How to Choose a Real Estate Agent on the Gold Coast
Choose the agent who can explain the sale plan and support it with evidence.
Don’t choose on the highest appraisal, cheapest fee or biggest profile alone. Those things may be part of the comparison, but they don’t show what will happen when your property reaches the market and real buyers respond.
Ask every agent the same seven questions. Then compare the substance of the answers.
1. Which recent sales support your price opinion?
A useful appraisal should show relevant settled sales and explain the differences.
Ask why each property is comparable. Check the location, land, condition, layout, property type and sale date. Then ask which sales look similar at first but could give you the wrong impression.
The useful answer isn’t one big number. It’s a price range, the evidence behind it and the conditions needed to reach the stronger end of that range.
2. What could stop us reaching that price?
Every property has features buyers may question.
The issue might be presentation, access, layout, nearby competition, building condition, body corporate costs or a price expectation that isn’t supported by current alternatives.
A good answer should name the likely obstacles without turning the meeting into a list of faults. It should also explain which problems can be prepared for, which need professional advice and which simply need to be reflected in the plan.
3. Who is the most likely buyer?
`I have buyers` isn’t enough.
Ask who is most likely to care about this property and why. The agent should explain what those buyers are comparing, which features matter to them and how the marketing will make the right people take notice.
The answer may include more than one buyer group. What matters is whether the agent can connect the property to a real reason to inspect and act.
4. What is the plan for the first two weeks?
The first part of the sale needs a clear purpose.
Ask how the property will be launched, how enquiries and inspections will be handled, what feedback will be collected and when you will review the response.
The answer should not be `put it online and see what happens`.
You should know what the agent expects to learn, what a healthy response looks like and which signs would lead to a change in presentation, marketing, communication or price discussion.
5. Who follows up with buyers, and what will I hear back?
Online enquiry is only the start.
Ask who calls the buyers, what questions they ask and how their feedback reaches you. You want more than `they liked it` or `they thought it was too expensive`.
Useful feedback separates casual comments from repeated patterns. It tells you whether buyers understood the property’s value, what alternatives they preferred and whether anyone is moving closer to an offer.
6. What happens if buyers don’t agree with the price?
Optimism needs a response plan.
Ask how the agent will tell the difference between early negotiation, weak marketing, presentation concerns and a price position buyers won’t accept.
A strong answer explains what evidence will be reviewed and how quickly. It doesn’t promise that the first opinion can never be wrong. It also doesn’t jump straight to a price reduction after one comment.
The agent should be able to show how decisions will be made from the pattern of enquiries, inspections, repeat interest, contract requests and offers.
7. What do the fees cover, and what will I keep after all selling costs?
Compare the full proposal, not one percentage.
Ask what the professional fee covers, which marketing costs are separate, when each amount is payable and whether any optional expenses need your approval.
Then compare the likely net result. A lower fee doesn’t automatically create a better net result. A higher fee doesn’t prove the agent will create one either.
The agent should explain the work, the cost and the method clearly enough for you to compare each proposal on the same basis.
Read the appointment before you sign
Queensland residential agent appointments use the prescribed Form 6.
Check the appointment type, term, fees, marketing expenses, services, end date and cancellation conditions. Keep a completed copy. If anything is unclear, ask questions and obtain independent advice before signing.
Cancelling or overlapping an appointment incorrectly can create commission problems. Don’t assume a verbal conversation has changed the written agreement.
How to compare the answers
After each meeting, score the agent on four things:
- Did they show evidence or rely on confidence?
- Did they explain what they will do, who will do it and when?
- Did they describe how buyer response will change the plan?
- Did the written proposal match the conversation?
Choose the agent whose answers remain clear when you move beyond the appraisal number.
No seven-question checklist can guarantee a sale price. It can help you see whether the agent has thought through the work required to reach the best result available when you sell.
Organise the decision before appointing anyone
The Seller Decision Workbook gives you one place to compare price evidence, timing, preparation, agent questions and next steps.
Complete it before the final agent meeting so you can compare each proposal using the same information.
Use the Seller Decision Workbook before choosing an agent
FAQs
Should I choose the agent who gives the highest appraisal?
Not on that reason alone. Ask which settled sales support the opinion, what could prevent the result and how the first part of the sale will test the price.
Is the cheapest commission the best deal?
Not automatically. Compare the total cost, the work included and the likely net result. A fee is one part of the appointment, not proof of the final outcome.
How many agents should I interview?
There is no required number. Speak with enough suitable agents to compare evidence, method, communication and terms without turning the process into a contest for the biggest promise.
What is a Form 6 in Queensland?
It is the prescribed form used to appoint or reappoint a residential property agent. Read the completed form and obtain advice about anything you don’t understand before signing.
What if I want to change agents later?
Read the existing appointment and get advice before appointing someone else. The type, term and cancellation conditions matter, and an incorrect overlap may create commission exposure.