Every week I send all of my clients with home listings a weekly market report to keep them informed on what is happening with their direct competition. As I was putting together the reports this week, it struck me that these reports contradict an incorrect assumption that I hear all the time.
In the St. Louis area, there are about 10,000 licensed Realtors©. There is one company, commonly abbreviated CBG, that has about 1/3 of the agents in the area.
Agents from this brokerage often pitch to their potential clients that they have 3000 agents with their company, and as a result, they have a huge network of agents that can bring buyers to the table. Of course, these agents are scattered throughout the region, so the majority of those agents probably aren’t working in the target area. Of course, the other 2/3 of the agents with a potential buyer are working at smaller brokerages or independent brokers.
The reality is that homes rarely sell with both agents working for the same broker.
The chart below shows the homes similar to my current listings that have sold in recent months.
Of the 30 homes that have sold in the markets I’ve been tracking, there were 3 that sold with both agents from same brokerage. Since CBG has about 1/3 of the agents in the area and has about 1/3 of the listings, shouldn’t they also have at least one 1/3 of the agents on the buyer side too? My chart above has them with only 10% of the buyers. Granted, my chart doesn’t represent the complete market. I guess their agents are working with buyers in other parts of town or in other price ranges. (Please note that I am not bashing CBG agents. They have some great agents….I just don’t agree with the concept that your home won’t sell unless you go with the biggest brokerage in town).
Another 3 homes sold under dual agency, meaning the same agent represented both the seller and the buyer.
From my limited sample, 20% of the sales occurred with one brokerage involved (10% with two agents and 10% with one agent).
And, while only 2 of the 30 homes were listed with a smaller independent brokerage, 9 of the 30 buyer agents came from an independent company. Though each of the areas seems to have 1 or 2 listing brokerages that tend to dominate the area, those brokerages rarely brought buyers to the deals in the same area.
Bottom line, if you are thinking of selling your home, don’t just pick your agent based on the brokerage. Talk to several agents and decide which agent’s approach is right for you. If you live in the St. Louis area and are thinking of selling, I would welcome the opportunity to show you what I offer my listing clients. For more information, explore my website or contact me to for a FREE home evaluation.
