Selling a home in Key West or the Florida Keys is a major financial decision. Choosing the right real estate agent can be just as important as choosing the right asking price.
Yet many sellers choose an agent based on familiarity, a recommendation or whoever suggests the highest listing price.
There is a better way.
Interview your Realtor.
Before trusting someone with one of your most valuable assets, ask them what they are actually going to do to expose, position and sell your property.
Florida Keys real estate is unique. We have a limited supply of homes, dramatically different neighborhoods and property types, and a buyer pool that extends far beyond South Florida. Your eventual buyer may live in Miami, New York, Chicago, Texas, California or halfway around the world.
Your Realtor's job is to find them.
Here are 10 questions every Florida Keys homeowner should ask before choosing a real estate agent.
1. What Are You Going to Do Beyond Putting My Home in the MLS?
This may be the most important question you ask.
Putting a property into the MLS is important, but it should be the beginning of a marketing strategy, not the entire strategy.
Ask what happens next.
Will there be professional photography? Enhanced online marketing? Open houses? Social media? Email marketing? Direct outreach to other agents? Premium placement on major real estate websites?
Most importantly, ask:
What are you going to do that the average Realtor isn't doing?
At Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Keys Real Estate, this philosophy is at the heart of what we call The Berkshire Advantage of Selling.
2. How Many Agents Will Know About My Property Before It Hits the Market?
One of the most overlooked advantages in real estate is the network behind your agent.
Your Realtor may know several active buyers.
But what about the other agents in their company?
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Keys Real Estate has approximately 165 agents throughout the Florida Keys, and we have intentionally created a culture where our agents communicate and share upcoming listings and buyer needs.
That can create exposure before a property is fully introduced to the public market.
In fact, there are times when one of our agents has the buyer for another agent's upcoming listing.
That's the power of collaboration.
When interviewing a Realtor, don't just ask about their database.
Ask about the network behind them.
3. How Will You Make My Home Stand Out Online?
Today's first showing usually doesn't happen when someone walks through the front door.
It happens on a phone.
Buyers scroll quickly through dozens of properties. Your listing needs to earn their attention.
Ask your Realtor how your home will appear on the major real estate websites and what tools they use to differentiate their listings.
At Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Keys Real Estate, our agents utilize enhanced digital marketing opportunities, including Zillow Showcase on qualifying listings, Zillow Preview and additional tools available through major real estate platforms such as Homes.com and Realtor.com.
The objective isn't simply to put your home online.
It's to make someone stop scrolling.
4. What Is Your Strategy for Pricing My Home?
Every seller wants the highest possible price.
A good Realtor wants that too.
But the highest suggested listing price doesn't necessarily produce the highest selling price.
There is an important difference between pricing a property to win the listing and pricing a property to win the market.
Ask your Realtor to explain the comparable sales, current competition, buyer activity and market data supporting their recommendation.
Then ask an equally important question:
What will we do if the market doesn't respond?
The best agents don't simply establish a price and hope.
They monitor the market's reaction and advise their sellers accordingly.
5. How Will You Know if Buyers Are Responding to My Listing?
Real estate marketing produces signals.
Views.
Saves.
Inquiries.
Showing requests.
Open-house traffic.
Agent feedback.
Offers.
A sophisticated listing strategy pays attention to those signals.
If thousands of people see a property online but almost nobody requests information or schedules a showing, the market may be telling us something.
Your Realtor should be able to interpret that information and make recommendations based on what buyers are actually doing, not simply what we hope they will do.
Ask how frequently your agent will review the data with you and how that information will influence the strategy.
6. How Will You Reach Buyers Outside the Florida Keys?
This question is particularly important here.
Unlike many traditional housing markets, a significant portion of Florida Keys demand comes from people who don't currently live here.
That means your marketing strategy needs to extend well beyond the island where your property is located.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Keys Real Estate combines deep local expertise with the reach and recognition of the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices network.
We describe it simply:
Local Roots. Truly Global Reach.
Your Realtor should understand the local market intimately while also having the resources to reach the buyers who haven't arrived here yet.
7. What Does Your Brokerage Bring to the Table?
Sellers understandably focus on selecting an agent.
But you are also selecting that agent's brokerage.
Ask what the company behind your Realtor provides.
How many agents does it have?
Where are its offices?
How recognizable is its brand?
What technology does it provide?
What marketing programs are available?
What kind of referral network does it have?
Does the company have a meaningful presence in the community?
At Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Keys Real Estate, our offices throughout the Keys give our agents and sellers a physical presence across the island chain.
Our headquarters at 336 Duval Street in Key West provides another unique advantage. Visitors from around the world walk past our doors every day.
Some of those visitors eventually decide they want to become homeowners.
8. What Are You Doing to Create Activity Around My Property?
Great marketing should create activity, not simply visibility.
Ask your Realtor what they will do to give buyers and agents a reason to pay attention to your property.
One example is our signature Berkshire Hathaway Florida Keys Parade of Homes Mega Open House Event.
Once a month, we showcase outstanding properties throughout the Florida Keys as part of a coordinated open-house event.
Instead of treating an open house as an isolated event, we're able to promote participating homes as part of something larger.
More properties. More promotion. More agents. More buyers.
The goal is to create momentum.
9. Do You Understand What Makes My Property and My Part of the Keys Different?
You cannot market every Florida Keys property the same way.
A historic home in Old Town Key West isn't marketed the same way as a waterfront property in the Lower Keys.
A canal home in Marathon has a different buyer than an estate in Islamorada.
A condominium near Duval Street offers a completely different lifestyle from an oceanfront property in Key Largo.
Your Realtor should understand not only the property's features, but also who the likely buyer is and why that buyer would want to own it.
The Florida Keys aren't simply a place to purchase real estate.
They're a lifestyle.
Great marketing sells both.
10. Why Should I List With You Instead of Another Realtor?
Ask the question directly.
A professional Realtor should have a compelling answer.
Not simply:
“I work hard.”
“I know the market.”
“I'll provide great service.”
Those things should be expected.
Ask what genuinely differentiates the agent and the company behind them.
What advantage will you receive?
At Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Keys Real Estate, our answer is what we call The Berkshire Advantage of Selling.
It's the collective strength of approximately 165 agents throughout the Florida Keys.
It's a culture of collaboration where agents share upcoming listings and buyer opportunities.
It's offices throughout the Keys.
It's our Duval Street headquarters.
It's our Florida Keys Parade of Homes.
It's enhanced digital marketing and technology.
It's local knowledge combined with global reach.
And it's the power of a respected brand working alongside an experienced local real estate company.
Don't Just Hire a Realtor. Interview Them.
Selling a Florida Keys property deserves more than simply putting a sign in the yard and a listing in the MLS.
Before you hire anyone, ask questions.
Ask about their strategy.
Ask about their technology.
Ask about their marketing.
Ask about their network.
Ask about their brokerage.
And then ask the most important question of all:
“What advantage will I have by listing my property with you?”
The answer should be clear.
At Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Keys Real Estate, we're proud to call ours The Berkshire Advantage of Selling.
If you're considering selling a home anywhere from Key West to Key Largo, we'd welcome the opportunity to show you what that advantage can mean for your property.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Keys Real Estate
Local Roots. Truly Global Reach.
The Berkshire Advantage of Selling.
