WHEN considering which estate agent to market your home with there are a number of factors that should be taken into account, says JW Wood’s sales manager Jonathan Wheeler.

Some of the more obvious are:

• The suggested asking price;

• The agents’ fees;

• The websites the properties will be advertised on;

• Whether or not the property will be advertised in the press;

• The quality of the agents’ marketing material – including photographs and brochures;

• The reputation of the agent;

• Board activity in the area;

• The length of time the agent has been in business.

This list can, of course, go on and on.

During my time in this business, the two questions I have most often been asked by home owners are what we value their house at and what fees we’ll charge them.

As discussed in previous articles on this page, all agents are not the same. Some intentionally value properties high and will then “pester” the owner to have the price reduced to secure a sale. Whilst these agents may charge a lower fee, most sellers want to achieve what they believe their house is worth and don’t like continually being asked to lower their expectations.

In our Durham office this year we are currently achieving on average 97 per cent of the asking price. We believe this means we’re starting off with a realistic value of what properties can achieve in the current market.

Perhaps one question that should be added to the list you ask an agent you’re considering taking on to sell your home is: How much would you expect me to drop my asking price to achieve a sale?

An interesting thought to finish with is that the cheapest agent is the one who gets you the best price, NOT the one with the lowest fee.