Each week I see ads claiming to be the #1 real estate agent/team in the city/county/state – how many #1 agents or teams could there possibly be? Then there are claims of “100+ homes sold last month” which is pretty impressive, but how is that number calculated?
When you are looking to buy or sell a home, these advertising messages could be enticing – after all, isn't it a good decision to engage an agent or team with a successful track record? Of course it is, but only if the claims made can be trusted. As with any business decision, it is “buyer beware”! You should always do your homework to make sure you are hiring a company, buying a product or utilizing a service that stands behind their claims.
When Bob Lucido makes a claim that he is #1, you can be certain that is true and accurate. The ratings for agents and teams are made by brokerages on a quarterly and annual basis. If there is a slip in the ratings, the ads no longer make the claim. One statement that Bob can consistently make is “No known real estate team has sold more homes than bob Lucido and his team”. With over 3 decades in the industry and an average of 2000 homes sold per year in most of those years, it is a statement easily made – and verifiable.
When qualifying and quantifying the number of “sales” in a month, quarter or a year, it is important to make sure the agent or team you are hiring is advertising only “real” sales – those sales that have a monetary value to the broker. And what do I mean by this? Well, Bob, as with many of the large real estate teams, provides “courtesy listings” for builders. Those listings are an administrative task with no monetary value to Bob, his team or to ReMax Advantage Realty. Bob currently has hundreds of those courtesy listings in the multiple list system. What Bob doesn't do is count those listings in his monthly/quarterly/annual sales figures – why should he when there is no monetary value and certainly NO value to you, the consumer. The question begs “Why would an agent make the unsubstantiated claims”? The only answer I can come up with is bragging when there is no basis for the claim. Sort of like “Look at me, hire me, I am great” but then, what is in it for the consumer?
The bottom line – when you are looking for a real estate agent to sell your home or to assist you in buying a home, look for the one who will best serve you and not be so self-serving.