Establishing boundaries - Great article regarding real property reports

Establishing boundaries

Why List with a Local Real Estate Agent?

Why would a person choose to list their property with a local real estate agent, when they can hire someone from the city from a larger, well-known real estate brokerage? Very good question. First of all, is the local real estate agent part of a real estate board, such as CREB (Calgary Real Estate Board)? My brokerage, Magnuson Realty Ltd. is part of CREB. There are over 5000 real estate agents part of this real estate board. Being part of CREB, we are also members of AREA (Alberta Real Estate Association) and CREA (Canadian Real Estate Association). The benefit of being part of CREB means that those other 5000+ agents who are part of this board have access to any of our listings. The general public views listings on individual brokerage websites, or on the MLS system on www.realtor.ca. However, within our local real estate board, we have access to more information for the listings. So, once again, why would a person choose to list their property, or buy a property, with a local real estate agent? Just like the weather can be different from one area of the province, county, or city, from another, so is the market. Local agents know (or should know) the local economy, what potential developments are about to take place, local concerns, information about schools, community groups, town/village councils, and so on. If you are looking to purchase a family home close to schools, you will want to know where those schools are located, what grades are in those schools, and if the schools have a good reputation? Do they have a good sports program, such as ruby, if your child is into that? Or maybe your child is very interested in music. Does the school have a music program? A local agent should also be able to give you an idea of how long it may take to sell your property. For example, the average days on market for a residential property in Vulcan last year was 134 days. That is a big difference from larger centres where properties on the market for over 30 days can be deemed stagnant. And price...a local agent who has been around for a while will know the market and have a price point in mind whether you are looking at selling or purchasing. Last year, the average sale price for a single family house in Vulcan was just over the $200,000 mark. People can purchase a house backing onto the golf course for under $400,000. In larger centres, a residential lot may be valued at more than $500,000, let along one with an actual house on it. For these reasons, I get calls from out-of-town real estate agents, asking me to help them with their clients. These are called referrals. I do the same for people looking for properties outside of my immediate area. Clients are making one of the largest financial investments or sales in their lifetime, so I feel that they should get the best people working on their behalf. Whether it is me locally, or I refer them to an agent in Calgary, Lethbridge, Edmonton, or where ever, I suggest using a local agent. There are lots of good agents out there. We just can't be experts in every area of the province all of the time. If you are thinking of moving away, ask around for recommendations, from the public, and from a local real estate agent. In my 15+ years in the industry, I have met agents whom I am very comfortable recommending friends/family/clients to. On the other hand, I also know some that I would not recommend either.