Could Your Buyer’s Agent Be Costing You Money?

I had a really interesting conversation with a colleague earlier this week about buyer representation and what happens when an agent’s reputation starts costing their clients money.

There is an agent we regularly see writing offers significantly over asking price. No escalation clause, no real attempt to determine where the competition might be, just highest and best right out of the gate. Sometimes the numbers leave those of us on the listing side scratching our heads because her buyers are paying considerably more than anyone else was willing to pay.

My first reaction was concern for the buyers. Are they being properly advised? Do they understand how far above the other offers they may be? Are they seeing comparable sales and having a real conversation about value before agreeing to that price?

Then my colleague gave me a perspective I hadn’t considered.

What if the agent has learned that the only way her offers get accepted is by making them so financially attractive that the seller is willing to overlook the difficulty of the transaction?

Because here is something consumers may not realize. The agent on the other side of the deal matters.

When I present multiple offers to a seller, we are evaluating more than purchase price and terms. We are also considering the likelihood that the transaction will make it to closing. An agent’s reputation for communication, competence, follow-through and problem solving can absolutely become part of that conversation.

There are agents we know will answer the phone and work through a problem when one comes up. There are others where getting a returned phone call can be a challenge. That matters when hundreds of thousands of dollars and someone’s home are on the line.

And suddenly my colleague’s theory made a lot of sense.

Maybe this particular agent genuinely believes the market requires her buyers to offer these extreme prices because that has become her experience. Maybe she has to substantially outbid everyone else to overcome the hesitation other agents and sellers have about working with her.

If that is happening, her clients may be paying the price for her reputation.

Literally.

That is why choosing a buyer’s agent deserves more thought than most consumers probably realize.

Ask how they determine offer price and how they approach multiple-offer situations. Ask whether they will show you comparable sales and explain what they believe the property is actually worth before recommending an offer. Read their reviews. Pay attention to how they communicate with you because there is a pretty good chance that is how they communicate with everyone else too.

And use the tools available to you. Use AI to help you ask better questions, research recent sales and fact check what you are being told. Get another opinion when something doesn’t add up.

Your agent should understand the local market better than you do. But if your agent is describing a market that seems completely disconnected from what everyone else is experiencing, start asking why.

Sometimes paying more is exactly what it takes to win the right house. There is nothing wrong with making an aggressive offer when the buyer understands the numbers and makes an informed decision.

There is a very big difference between strategically winning a multiple-offer situation and blindly overpaying because your representation is putting you at a disadvantage.

The agent you choose matters, and having the right person advocating for you could quite literally save you tens of thousands of dollars.