The most recent housing boom came to an end at some point in 2007. Since that time, home sellers are increasingly shocked at how far prices have come down. Using a Real Estate Agent with discounted commissions, is one way to maximize returns when it’s time to sell your house or condo.

Here are 10 reasons to consider using a discount real estate agent:

1. Over 85% of home buyers now start their home search on the internet. The buyer is now in control, in a way that they never were before. In the past, the buyer needed to rely on their real estate agent to find every appropriate home on the market to show them. Now, by the time most buyers contact a real estate agent, they already know what homes they want to see. They do not know, nor do they care, how much commission is being offered to facilitate the sale of the home.

2. Commission is not the factor that gets your home sold. It is not even in the top 10 factors. A buyer decides what home to make an offer on, based on many factors that are important to them. These factors might include location, home condition, view, and most importantly, PRICE.

3. List price is the most important factor when it comes to selling your home. The buyer has many tools at their disposal to compare between similar homes on the market. They will make their short list of homes to visit based on which homes offer them the most, for the best list price.

4. A discount, flat fee, or flat rate REALTOR ®, can be a great REALTOR ®. Like with any business model, such as higher commission models, you will find a wide range of performance between various real estate professionals. A discount real estate model, offers something of value to the consumer, that is highly marketable. Many of the real estate agents who choose this route, choose it because they recognize how it can both offer something to the consumer, while still being a lucrative career path.

5. When it comes to selling your house or condo, MLS ® is the tool that gets the job done. The majority of home sales take place because the buyer learned of a home for sale via MLS ®, (either through an automated search from a real estate agent, or from searching themselves). A discount real estate agent is aware of this, and will make sure to optimize your MLS ® listing for maximum exposure.

6. For the minority of home selling transactions that are successful via selling tools besides MLS ®, most discount REALTORs ®, offer a variety of other marketing avenues in addition to MLS ®. Examples of marketing methods that may be offered include open houses, signage, additional online exposure, brochures, or text information sign toppers. Each real estate agent determines their own marketing plan, so it is important to ask about this before making a decision.

7. It takes just as much work to sell a $400,000 home, as it does to sell a $200,000 home. That being the case, why choose to pay significantly more commission to get the job done?

8. When it comes to selling your house or condo, there is no magic bullet. Many home sellers are under the impression that paying higher commission results in gaining access to higher level home selling connections or techniques. This is simply not the case. MLS ® and list price sell your home, whether you choose to pay more commission or not.

9. To increase the chances that your home will sell at a higher price, make sure your home shows well. This is far more effective in winning over a potential buyer than offering more commission to the cooperating REALTOR ®. To this end, there are many things you can do to get your home ready. Some examples include taking care of basic maintenance, hiring a cleaning crew to come in, and ensuring the home is clutter free.

10. The times are changing. At one time, real estate agents held all of the cards when it came to bringing buyer and seller together in a real estate transaction. This is not the case today. New technology is changing the face of real estate, and there’s no going back.