Clients want to served by an agent who knows their service areas well. Let’s talk about why hiring a local real estate agent is useful in the home buying or selling process.

Local agents tend to have a firmer grip on prices than out of town agent counterparts. When presented with the sales data, they can look beyond data to see microtrends within the service area that could aid the client in the offer. Sometimes this insight can be called a qualitative analysis of pricing where local agents see property data but can intuit where pricing is headed in a few months. Communicating this information to clients in a timely manner could save them more money or get more money.

What does ‘local’ even mean? Agents could live in your service area, have an office in your service area, or have a track record in your service area. They don’t need all of them, but imagine finding an agent who was born and raised in your service area. They could provide huge neighborhood insights that other agents might not know.

If they were born and raised in your service area, that condition alone won’t guarantee you’ll have a good experience, but it’s a helpful consideration to take among many factors about whether your local real estate agent will do an exceptional job for you.

When I happen to assist clients who are looking in my service area, I make it to point to tell them I was born and raised in that area and that my knowledge of the area and neighborhoods could help them win offers or sell their house. Knowing the amenities, foot traffic, walking scores, schools, parks, and other details allows them to have a more informed picture of what they are doing.

Sometimes agents serve areas where they do not live. Sometimes their service area is too expensive for them to live in and they have to come from out of town to service it. They could still be experts for the service area, but they should disclose they are coming from out of town to meet you there. In fact, in the listing agreement, there is a place that tells the client whether or not the agent is in the service area for the MLS or not. This industry transparency helps clients get connected to agents who they feel are right for the job.