You need the best realtor you can get, and then it's all about price.

I think a realtor makes a difference in that a bad one can really hurt you and a good one is at least neutral or doesn't negatively affect you. After that, you have have to get the price right.

Price counts heavily in the beginning BUT when you get down to the paper work a good agent can save you a lotta grief whereas a poor one will cause you alot of grief. So yes a good agent makes alot of difference.

Its all about marketing. A good realtor should market your house to the public in such a way as to attract buyers who might have passed you by. My Realtor was phenomenal! I could write a book about all the things she did to promote my home during a terrible market.

I know I would never have gotten my price, nor sell as fast if she didn't handle everything. Selling is much more than price.

Jane

Its all about marketing.

I disagree. A house with the best marketing plan but the wrong price will not sell. A house that is priced right with NO marketing plan will sell.

All things being equal (between competing houses where value and price are not far apart), a good realtor can make the difference. A poor one can cost you dearly. I would suspect the quality of a realtor is most important in bad housing markets. One up side of the housing bust, is that it weeded out the more dedicated and professional realtors from the less serious ones who didn't depend on it for a living.

That being said........it's also important to find one who will be honest with you about pricing, consider your sale worth their time, be available for contact. I don't necessarily look for the 'million dollar agent'. In easier days, they may have made their sales by being picky listers and applying pressure to buyers. I've had to work through a couple of those to make purchases and their obnoxiousness almost cost the seller their deal. There is almost ALWAYS another place to buy.

The question isn't "Can a good agent make a difference?" The obvious answer to that is yes. The real questions is "How much of a difference can an agent make?" The final sales price of a home is going to depend primarily on the market and a bit of luck. A good negotiator might move the price a percent or so, but you shouldn't count on that.

In this market, the big question is how long it takes to sell at a fair price. That is where a good agent can make a difference. Someone with a good relationship with area agent can get the word out and drive some traffic better than a website or MLS listing alone. If houses in your area are sitting for many months, then a good agent might save you 6 mortgage payments worth of interest.

It's both.

My realtor help me set the proper asking price for my place in a terrible local market. Believe it or not, I was willing to settle for $40,000 less than what she suggested.

I listed it on a Wednesday and had a firm contract on Friday of the same week with only a 1% discount off the asking price. The buyers were a bit difficult to deal with but I didn't have to do anything - my realtor handled it all and we closed last week.

Without a great person representing you, you are at everyone's mercy.

Also, why would you chose an less than stellar agent? You pay them all the same. As far as I'm concerned, she earned her 3%. My house didn't languish on the market for months and months on end and I got 99% of my asking price. What's not to like?