Questions To Ask a Real Estate Agent

Knowing the right questions to ask a real estate agent before hiring one is one of the most important things you can do before one of the biggest financial transactions of your life. Most people spend more time researching a new TV than they do interviewing the person they are about to trust with hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Here is the framework I would use if I were sitting across from an agent I was considering hiring. These questions apply whether you are buying, selling, or looking for an investor-friendly agent. And yes, they apply to me too. I welcome every single one of them.

Treat It Like a Job Interview. Because It Is.

The first mindset shift is this. You are not asking an agent for a favor. You are interviewing a professional for a job. A very important one. The agent works for you, not the other way around.

Ask for their resume. Ask for their stats. Ask for references. Ask hard questions and pay attention to how they answer. Vague, generic answers tell you everything. Specific, confident, data-backed answers tell you everything else.

Questions to Ask a Real Estate Agent About Experience

How many homes have you sold in this specific area recently?

This is the first question and it matters more than most buyers and sellers realize. You want an agent with real production volume and real market knowledge, not someone who dabbles. Ask how many homes they have sold in the past 12 months, what price ranges they work in most often, and whether they are actively working in the market every day or just when a deal comes their way. Volume matters. An agent closing 3 deals a year is operating at a completely different level than one closing 20 to 40. Ask for the number.

Do you work in real estate full time? How long have you been doing this?

This one surprises people but it is a serious question. A lot of agents are part time. Real estate is their side income. That is their business but it should be your decision whether you want someone whose full attention and availability matches the intensity of what you are trying to accomplish.

What is your background before real estate?

This one rarely gets asked and it tells you a lot. An agent with a background in finance, construction, law, or business brings something to the table that a career agent without that foundation often does not. My background is in finance and economics and I carry an active mortgage loan originator license. That means I evaluate every transaction from both the real estate and the lending side simultaneously. Most agents cannot do that.

What are your stats on the buy side and the sell side?

Ask for specifics. What percentage of your listings sell versus expire? What is your average sale to list ratio on listings? On the buy side how often do your buyers win in competitive situations? Good agents have real numbers. Average agents have vague answers.

What do your past clients say about you?

Look at their Google reviews. Look at their Zillow profile. Look at the specific language clients use. Are they talking about results, communication, and strategy? Or are they just saying the agent was nice? Nice is not enough when you are negotiating a $600,000 transaction.

Questions About Communication

How do you communicate during a transaction? How quickly do you respond?

You want to know exactly how they operate. Text, calls, email? Who is your point of contact day to day? What is their typical response time? If they hesitate on this question or give you a vague answer, that is your preview of what communication will look like when things get stressful.

Will I be working directly with you or mainly with your team?

This is a big one with larger teams. Some team models hand you off to an assistant or a buyer’s agent the moment you sign. Know exactly who you are working with before you commit. At RJH Homes I work directly with every client from the first conversation to the closing table. My team handles the operational pieces behind the scenes but I am your point of contact throughout.

How many clients are you actively working with right now?

An agent stretched too thin is an agent who cannot give you the attention your transaction requires. There is no magic number but pay attention to the answer and whether it sounds like they have the bandwidth to focus on your deal.

Questions About Strategy and Process

Can you walk me through your process from start to finish?

Great agents make complex things feel organized. They should be able to walk you through every step clearly and confidently, from pre-approval to offer strategy to inspections to closing. If they stumble on this question or give you a generic answer, that is a signal.

How do you determine pricing?

For buyers: how do they build an offer strategy based on real market data? For sellers: how do they arrive at a list price? You want data-driven answers tied to actual comparable sales, days on market, and current inventory. If they mention Zillow as a primary data source, that is a problem.

How competitive is the market right now in my price range?

A good agent should be able to answer this immediately with real numbers. Inventory levels, average days on market, list to sale ratios, concession trends. This is not general knowledge. This is what someone who is actively working in the market every day knows without having to look it up.

What is your offer strategy when the market is competitive?

Ask them to walk you through a real scenario. What levers do they pull? Escalation clauses? Appraisal gap coverage? Inspection flexibility? Creative terms? A good agent has a real toolkit and can explain when and why to use each option. A weak answer here is one of the fastest ways to identify an agent who will not perform when it matters.

What happens when issues come up during inspection or appraisal?

This question reveals experience faster than almost any other. Every transaction has friction. Roofs, HVAC systems, appraisal gaps, title issues. How they navigate those moments is what separates a skilled agent from someone who just fills out paperwork.

If we disagree on pricing or strategy, how do you handle it?

You want honesty here not just compliance. The best agents will tell you what they think, explain why, and ultimately respect your decision. An agent who just tells you what you want to hear is not serving your best interest. An agent who bulldozes you is not a partner. The right answer is somewhere in the middle and it says a lot about their character.

Questions About Marketing

How do you market homes differently?

For sellers this is critical. Professional photography and videography is the baseline, not a differentiator. What else are they doing? Social media reach and paid advertising? Database marketing to active buyers? Agent-to-agent outreach? Open house strategy? Email campaigns? Ask for specifics and ask to see examples. Marketing is what gets your home in front of the right buyers and every dollar of presentation and reach affects your final sale price.

Questions About Their Network

Do you have lender, vendor, and contractor recommendations?

Strong agents have a real network built over years of transactions. Trusted lenders, reliable inspectors, title companies that communicate well, contractors who show up. That network has real value when you need something done fast or when a deal is on the line. An agent who cannot answer this question is either new or not paying attention.

The One Question Most People Never Ask

What mistakes do you see buyers and sellers make most often?

This question tells you how an agent thinks. It shows whether they are strategically oriented or just transactionally focused. An agent who gives you a real answer to this question is an agent who has been paying attention across hundreds of transactions and is genuinely trying to protect you from the same mistakes they have watched other people make.

My answer to this question for buyers: touring homes before talking to a lender, focusing on purchase price instead of total cost of ownership, and buying with emotion instead of strategy. For sellers: starting too high on price and chasing the market down, underinvesting in presentation, and not understanding their real net proceeds before they list.

The Bottom Line on Questions to Ask a Real Estate Agent

The right questions to ask a real estate agent will be welcomed by any agent worth hiring. They will answer with specifics, not generalities. They will back their answers with data and real examples. And they will make you feel like you are in good hands before you ever sign anything.

If you are buying or selling in the Phoenix metro and want to have this exact conversation, reach out. I am happy to answer every question on this list and then some.

Call or text: (602) 935 6959 Email: Robbie@RJHHomesteam.com rjhhomesteam.com

Robbie Holycross is the founder of RJH Homes and has been working with buyers, sellers, and investors across the Valley for 6 years. He holds a background in finance and economics and carries an active mortgage license (NMLS 2633845), specializing in move-up buyers and real estate investors throughout the greater Phoenix metro.