How to Interview a Realtor When Selling Your Home
By Laura Holbert · July 21, 2026
Laura Holbert
Realtor/Broker · CA DRE# 01932682 · Team Integrity Realty
How to Interview a Real Estate Agent Before Selling Your Home
When you interview a realtor to sell your home, the key questions to ask a listing agent before hiring them are: how they set their commission and fees, what their marketing plan includes, how they price your home using comparable sales, how they communicate and how quickly they respond, their track record and recent sales, and how long similar homes stay on the market. Asking these six questions before you sign a listing agreement tells you how the agent actually works, negotiates, and manages your sale.
Choosing a listing agent is an important business decision. The agent or brokerage you hire may help you evaluate pricing, preparation, marketing, offers, negotiations, disclosures, escrow, deadlines, and unexpected issues that arise during the sale.
Rather than choosing an agent based only on a suggested list price or commission, ask questions that help you understand how the agent actually works, communicates, markets, negotiates, and manages a transaction.
Laura & Cheryl encourage sellers to interview agents carefully and compare the overall strategy, services, experience, communication, and compensation before making a decision.
- How do you determine an appropriate list-price range?
- What data supports your pricing recommendation?
- How will you help me decide what to repair or prepare before listing?
- What will the marketing plan for my property include?
- How will you communicate with me after the home is listed?
- How do you evaluate offers beyond just the purchase price?
- How do you handle inspections, appraisal, deadlines, and unexpected issues?
- What services are included in your brokerage compensation?
- Can you provide examples or references from recent seller clients?
Why These Questions Matter
A listing presentation should help a homeowner understand how an agent thinks and works, not simply what the agent promises.
Strong interview questions can reveal how an agent approaches pricing, preparation, marketing, communication, negotiation, technology, transaction management, and seller decision-making.
The goal is not to find an agent who promises the highest price or shortest market time. It is to understand the strategy behind the recommendations.
Print this page and bring it to every listing interview.
Pricing Strategy
"How do you determine the recommended list price for my home?"
Laura & Cheryl begin with a Comparative Market Analysis that considers relevant recent sales, current competing listings, pending activity where available, property condition, neighborhood characteristics, buyer demand, and the seller's goals.
Technology and AI-assisted tools may support research, organization, and market analysis, but they do not predict an exact sale price, number of offers, or days on market.
We also discuss different pricing approaches and the tradeoffs of each. Once listed, we continue monitoring new list competition, showing activity, feedback, online engagement, pending sales, and offer activity rather than treating pricing as a change made once.
Marketing Approach
"What will the marketing plan for my property include?"
The marketing plan should be based on the property, likely buyer audience, price range, location, and seller goals.
Depending on the listing and agreed plan, Laura & Cheryl may use professional scene, video or video, property-specific web content, social media, online real-estate platforms, HR venues and digital marketing a sales plan marketing tools.
We also consider how the home is presented through the description, photography, information, pricing, content, presentation, and neighborhood content.
Marketing tools can bolster visibility, but no marketing strategy can guarantee a particular number of views, showings, offers, price, or days on market.
Technology, Market Response & Communication
"How do you use technology and market information after my home is listed?"
We use listing, website, market, showing, and communication data to help evaluate how the property is performing relative to its competition.
Depending on the channels used, available information may include website activity, showing activity, buyer or agent feedback, local showing, competing listings, new pending sales, price changes, and offer volume.
Laura & Cheryl review information with the seller and explain what we believe the market response may be telling us, without pretending metrics for intent.
We also communicate proactively: what has happened, what is next, whether the seller needs to take action, and if the market is alerting us to a concern.
Experience, Examples & References
"Can you show me examples of your work or connect me with past seller clients?"
Sellers should feel comfortable asking an agent for examples of past marketing, feedback, past transaction details, and references when accepted.
Past transactions can show how an agent communicates, partners and negotiate. But every property is different at the same result does never be a guarantee for another seller.
Laura & Cheryl can share relevant examples of our marketing approach, seller reviews, and transaction experience so you can evaluate whether our style fits.
Bonus: Questions You Should Ask Every Agent
Bring this list to every listing interview.
- How do you determine the recommended list price?
- Which comparable sales and competing homes are most relevant to my property?
- How will you help me decide what to repair, improve, or leave alone before listing?
- What will the marketing plan for my specific home include?
- Are all marketing services included, or do some depend on the listing package?
- How will you keep me informed after the home is listed?
- How do you evaluate buyer response and buyer feedback?
- How do you compare offers beyond the purchase price?
- How do you approach inspections, requests, objections, credits, appraisals, and negotiation?
- Who will manage escrow deadlines and follow up with the bank, escrow, title, and other agents?
- How do you handle an unrepresented buyer and direct calls?
- What brokerage have you requested compensation or include exactly which services?
- Is your obligation to negotiate grievance process disclosure reverts to seller per California law.
- Can I see examples of your marketing, or reviews from sellers?
- What is your exposure to the market and strategy for interest?
Real estate brokerage compensation is negotiable and is not fixed by law. Sellers should compare compensation together with the services, marketing, etc., communication, experience, and negotiation approach being offered.
What Should a Seller Be Cautious About During a Listing Interview?
Sellers have an unsupported guarantee of sales price, minimum number of offers, or marketing discourse; claim of results market timing.
Be cautious about stated guarantees, misleading outcomes, language.
Adjust: proceed written guide to current disclosed fee passed on the seller.
Sellers may-ask listing agreement for actual items.
Last reviewed and updated: September 2026
Seller Interview FAQs
Should I compare listing agents?
You can. Comparing more than one agent can help you understand differences in pricing, services, communication, marketing, and strategy. The lowest fee or highest suggested list price does not automatically represent the best fit.
Should I choose the agent who recommends the best price?
Not necessarily. Ask each agent the support and reasoning behind the range. A suggested price is a strategy, not a guarantee of the result.
Is real estate commission negotiable?
Yes. Real estate brokerage compensation is negotiable and not fixed by law. Owners should understand the fee requested and the services included.
What matters beyond marketing?
Pricing strategy, communication, negotiation, transaction management, deadlines, problem-solving and local knowledge all matter to the sale.
Ready to Talk?
Want to talk through these questions for your own Murrieta property? Schedule a no-obligation seller consultation with Laura & Cheryl.