Own Luxury Homes®
How to Evaluate a Real Estate Agent: Performance Data
81% of sellers contact only one agent (NAR); reviews useless: every agent has 4.8–5.0 stars regardless of output. 3 performance data points: (1) local transaction volume last 12mo (pull MLS); (2) list-to-sale ratio: sellers 99–103%; buyers at/below list; (3) days on market vs local average. CFA: median agent 2 sales/yr; top 20% do 80–90% of all deals. 7-question performance interview framework included. Agents who show data readily vs redirect to testimonials — easy filter. Own Luxury Homes® 12-Point Agent Integrity Audit™ — performance data required.
How to Evaluate a Real Estate Agent Using Actual Performance Data, Not Zillow Stars
Every real estate agent has a professional-looking website. Almost all have 4.9 stars on Google and Zillow. Most have testimonials from happy clients. None of this tells you the one thing you actually need to know: how often does this person do what I am asking them to do, in this market, in this price range, and with what results? The data to answer that question exists. It is publicly available. And almost nobody asks for it. This guide tells you exactly what to look for, where to find it, and which specific numbers reveal whether you are talking to a full-time professional or a part-time practitioner.
The Three Data Points That Actually Matter
Data Point 1: Local Transaction Volume
The question: "How many homes did you represent — as buyer’s agent or listing agent — in [your target zip code or neighborhood] in the last 12 months?" Why it matters: An agent who closes 2 deals per year in your area knows your neighborhood the way a tourist knows a city. An agent who closes 20 deals per year in your area knows which street has the noise issue from the highway, which school boundary cuts through the development, which floor plans hold value, which days have the most buyer activity, and which listing agents are responsive. That knowledge is not available from Zillow. It comes from repetition. What good looks like: For a typical suburban market: 10+ transactions per year in your area. For a luxury or specialized niche: volume matters less than percentage of that niche. For a buyer’s agent: how many buyer-side closings specifically? An agent who does mostly listings may not have refined buyer negotiation skills. How to verify: MLS data is available to any agent and can be pulled for any other agent’s activity. Ask them to show you their closed transactions in your target area from the MLS for the last 12 months. Most agents who are honest will show you this readily. An agent who deflects this question: red flag.
Data Point 2: List-Price-to-Sale-Price Ratio
The question: "What was your average list-price-to-sale-price ratio for the sellers/buyers you represented in the last 12 months?" What this measures: For listing agents: did properties sell at, above, or below list price? A strong listing agent who prices correctly and creates competitive demand will typically show 99–102%+ of list price. An agent who overprices (causing extended DOM and eventual reductions) or who has weak marketing will show 94–97% of list price. On a $500,000 home: the difference between 98% and 102% of list is $20,000. For buyer’s agents: did they help clients close below list price? In the current market (45% of listings taking price reductions), a skilled buyer’s agent should be closing at or below list in most non-competitive situations. What good looks like: Listing agents: 99–103% in a balanced market; 97%+ is acceptable; below 96% suggests pricing or marketing issues. Buyer’s agents: depends heavily on market; in a buyer’s market, at or below list; in a competitive market, slight above-list is normal. How to verify: MLS data again. The agent should be able to pull this number from their transaction history. If they don’t know it: problem.
Data Point 3: Days on Market vs Local Average
The question: "What was your average days on market for listings you represented, vs the market average in those zip codes?" Why this matters: Days on market measures the agent’s ability to generate buyer activity quickly. A listing that sits for 90 days when the market average is 35 days is a listing with a problem: overpriced, undermarketed, or poorly presented. Extended DOM triggers buyer suspicion ("why has no one bought it?") and almost always results in price reductions that bring the final price below what correct pricing from day 1 would have achieved. An agent consistently beating the local DOM average has systems for generating early buyer activity: pre-marketing, coming soon listings, agent network distribution, and pricing strategy that creates urgency. What good looks like: At or below local market average DOM. In a market where median DOM is 35 days: an agent averaging 21 days is significantly outperforming. How to verify: MLS data. The local market average DOM is public information. Ask for both numbers side by side.
Why Online Reviews Are Nearly Useless for Agent Selection
The Star Rating Problem
Almost every active real estate agent has 4.8–5.0 stars on every platform. The reason: satisfied clients leave reviews; dissatisfied clients disappear and buy or sell elsewhere. An agent who closes 3 deals per year and asks every client for a review will have 3 new 5-star reviews. An agent who closes 40 deals per year and asks every client for a review will have 40 new 5-star reviews. The review count is informative. The rating is not. A 4.9 from 8 reviews and a 4.9 from 200 reviews tell a completely different story — but the stars look identical. What reviews CAN tell you: patterns in the text. Multiple reviews mentioning a specific strength (negotiation, communication, knowledge of a specific area) are more informative than the stars. Multiple reviews with generic language ("great experience, highly recommend") tell you almost nothing about performance. What to add to your evaluation: ask for 2–3 references from clients in a similar situation to yours (same price range, similar property type, same transaction type). Call them. Five minutes on the phone with a past client tells you more than 50 reviews.
The 7-Question Performance Interview
| # | Question | What You’re Looking For | Red Flag |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | How many homes did you close in [target area/price range] in the last 12 months? | 10+ for typical buyer; 15+ for listing; the more specific to your area the better | Inability to give a specific number; deflection to "total volume" across all areas |
| 2 | What was your list-to-sale price ratio for sellers? For buyers? | Sellers: 99-103%; Buyers: at or below list in current buyer-favorable markets | No data available; "it depends" without specifics |
| 3 | What was your average days on market vs the local market average? | At or below local DOM average; ideally with specific numbers for both | Doesn’t know the local average; can’t produce their own number |
| 4 | Can you show me your closed transaction history for my target area from the MLS? | Yes, readily. They pull it up in 2 minutes. | Any resistance to showing this data; "I don’t share that" |
| 5 | Is real estate your full-time profession? How many hours do you work per week? | 40+ hours/week; real estate as primary income | Other primary career; vague about time commitment |
| 6 | Are you part of a team? If so, who would actually be handling my transaction? | Clarity on whether you’re signing with the team lead or being handed off | Bait-and-switch: the named agent hands you off to an unlicensed assistant or junior agent |
| 7 | What specific programs exist in this market for a buyer/seller in my situation? | Specific DPA programs, first-gen grants, veteran programs, HFA programs by name | Generic "there are lots of programs"; inability to name anything specific |
“The performance data conversation that reveals everything: "I pull up the MLS for every agent I’m considering recommending to a client. I look at their closed transactions in the last 12 months in the relevant zip codes and price range. I see how many, what price range, and I calculate the average list-to-sale ratio. It takes about 8 minutes. I’ve done this evaluation on agents who came referred from major brands with 5-star ratings and large social media followings and found 3 closed transactions in the last 12 months across multiple counties at 95% of list price. I’ve done it on agents with basic websites and few reviews who had 28 closed transactions in the target area at 101.2% of list price. The data almost never matches the marketing. The agents who can show you the data without hesitating — who actually want you to see it — are almost always the ones worth working with. The agents who redirect to testimonials and awards when you ask for transaction data are almost always the ones worth walking away from."”
— Ryan Brown, Principal Broker & CEO, Own Luxury Homes®
How do I know if a real estate agent is good?
Three data points are more predictive than any review or referral: (1) Local transaction volume: how many closings in your specific market/price range in the last 12 months (ask to see MLS data). (2) List-price-to-sale-price ratio: for sellers, this measures their ability to price and generate demand; for buyers, their negotiating effectiveness. (3) Days on market vs local average: listing agents should be at or below the local DOM average consistently. Also ask: is real estate their full-time profession? The median agent closes 2 homes per year (CFA study); the top 20% do 80-90% of all transactions. The data tells the story that stars and testimonials cannot.
Own Luxury Homes® — every specialist’s transaction data available on request. 12-Point Agent Integrity Audit™. Get a verified specialist’s performance data ›
"The introduction Own Luxury Homes® makes is to a specialist with documented closing history in your specific market — not the county, not the metro, the submarket you're actually selling or buying in. That's the standard we verify before your name goes anywhere."
— Ryan Brown, Principal Broker & CEO, Own Luxury Homes® (FL License BK3626873)