Hello

When selecting a real estate agent are you better off choosing a new to real estate energiser bunny or should you get the experienced agent that “has seen it all”? There is nuance to the answer to this question. I’ll start with the idea of the fresh and excitable agent that has less than a year’s experience. I’m not ashamed to say that for my first 3 to 4 months I didn’t really have a clue of how to win a listing or how to put a sale together. I started out as a full agent with the responsibilities that go along with that. These days it’s a much better system for new people as about 90% them will start as an experienced agent’s personal assistant or as an office assistant.

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So, it sounds like the answer should be to appoint the old hand? Experience counts for a lot in real estate, most agents tend to refine their craft over their career. You find yourself in more situations and hopefully you invest money and time into further learning as you go. So, I would not be biased towards an older agent. But here is the nuance, I personally would be happy to appoint an agent that has as little as 1 years’ experience. The reason for this is that you do a power of learning in your first year and you should be a very capable agent by about 12 months in. You might not have performed within every situation, however just the fact that you have lasted a full year in real estate is a terrific effort. I would say that about 4 in 5 people don’t make it to one year. That’s why some agents bristle when somebody says, “I would have been a great real estate agent!” In my first office we had a new agent that sold mobile phones for over 3 years prior to starting with us and he lasted until about 1pm on his first day!

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It sounds harsh but I would not like to have an agent work on a sale for me that has less than a years’ experience. I know everybody needs to learn but handing an inexperienced person the job of selling what is likely your biggest asset is very risky. I’ve seen a lot of good intentioned newer agents run into problems and the sale of a house is just too important to get wrong. If somebody says something incorrect it could cost you a bidder at the auction, which would likely mean a lower sale price.

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One other thing to always remember when appointing a real estate agent is to see who else will be working on your property. It’s great if your agent has 5, 10 or even 20 years’ experience but if their brand new, fresh out of school personal assistant is the one dealing with the buyers you could be in real trouble.

In summary, in my personal experience and from what I have seen around me, I would say that for your first 2 years as a real estate agent you are an absolute sponge of information. After that initial 2-year period you keep learning but at a much slower pace. You could even argue that some agents start to learn how to cut corners. Of course, the good agents will always have a thirst for knowledge and will pride themselves on providing an excellent service.