Reviewing Agents' Former Listings Online

One of the most neglected elements of research into listing agents is a thorough comparison of their listings to any other agents that you might be interviewing. In this article, I'll be going over some of the top elements to look for.

Review All Recent Sales of Agents Directly from MLS Listings

It's a good idea to not just request that an agent show you their best examples of listings but to show you their most recent listings. It's easy for an agent to cherry-pick from their former best listings, but what you want to see is consistent excellence. These listings are best reviewed in MLS form primarily rather than on places like Zillow. With a site like Zillow, the seller might request that all pictures be removed soon after listing & there are more items that are automatically integrated into the listing without input from the agent.

Listing Volume vs Listing Quality

You may be surprised to find that listing volume and listing quality don't always go hand in hand, whether you're considering annual volume or total past volume, but it's especially not the case with past 1-year volume where higher annual volume means less time available per client. For instance, in my case, my top number of sales, a few dozen in a year, and over $8,000,000 in volume between buyers & sellers, was in 2020. While the service that I gave to buyers and sellers that year was high quality, following that year, I wanted to work a lot more on developing the quality of my service for buyers and sellers. In the past 365 days, where I've had the lowest volume since then so far, I've worked substantially on improving further the quality of what I offer, whether through consistent area photos (with a high volume of them on properties that weren't high finished & unfinished sq ft &/or high acreage), the publication on this website of a seller guide this year based on dozens of articles I've written (with the past 365 days being my most prolific in my career), etc. My sales volume reduced, but my quality for both buyers & sellers has increased in ways that is unusual for listing agents. For instance, in 2020, I wasn't doing Matterport virtual tours, area photos beyond neighborhood amenities, etc. consistently. I only did Matterport at that time on a high-end listing (whereas now I do it for all my listings), and my area photos were exclusively neighborhood amenities. That is better than many agents, but not nearly to the level that I do now that provides likely top .1% area photos & top 1% listings by the quality of the virtual tour, if present.

Don't get me wrong, total transaction volume experience matters, and at this point in my career, I've done over 100 transactions, but the quality of my listings is substantially better than most agents who have sold thousands of properties in my opinion & when you compare the metrics of my listings vs those of others.

Professional Photography

Image courtesy Art Louis Photography from a former listing of mine

Bad on-the-ground still photography can kill a listing's quality very quickly, no matter how good the wording is on the listing. The photographers that your agent hires is critical to attaining good photography. Even if someone has been doing photography for decades, if they don't know what they are doing with real estate photography, they could be shortchanging clients left and right.

For some time I used to use large companies with lots of good reviews and many photographers, but I found that consistent quality wasn't there despite all the good reviews. Today, the main photographers I use do a fantastic job, & each has been shooting real estate for decades, but they don't even have many reviews. With the big companies I used to use, the last straw for one of their photographers was when they didn't include 1 of the 2 bedrooms in a home and 1 of the 2 bathrooms of a home in the virtual tour. Of course, I blacklisted that photographer, but then another photographer of theirs didn't even send me images of the right home at first in their aerials. The aerials regularly missed shots that I wanted. The virtual tours never included exteriors of homes or unfinished spaces. I had the equipment at the time, with my 360 camera, Matterport software I paid for, and my DJI Mavic Air 2 drone, but I was trying to save time. Those 2 issues were the last straws, and I stopped using that company and stopped outsourcing the virtual tours and aerials to others, doing them myself instead. I still believe it's important though for me to outsource the primary listing photography to others who have been doing it for decades, who do a good job consistently.

I started in real estate in the marketing department, so for me, despite the fact that I use some of the top real estate photographers available, I commonly find missing photos that I need to request photographers or take myself to "fill in gaps" in the marketing. Also, I don't know of any local photographer who has the kind of extensive collection of area photos that I have gradually developed and continue to develop over time as new listing requests arise.

Matterport Virtual Tours

Most agents don't use Matterport virtual tours, which are the best virtual tours available. Among those that do, rarely will the tour include 3-D (not just 360) views outside of the house or in unfinished spaces in a property. Even more rare is for agents to include 360 views offsite of area amenities. I have available all of those options. Matterport interior tours are standard on my listings, while the other elements depend on price point and commission. Virtual tours can boost algorithms on websites like Zillow (the top website where buyers go to look for homes) to put properties closer to the top of results. Sites like that also have the option for buyers to filter through properties by which ones have a virtual tour. A thorough tour including unfinished & exterior space means a better idea of the property as well as a lower probability of the contract falling through if the purchaser is buying sight unseen.

One concept to keep in mind when comparing former listings is that with Matterport virtual tours, often these will be taken down shortly after closing or even after a property goes pending in some cases since it's not uncommon for platforms like Matterport to have only a certain number of spaces available for hosting properties that goes up based on the number of hosted listings. If you click on a former listing link and the Matterport virtual tour isn't working anymore, that may be why.

Related:

Adam's Matterport Virtual Tours

How to Prepare the Interior of Your Home Prior to Listing

How to Prepare the Exterior of Your Home Before Exterior Photos

Aerials on Property

Aerials aren't always best at a property, but they typically are. "According to MLS statistics, homes with aerial images sold 68 percent faster than homes with standard images."

Some exceptions where an agent may not want to show aerials include if the aerials highlight problems in the neighborhood or problems on the house. For instance, do aerials expose the fact that the neighbors of a home have some problems or low quality features, especially for attached homes? Do aerials show a tree that is touching the roof that the sellers didn't want to touch after the agent told them about the problem? If an agent isn't including aerials of the home itself, ask the agent why they didn't.

If the reason why there are no aerials is that the photographer couldn't get FAA authorization, that's not a legitimate excuse if you have the right equipment/technology & enough time available in most locations in SE VA. I've spoken to a listing agent where the photographer didn't even know about how you could get instant approval from the FAA on a property in an area with restricted airspace but where that instant approval was available. I asked the listing agent about permission from the seller for flying my drone above the home for the buyer after receiving instant approval from the FAA, but I suspect that the listing agent never asked the seller as that would too easily demonstrate the amateur nature of the photographer when it comes to restricted airspace. In addition, even if you don't have time for manual authorization, such as around a number of bases, which typically takes a few days to hear back, pole shots are still an option, though most photographers don't have poles for these shots like I do w/ a 30' pole.

Area Pictures from the Ground & Air

Area photos from the ground & especially from the air are one of the most common missing elements of listings to check for when considering a real estate agent. There isn't even an expectation of them outside of the neighborhood or in the air away from the house because they are so unusual. Many photographers don't even offer them. If they offer them, the volume of them is typically low in number & often doesn't feature those amenities that look best that are closest to the home. That short-changes the seller, and I've seen after I've heavily integrated area photos into my listings where buyers & buyer's agents have stated that the area was a big draw for buyers, even in cases where buyers likely wouldn't have stated that otherwise & the area could have even been a detractor for other buyers who didn't have the chance to see the area in the way that I presented it visually on the listing itself.

At this point in my career, I feel that the way that I do area photos, which combines typically the following, produce top .1% area photos:

1. (depending primarily on the commission option chosen) captions in MLS including proximity to home

2. (depending on volume of positive features of the home) public remarks about proximity to area amenities

3. Area photos from the ground including some exterior & some interior

4. Area photos from my drone

5. Still area photos from my 30' pole

6. 360 area photos from my 30' pole

7. Day shots & night shots included in area amenities at times, including from the ground & air

Listing Consistency

Many agents offer a significantly different experience for high-end vs low-end listings. I offer some differences for low-end vs high-end myself, however, my low-end listings are still typically better quality in features like area photography, Matterport virtual tours, aerials, etc. compared to others' high-end properties. My low-end listings still always get each of those as well as professional photos from the ground by a photographer.

Even among a single agent's offerings within a price bracket, often the seller has to go back and forth with listing agents in order for them to produce quality marketing features.

Be sure to look for the following areas for consistency with prospective listing agents:

1. # of photos (& don't count duplicates, i.e. it's often overkill to do more than 2 photos of a bedroom unless a large bedroom like a master in some cases)

2. Professional still photography

3. Matterport virtual tours

4. Aerial photography

5. Word count of public remarks

6. Plenty of non-required boxes that are checked off for a high volume of searchable features, as applicable

Which MLS are used?

Many sellers focus heavily on location of an agents' former listings while completely ignoring which MLS are used. There may be some difference in what an agent offers depending on location, but in my case, those differences iare minimal within the areas that I cover. That said, there are some locations that I won't cover based on the limitations of my MLS coverage, while some agents will cover areas despite having poor MLS coverage in that location.

"86% of buyers purchased their home through a real estate agent or broker" per 2022 NAR statistics (1, 2). 29% of those buyers found their home through their real estate agent per 2022 NAR statistics (1, 2). Those agents feed their buyers properties almost exclusively from the Multiple Listing Service or Services that they are part of. Any occasion where a listing agent is unwilling to offer primary coverage for the top MLS of the city/county where a property is, and for properties over $300,000, where the agent doesn't even have availability to achieve >90% coverage of an area, is not an agent that I would recommend using. I avoid serving a number of areas that are not too distant in proximity from me in part due to the limited coverage I have of the 5 MLS that I am part of. That said, many agents only use 1 MLS. The volume of coverage I offer depends on the % of MLS coverage for that particular city/county, the pricing of the home as well as the commission option that is chosen by the seller.

For my current commission offerings as of 8/16/23, I offer the following:

1. For higher tier commission chosen:

<$100k - primary MLS for $3k (or $4k for 4 MLS w typically 99%+ MLS coverage) (CVR & CBRAR if one is primary MLS);

$100,001-$200k 80%+ MLS coverage for 3% (or 3.5% listing side commission for 99+% typically w/ 4 MLS)

$200,001-$300k 90%+ MLS coverage for 3% (or 3.25% listing side commission for 99+% typically w 4 MLS)

$300,001-$400k minimum 95% MLS for 3% (or 3.15% for 4 MLS which is typically 99+%)

$400,001-$600k 99%+ MLS coverage typically via 4 MLS

$600,001+ 99%+ MLS coverage typically via 5 MLS if any (or all) of 5 have 1%+

2. For lower tier commission chosen:

Primary MLS only if <$400k (CVR & CBRAR if one is primary MLS);

90%+ MLS coverage if $400k-$600,001

95%+ MLS coverage if $600,001-$800k

99%+ MLS coverage $800,001+ typically via 4 MLS, excluding Northern Neck unless 5%+ in Northern Neck MLS

In addition to MLS coverage, be sure to ask agents that you are interviewing about their familiarity with the contracts that are most commonly used in offers by buyers in your city/county. If they want to use a contract that isn't common in that area, you could be in for some surprises and problems. Throughout Hampton Roads, your listing agent should be familiar with the Real Estate Information Network Standard Purchase Agreement. In certain parts of Hampton Roads, Richmond, the Middle Peninsula, & the Northern Neck, your agent should be familiar with the Virginia Realtors® Residential Contract of Purchase which has strict limits on republication without permission, thus why I don't have an article on the subject, though it's covered in part without a full quote in things like my "Responsibilities & Inspetor Options Including Deadlines Template for REIN & VAR Offers."

Related:

Which Multiple Listing Service(s) Are Needed to List in SE VA?

Most Important Cities/Counties in Hampton Roads for Multiple MLS

Are the Listings Listed on Thursday, & Are Holidays Avoided?

Whether or not former listings of agents are entered on Thursdays typically is one factor that helps to demonstrate whether or not the listing agent knows what they are doing based on education/experience. Even the most experienced agents, though, sometimes won't list on Thursdays if they don't know that Thursdays are the best days to list. Thursday listings tend to sell for more money & tend to sell the fastest, per Redfin.

Listings should NOT go up on a federal holiday, especially a big one like Christmas or Thanksgiving. I composed an article on the subject along with why those days are some of the best days of the year for agents to take off here. Most buyers won't want to go looking for homes on a holiday, "abandoning" their family to do so. By narrowing your buyer pool, you reduce the number of offers. By reducing the number of offers, you reduce the quality of offers.

Market Time & Expireds

It's not a bad idea to check for the median market time of cities/counties where former listings of agents sold and compare that to the market time of the listing at the time of sale. Did many properties with at least a 3 month listing agreement expire, & did any homes sit on the market at least 3 months? If so, ask the agent why. I typically don't recommend extremely quick market times (i.e. 2 days) because it typically means that a listing didn't have a sufficient seller-imposed offer deadline present. I recommend listing on Thursdays and offer deadlines on Tuesday night at 7 PM, but even if a contract is ratified on Tuesday night, offer time will likely not show as 5-6 days if contingencies are present due to local MLS policy in Hampton Roads. Conversely, in Richmond, where I also serve, due to a different MLS policy, market time would show as 5-6 days if you list on Thursday and ratify on Tuesday night or Wednesday (since Thursday would be considered day 0). It's not a bad idea to ask in Hampton Roads about what the actual time before a property went under contract was due to that difference in MLS policy, especially if a property's market time is above median for that city/county at the time it was sold.

If a property had a truly above median market time from the time that it was listed and the time that it went under contract, ask about why that was. Did the listing agent overprice it without suggesting any price reductions, or did the seller have an inflated opinion of value and refuse the price reductions, home repairs, etc. that the agent was suggesting? Some agents won't even list properties for above the value that they believe the home is worth, while others have a more flexible policy. Those with a flexible policy will tend to have longer market times, but don't let a difference in policy like that dissuade you from considering an agent. Also, different agents have different strategies on price, with some agents liking to underprice homes, some agents liking to price homes where they feel they are worth, and other agents liking to overprice homes or stretch the price as high as they think it can go and still appraise, knowing that they can bring the price down later. In addition, sometimes sellers prefer a strategy that would be quick, and sometimes they don't. It's another important element to find out when speaking to a prospective agent about market time.

Related:

• What to Look for in a Listing Agent for Your Home or Other Real Estate

• The Importance of Choosing a Great Listing Agent

• What Adam Offers Sellers

• House Seller Guide

• What to Look for in a Buyer's Agent for Your Home or Other Real Estate

• Contact Adam