Real estate agencies
Questions to Ask a Real Estate Agent Before You Hire One in 2026
The key questions to ask a real estate agent before hiring, covering experience, pricing, commission after 2024 rule changes, and communication.
Questions to Ask a Real Estate Agent Before You Hire One in 2026
Hiring a real estate agent is one of the biggest financial decisions most people make, and it usually gets settled in a single conversation over coffee or a quick phone call. That is a mistake. Whether you are buying your first home or selling one you have owned for 20 years, the agent you pick controls how much money ends up in your pocket and how much stress you carry along the way. The good ones welcome hard questions. The weak ones talk fast and hope you never ask.
The best way to protect yourself is to treat that first meeting like a real interview. You are the employer. This person is applying for a job that could involve hundreds of thousands of dollars of your money, and you are allowed to compare candidates before you sign anything. Below are the questions that separate a full-time professional from someone who sells three houses a year on the side. They apply whether you are on the buying side or the selling side, though a few will matter more depending on which seat you are in.
Start With Experience and Recent Activity
The first thing you want to know is how much this agent works. There is a real difference between one who closes 30 or 40 transactions a year and one who closes four. Ask how many homes they have helped clients buy or sell in the last 12 months, not over their whole career. A recent number tells you whether they are active right now, in this market, with these interest rates.
Experience alone does not guarantee results, so pair it with a question about the kind of client they usually serve. An agent who spends most of their time with luxury sellers may not be the right fit if you are buying a $325,000 starter home. You want someone who works your price range and your part of town regularly, because that is where their contacts and their instincts live.
Ask directly whether real estate is their full-time job. Plenty of part-time agents are capable, but availability matters when you are trying to get an offer in on a Saturday morning and three other buyers are circling the same house. If your agent has a day job, find out who covers for them when they cannot pick up the phone.
Dig Into Their Local Track Record
A confident agent should be able to talk about your specific neighborhood without pulling up notes. Ask what homes like yours have sold for recently and how long they sat before going under contract. If you are selling, ask for their list-price-to-sale-price ratio. An agent whose homes consistently sell within a percent or two of list is pricing well and negotiating well.
For buyers, the local question shifts toward strategy. Ask how many offers it typically takes to win a home in the area you want and what they are seeing on bidding activity now. According to the National Association of Realtors, homes have been moving in a matter of weeks in many metros through the first half of this year, and an agent who knows the current pace can keep you from lowballing yourself out of a house you love.
Ask for references from three recent clients, not one. One happy client is easy to produce. Three from the last six months give you a truer picture. Call them and ask what surprised them, good or bad, about working with this person.
For Sellers, Get the Marketing and Pricing Plan in Writing
If you are selling, marketing is where agents earn their commission or fail to. Ask exactly what they will do to get your home in front of buyers. A serious answer includes professional photography, a written listing description, syndication to the major search portals, and some form of paid or organic social promotion. The Top10RE distribution approach, where every listing gets pushed across multiple channels rather than just dropped on the MLS and forgotten, is the standard you should hold your agent to.
Pricing is the other half of the conversation, and it is where you should listen closely. Ask how they arrived at the number they are recommending and ask to see the comparable sales behind it. Be wary of the agent who quotes the highest price in the room. Some agents win listings by flattering sellers with a number the market will not support, then push for price cuts once the home has gone stale. A grounded agent will show you the data and explain the tradeoffs of pricing high versus pricing to sell.
You should also ask what happens if the home does not sell within the listing period. Find out the length of the listing agreement and whether you can cancel it if the relationship is not working. A confident agent will not lock you into a long contract with no way out.
Understand Commission and Agreements After the 2024 Rule Changes
Commission is negotiable, and it always has been, but the ground rules shifted after the National Association of Realtors settlement that took effect in the second half of 2024. Buyer agent compensation is no longer advertised in the MLS the way it once was, and buyers are now typically asked to sign a written representation agreement before touring homes. That means you should ask, up front, how your agent is paid and what you are responsible for.
If you are buying, read the buyer agreement carefully before you sign it. It should spell out the agent's fee, how long the agreement lasts, and whether you owe anything if the seller does not cover the buyer-side commission. Ask what happens in that scenario, because it comes up more often now. A good agent will walk you through it plainly instead of rushing you past the fine print.
Sellers should ask how the listing commission is structured and whether any portion is offered to a buyer's agent. You have room to negotiate the rate and the terms. Just remember that the cheapest commission is not a bargain if it comes with no marketing budget and a part-time agent behind it.
Ask How They Communicate and How They Handle Problems
Communication style is the question people forget to ask, and it is the one that causes the most friction later. Ask how often you will hear from them and through what channel. Some agents live on text, others prefer a scheduled weekly call. Neither is wrong, but you want a match with how you like to work.
Deals rarely go perfectly, so ask what happens when something breaks. A low appraisal, a bad inspection, a buyer who gets cold feet before closing. Ask the agent to walk you through a deal that nearly fell apart and how they saved it. The answer tells you whether they solve problems or just pass them to you.
Finally, ask whether you will work with them directly or with a team. Many top producers run teams, which can mean faster response times, but it can also mean you signed up for the name on the sign and end up working with an assistant. Neither setup is bad. You just deserve to know before you commit. For more guidance on choosing well, the resources on the Top10RE blog go deeper on each of these steps.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many agents should I interview before choosing one?
Talk to at least two or three before you decide. Interviewing more than one gives you a baseline for comparing pricing opinions, marketing plans, and personality fit, and it makes the differences obvious. Most people who interview only one agent do it because that agent is a friend or a referral, which is exactly where a second opinion pays off.
What is the most important question to ask a real estate agent?
Ask how many homes they have closed in the last 12 months in your price range and area. That single question filters out part-timers and tells you whether the agent is active in the current market rather than coasting on past reputation. Everything else, from marketing to negotiation skill, tends to follow from real, recent volume.
Do I have to sign an agreement before working with an agent?
For buyers, yes, in most cases now. Since the 2024 National Association of Realtors settlement, buyers are generally asked to sign a written representation agreement before touring homes with an agent. Read it closely, confirm the fee and the length of the term, and ask whether you can cancel if the fit is wrong.
Is real estate commission always negotiable?
Yes. There is no fixed or legally set commission rate, and both listing fees and terms can be negotiated. Just weigh the number against what you get for it. An agent charging a lower rate with no marketing plan often costs sellers more in the end through a lower final sale price.
