker is not the owner that he can negotiate more freely and that the prospective buyer will also be more willing to quote amounts. In situations where the prospective buyer is in direct contact with the owner, there is often a kind of "tension" where neither dares to speak out on an amount. Potential transactions often fail to materialize as a result.

The fact that as a real estate agent we are not the owner makes it much easier for us to explore the possibilities with prospective buyers without committing the owner to anything. 

 

2 - A broker can provoke a higher bid without "hard feelings"

 Many owners reason that in a real estate market that is "overheated" and on which very many properties are selling above asking price, a real estate agent is not necessary. After all, they're going to find a buyer right away anyway. But the opposite is true. It is precisely in a heated real estate market that a real estate agent can provide a great advantage.

Suppose we as a broker have a dozen visits on the first day and the first visitor immediately bids the asking price? Because we as a broker are not the owner, it is logical that we cannot accept the bid and must first present it to the owner. The candidate will also find this normal.

Due to the fact that we are not the owner, we can in this way keep the pressure off and buy time to do more visits and explore further possibilities. The chance is real that we will be able to get a higher bid from other visitors... , which we again first need to present to the owner, etc....

You can already feel it, the position of non-owner helps us a great deal in not having to make commitments.

But now imagine that as an owner you do the visits yourself and you immediately get the asking price at the first visit? You are standing eye-to-eye with the prospective buyer and would like to wait and see if you could not obtain more?

But on the other hand, you don't know yet whether the other visitors will also be willing to offer the asking price? So you don't want to lose the candidate in front of you, but how do you then say that you don't want to agree to it yet without coming across as "unreasonable" or "greedy"? You can already sense it..., no easy situations.

In many of the cases where the sale is "hot" and the owner is selling themselves, an owner is too quick to accept an offer. Often because they don't know how to properly position themselves towards the buyer who wants to buy and the future potential... . 

 

3 - A real estate agent can give the buyer something unique: "a good feeling"

All prospective buyers in the market ultimately all want the same thing, which is to buy a nice home at a good price. They all want to cut a "great deal".

As a real estate broker who mediates between seller and buyer, we can tell a candidate much more objectively that he handled the negotiation well because of these and other reasons..., or that he did well to offer a certain price right away, etc... .

If an owner were to tell a buyer that he cut a "great deal," he immediately loses credibility. After all, if it was "a greatdeal," why are you selling it too cheap as an owner? Because as a realtor we are not the owner, we can mediate to the maximum and also give the buyer the good feeling that we all love.

So you see that using an "intermediary" immediately brings a lot of benefits to both the owner and the real estate agent who takes on the role of intermediary. The broker keeps the buyers at a distance from the owner, so that extra time is bought to get the most out of the sale but also so that the owner can calmly consider his options.

And conversely, the fact that we are "just" a broker means that candidates do not expect direct feedback and engagement from us.

In short, an owner can hide behind the broker and the broker can hide behind the owner. This particular relationship ensures that an intermediary, such as a broker, can usually bring the better sales opportunities.