The best questions to ask a realtor cut straight to results: how many homes they’ve actually sold near you in the last year, what their commission really covers, and how they landed on your list price. Ask these before you sign anything. The right answers save you from a stale listing and, often, $8,586 or more in fees.
Here’s the thing most people get wrong. They interview a realtor the way they’d chat with a contractor about a kitchen remodel, then hire whoever seemed nicest. Nice matters. But nice doesn’t get your house sold for full price in a soft market, and nice definitely doesn’t hand you back the difference between a 6% commission and a 1% listing fee.
I’ve watched sellers leave real money on the table because they never asked the hard questions. So let’s fix that. Below are the 15 I’d put in front of any agent before I let them list my home, grouped the way you’d actually work through a first meeting. Steal the whole list.
Questions About Their Track Record (1-3)
Skip the years-in-business line. Anyone can be “in real estate for 15 years” and close four homes a year. What you want is recent, local, relevant proof.
1. How many homes have you personally closed in the last 12 months? Volume tells you they’re active, not dabbling. A full-time agent in a normal market handles a dozen or more sides a year. If the number is vague, that’s your answer.
2. Have you sold homes in my specific neighborhood or price band? A great agent two towns over can still be the wrong agent for your street. Buyers pay for local knowledge, and so should you. Ask for three recent addresses you can look up.
3. Will I be working with you or handing off to a junior team member? Team models are fine, but you deserve to know who shows up for pricing, negotiations, and problems. Get the name of the person who’ll actually answer your texts at 8 p.m. on a Sunday.
Questions About Commission and Fees (4-6)
This is the section people rush through, and it’s the one that costs the most. Commission is negotiable. It always has been, and after the 2024 NAR settlement changed how buyer-agent pay gets handled, it’s more negotiable than ever.
4. What’s your total commission, and exactly what does it cover? Get the full number in writing: your listing-side fee plus whatever you’re offering a buyer’s agent. On a median-priced U.S. home of $429,300 (that’s the May 2026 figure from the National Association of Realtors), a 3% listing fee is $12,879. That’s not a rounding error. That’s a year of car payments.
5. Is your fee negotiable, and what happens to it if you also represent the buyer? Watch how they react. A confident agent explains their pricing without getting defensive. If they act insulted that you asked, imagine how they’ll negotiate on your behalf.
6. What other costs will I owe at closing? Transfer taxes, title fees, prorated taxes, attorney costs in some states. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau keeps a plain-English rundown of closing costs worth reading before you sit down. A good agent walks you through your net sheet on day one, not the day before you close.
Questions About Pricing Your Home (7-9)
Overpricing is the single most common way a listing dies. The fix is a data conversation, not a flattery contest.
7. How did you arrive at this list price? Show me the comps. You want three to five recent, nearby, similar sales, plus an honest read on what’s active and pending right now. Beware the agent who quotes you the highest number to win the listing, then pushes a price cut three weeks later.
8. What’s your average list-to-sale ratio and days on market? These two stats tell you whether their pricing tends to hold. An agent whose homes sell close to asking, quickly, is pricing right. One with a wide gap is buying listings with big promises.
9. What’s the plan if it doesn’t sell in 30 days? Every honest agent has a plan B. Price adjustment triggers, fresh photos, a staging tweak, a new feature push. If the only answer is “we’ll lower the price,” that’s a strategy of one.
Questions About Marketing and Communication (10-13)
The MLS is table stakes. What separates agents is everything after the listing goes live, and how they keep you in the loop while it’s live.
10. Walk me through your marketing plan beyond just posting to the MLS. Professional photography, yes, but also floor plans, video or a 3D tour, targeted social ads, an email blast to their buyer list, broker previews. Get specifics. “We’ll put it everywhere” is not a plan.
11. Who pays for and handles photos, staging, and showings? Photos are the first showing now. Most buyers start their search online, and dim iPhone shots get scrolled past. Find out what’s included in the fee and what costs extra before you’re surprised on the invoice.
You’ll also spend 30 to 60 days in close contact with this person during one of the biggest financial moves of your life. Mismatched communication styles turn that into misery.
12. How and how often will you update me, even when nothing’s happening? Some agents text every showing’s feedback within the hour. Others go quiet for a week. Neither is wrong, but you should know which you’re getting and whether it matches what you need.
13. Can I talk to your last three sellers? References are the tell. A strong agent hands them over instantly. Call those people and ask the real question: “Would you hire them again?” You can also check their reviews and their standing under the NAR Code of Ethics if they’re a Realtor.
Questions About the Contract and the Close (14-15)
The paperwork is where good intentions meet reality. Read it, and ask before you sign.
14. What am I actually signing, and how long is the listing agreement? Ninety days is common. Six months locks you in with someone you can’t fire if it’s not working. Ask about the cancellation terms too. A confident agent doesn’t need a long leash.
15. Do you handle title and mortgage in-house? This one gets skipped and it shouldn’t. When your agent, title, and lending sit under one roof, closings move faster and fewer things fall through the cracks between three companies who’ve never met. At Houwzer, title runs through our own Newfound Title, so the left hand always knows what the right is doing.
How Houwzer Answers the Big Questions to Ask a Realtor
I’ll be straight with you: I run this list partly because Houwzer holds up well against it, and I want you to see the difference in daylight.
We’re a full-service brokerage with top-tier agents. The catch that isn’t a catch is the fee. Instead of the traditional 2.5% to 3% listing side, our listing fee is 1%. Run the math on that median $429,300 home:
| Traditional listing fee (3%) | Houwzer (1% listing fee) | |
|---|---|---|
| Listing-side commission | $12,879 | $4,293 |
| You keep | — | $8,586 more |
| Service level | Full-service | Full-service |
| Title under one roof | Usually separate | In-house (Newfound Title) |
That’s $8,586 back on the listing side alone at the national median, and on higher-priced homes our sellers typically save $12,000 to $15,000. Same photography, same negotiation, same person answering your Sunday-night text. You’re just not overpaying for it. If you want the deeper breakdown, I wrote up how 1% commission agents save sellers thousands and a piece on what a fair real estate fee actually looks like.
The point isn’t “hire Houwzer.” The point is that these questions to ask a realtor work no matter who you interview. Ask them of us, ask them of the agent your neighbor recommended, and hire whoever gives you real answers instead of a warm handshake and a mystery invoice. If you’re selling in the Mid-Atlantic, you can see our fee spelled out for low commission Realtors in Pennsylvania or start with our top-rated low-commission Realtors.
Print the 15. Bring them to every meeting. The agent who welcomes them is usually the one you want.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the single most important question to ask a realtor?
“How did you arrive at this list price, and can you show me the comps?” Pricing drives everything: how fast you sell, whether you get multiple offers, and your final number. An agent who prices with real data beats one who wins your listing with the highest guess and then talks you into a cut three weeks later.
What questions should I ask a realtor about commission?
Ask for the total commission in writing, what the listing side covers versus what you’re offering a buyer’s agent, and whether the fee is negotiable. Commission is always negotiable. On a $429,300 home, cutting the listing side from 3% to 1% keeps roughly $8,586 in your pocket, so this is the question that pays for itself.
How many homes should a good realtor sell per year?
There’s no magic number, but a full-time agent in a normal market typically closes a dozen or more sides a year. What matters more is recency and location: homes sold in your neighborhood and price range in the last 12 months. Ask for three recent addresses you can verify yourself.
Should I interview more than one realtor before choosing?
Yes. Interview at least two or three. Run the same 15 questions past each one and compare the answers side by side. You’ll quickly spot who prices with data, who has a real marketing plan, and who’s just pleasant. The conversation is free, and the difference between agents can be tens of thousands of dollars.
Is it rude to ask a realtor to lower their commission?
Not at all, and any good agent expects it. Commission has always been negotiable, and it’s more so since the 2024 NAR settlement changed how buyer-agent pay is handled. Watch how they respond: an agent who explains their pricing calmly is one who’ll negotiate well for you. One who gets defensive just showed you how they handle pressure.
Further reading: Before you get to the interview questions, start with the bigger picture on how to choose a real estate agent and what actually moves money.
