The False Economy

Andrea Skews is a licensed salesperson with Lowe & Co Realty, Real Estate Authority (REA) Board member and Karori Residents’ Association chairperson. The views expressed are her own and not made in any official capacity.

When you decide to sell your home, you’ll probably spend some money getting it ready for market.

You might pay for staging. You might bring in a gardener, have the house washed, touch up the paint, clean the windows or get a few repairs done.

And chances are, you won’t automatically choose the cheapest person for every job.

Why? Because you’re not really buying a few hours of gardening, a house wash or some furniture. You’re investing in how your property presents to buyers – in the hope that investment comes back to you in the sale price.

So why would that thinking suddenly change when you choose your agent? It surprises me how often the cheapest negotiator is chosen for the biggest transaction of someone’s life.

Commission and marketing costs are easy to compare because they’re right there in front of you. One agent might be a few thousand dollars cheaper than another, and that can feel like money saved.

But you haven’t saved anything yet – your property hasn’t sold.

Say one agent costs you $5,000 more but achieves $30,000 more for your property. The cheaper agent didn’t save you money. You ended up with $25,000 less.

And choosing an agent isn’t only about commission.

It’s about exposure. Who has strong coverage in Karori? Who knows the local buyers? Who is going to use every sensible avenue to get your property in front of them?

It’s about effort. Who is going to work the open homes, talk to buyers, make the phone calls, follow people up and arrange those second and third visits? In my experience, that follow-up is where a lot of sales are quietly won.

And it’s about negotiation. When an offer comes in and it isn’t quite enough, who do you trust to do the hard yards and push for more?

In a market like this one, that takes patience and judgement. It means going back to the buyer, often more than once, to find every dollar they’re genuinely prepared to pay, without pushing so hard they walk away.

That’s where an agent earns their fee – and a well-handled negotiation can more than cover it.

You don’t have to be best friends with your agent. You do have to trust that they have the reach, experience, work ethic and negotiating ability to achieve the best result the market has to offer.

So if you’re prepared to invest in the presentation, the photography, the marketing and everything else that gives your home its best chance, apply the same thinking to your agent.

They’re all investments in the same result.

Invest where it counts. Choose for the result, not the discount.