6 Questions REALTORS® Need to be Prepared to Answer

Your prospective client’s questions are opportunities to educate and sell yourself as the right Realtor for the job. Here are six to prepare for.

By Josh Sherman | 2 minute read

As a Realtor, you’re no doubt used to answering questions.

Homebuyers can require lots of hand-holding — and understandably so. For most people, a home is the single largest purchase they’ll ever make. Whether you’re a seasoned vet looking to brush up on your soft skills or you’re newer to the real estate industry, you can never be too prepared. So here are six questions you need to be ready to answer from buyers and sellers (and how to best respond to them). 

1. What’s your availability, and how often will we be in touch?

Honesty is the best policy. Be upfront with your leads about how many other clients you have at the moment and how much time you can realistically dedicate to their search. Let them know about your communication style, and ask them how they’d like to keep in touch, whether using the Wahi app chat feature, text message, email, phone, or video call.

2. How many properties should I see before making an offer?  

Clients — especially first-timers — are likely going to be eager to get started on the homebuying journey. While there’s no one right answer, seasoned Realtors know to prepare homebuyers to see several properties before getting serious. Whether that amounts to five, 10, or even more homes depends on a variety of factors, including market competitiveness, the client’s level of comfort, and personal preferences.

3. What do we do in a bidding war? 

The short answer: it depends. Budget, needs, and preferences are all factors to consider. Work with your client to devise a strategy that caters to their situation and resources.

For homebuyers with flexible budgets in competitive markets, tell them how they can best prepare for the possibility of a bidding war. Make sure they have their mortgage pre-approval letter in hand. Check to see if they’re open to skipping a home inspection or dropping contingencies. Ask if they’re willing to draft seller love letters for properties they’re going to bid on, and give them pointers on how to do so.

For homebuyers who wish to avoid bidding wars, recommend they check out Wahi’s Market Pulse tool, which shows where homes are most likely to sell below, at, or above-asking.

Also take this question as an opportunity to manage expectations. Warn against artificially low pricing strategies, which the Canadian Real Estate Association has previously raised as a concern.

4. What price should I list my home at?

To answer, you’ll need to know about your client’s circumstances. Why are they selling? How quickly do they need to sell? Are the proceeds of the sale being used for retirement or perhaps an upsize? There are also local market conditions to weigh. Of course, Wahi Partner Realtors can suggest Wahi’s Free Home Value Estimator as a starting point. The innovative proprietary tool has an accuracy rate of 90%. It analyzes a variety of property characteristics, from square footage and location to taxes, to provide an accurate value estimate. Wahi’s estimate is a good place to begin the pricing discussion.

5. How are you going to market my home?

Here’s an opportunity to give a full overview of your services. Open houses are obviously a major marketing approach — according to a Royal LePage survey, 48% of realtors host open houses for at least half of their listings — but to build your client’s confidence, outline a comprehensive strategy.

This strategy should obviously include other tried-and-tested methods, such as professional photography and cleaning and staging. But it can also encompass TikTok posts — yes, some real estate agents use TikTok to sell homes — drone footage, digital staging, and other emerging tools.

Social media and tech aren’t just gimmicks, so be sure to impart that to any clients who seem skeptical. For example, nearly 40% of Gen Zers — who are approaching homebuying ages — rely on TikTok and Instagram instead of search engines.   

6. What are you going to do differently from other Realtors?

This is where a unique brand comes in handy. But you don’t need to create zany YouTube videos or punny bus stop ads. By becoming a Wahi Partner Realtor, it’s easy to set yourself apart from the competition.

As a Wahi Partner Realtor, you have access to insights from Wahi’s data team. You’re also able to empower buyers by putting lots of data at their fingertips with the Wahi app, which has loads of unique features, such as the ability to create a shared account for couples. The feature lets couples keep track of each other’s favourite listings and recommend properties to each other.