Consumers depend heavily upon a real estate agent to sell their homes or guide them during their house hunt, but most don’t invest a lot of time searching for the right one, according to a report the Consumer Federation of America released Monday.
“Most people spend more time picking a restaurant than they do picking a real estate agent,” one agent surveyed responded.
According to the report, 4 out of 5 sellers who used a traditional agent hired one of the first two they met, and 58 percent of these sellers spent less than three hours researching how to sell their home.
The report discusses the limited reliability of reviews on agent’s personal websites and recommends research on the following before hiring one:
- their years working in the industry and as an agent;
- whether they have done this work in the neighborhood, city, or region where they are now practicing;
- whether they are a broker, associate broker, or agent;
- whether they are a realtor, bound by the industry’s code of ethics and with access to the local Multiple Listing Service;
- courses, seminars, and other post-certification education;
- any awards for service; and
- their community service apart from practicing as an agent.
The report suggested that the most useful and obtainable information about agent experience is the record of their past sales, specifically:
- whether they represented the seller, buyer, or both;
- the distribution of sales over time, especially recently;
- their locations;
- the number of days the properties spent on the Multiple Listing Service;
- sale prices; and
- whether there were any delistings, markdowns, or markups
If you are ready to house hunt, but want to do it from home because of the pandemic, here are 12 must-see properties with 3-D tours — from a two-bedroom Canton town house for $389,999 to a four-bedroom Greek Revival town house in Boston for $3,395,000:
$389,999
2 bedrooms, 2 full baths
1,201 square feet
Kelly White of Redfin Corp has the listing. Take the virtual tour.
***
327 Arlington St., Unit 3, Watertown
$400,000
1 bedroom, 1 full bath
672 square feet
True Home Partners of Compass has the listing. Take the virtual tour.
***
53 Paul St., Unit 12, Newton
$499,000
1 bedrooms, 1 full bath
875 square feet
Valentina Elzon of Compass has the listing. Take the virtual tour.
***
$515,000
4 bedrooms, 1 full bath, 1 half bath
1,719 square feet
Mindy McMahon of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage-Marblehead has the listing. Take the virtual tour.
***
$699,000
3 bedrooms, 2 full baths
1,793 square feet
Judy McNulty of Insight Realty Group Inc. has the listing. Take the virtual tour.
***
$699,900
1 bedroom, 1 full bath
752 square feet
Sherean Azarmi of Urban Circle Realty has the listing. Take the virtual tour.
***
$725,000
2 bedrooms, 2 full baths
1,045 square feet
Tara Wilstein of Compass has the listing. Take the virtual tour.
***
$749,000
2 bedrooms, 1 full bath
636 square feet
Issam Dib of Skyline Realty has the listing. Take the virtual tour.
***
28 Cross St., Norwell
$949,900
4 bedrooms, 2 full baths, 1 half bath
3,521 square feet
1.29-acre lot
Miene Smith of Weichert Realtors-Briarwood Real Estate has the listing. Take the virtual tour.
***
$1,550,000
5 bedrooms, 3 full baths, 1 half bath
3,061 square feet
0.21-acre lot
Elizabeth Darby of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Commonwealth Real Estate has the listing. Take the virtual tour.
***
71 Revere St., Beacon Hill
$3,395,000
4 bedrooms, 2 full baths, 2 half baths
2,859 square feet
Richard R. O’Connor of Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty has the listing. Take the virtual tour.
Subscribe to the Globe’s free real estate newsletter — our weekly digest on buying, selling, and design — at pages.email.bostonglobe.com/AddressSignUp. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @globehomes.
