There’s real value in using REALTORS®

The evidence needed to show the value of using a REALTOR® came in May when new monthly milestones were reached.

For the first time in the WinnipegREALTORS® Association’s 104-year history,  monthly MLS® sales broke through the 1,500 mark and then catapulted past 1,600 to 1,652 unit sales. 

The once lofty $200-million benchmark level for dollar volume was left in the dust with close to $300 million in MLS® sales activity in May. 

Close to 55 per cent of all residential-detached sales (just under 1,300) in May sold for above list price and another 10 per cent achieved list price. 

Many MLS® areas had sales outstripping the listings that were entered onto MLS® in the month of May thus depleting the association’s active MLS® inventory. 

Houses sold in May were only on the market an average 19 days and condominiums spent even less time averaging 16 days. This compares very favourably with exceptionally robust MLS® home sale activity in other Western markets — Calgary’s average days on the market in May was 25 and Saskatoon’s just 15 days. 

The average days on market for Winnipeg’s remaining MLS® residential-detached inventory is only six weeks.

Success in the market is all about giving consumers maximum exposure on MLS® through a network of 1,200 local and 90,000 national REALTORS®.

The key to selling quickly and getting top dollar is exposure. The more people who see your home, the sooner you will find a willing buyer. 

How do you get the most exposure? 

If you sell the home yourself, you will get some exposure by putting up a sign, running some ads and telling your friends. On the other hand, if you work with a REALTOR®, you will get instant and mass exposure to a large number of prospective home buyers. 

A REALTOR® has access to the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®). This service, a computerized system operated by the local REALTOR® association, compiles information about listed properties in the area and makes it accessible to member companies. As a result, when a REALTOR® lists your home, REALTORS® from other companies learn about your home and try to match it with buyers with whom they are working. These buyers may include people from out-of-town who are trying to relocate to your area. 

A REALTOR® can speed the selling process in other ways:

By specializing in real estate, a REALTOR® knows market values and can therefore help you set a competitive price for your home.

A REALTOR® can free you from the hassles associated with showing your home and screen out people who are merely curious.

A REALTOR® is objective when negotiating with buyers and experienced in reading the fine print of contracts.

By staying on top of the mortgage market, a REALTOR® may know how to wade through financing tangles and clinch a sale. 

Selling a home is not something that anyone can do in their off-hours. It’s a specialized service best handled by a professional — a full-time real estate practitioner.