a) Research the real estate agent candidate's reputation through their social media, check on platforms such as Google, Yelp, and Facebook to see other people’s reviews.

b) Assess their professionalism by checking if they ever published any industry-related blogs or videos, if so, you can definitely tell their professionalism by their published content.

Below are some of the things a home seller should consider and questions to ask each of the real estate agent candidates.

a) Is the candidate capable of systematically and thoroughly introducing their listing service? A real estate agent’s ability to present themselves is often a good indicator of the level of service they are capable of delivering.

b) Check if each candidate has a detailed and specific marketing plan for promoting the property that’s beyond listing it on MLS. What platforms do these candidates use? What kind of marketing activities do they plan to run? What kind of exposure will they bring to the property? What kind of experience and success did they have in the past? These are all great questions to keep in mind, the better the candidates can respond to these questions, the more likely this candidate is a competent Toronto real estate agent.

c) Does each candidate have an existing database of potential buyers? How did they build up this database? How big is the database? How is the quality of the potential buyers?

d) Confirm if each candidate has any sort of ‘written’ performance guarantees? Such as communication guarantee, your home sold guarantee, etc. These must be written guarantees that are truthful and realistic. Don’t believe someone that promises the moon and stars without anything backing their claims.

e) Ask each candidate about their annual transaction volume, past sales history, and if they have a team. Although solo real estate agents can definitely provide exceptional service, a full-time real estate agent with a dedicated supporting team is often much more skilled. An experienced full-time real estate agent with a supporting team has more experience, they are more likely to help sellers negotiate the best price possible. Teams are often more responsive and well-rounded with talents across various aspects of a real estate transaction.

f) In Toronto and throughout Canada, the work of a real estate agent is as much a professional field as that of a lawyer or accountant. Even if the candidate is someone within the personal sphere, their professionalism and ability must be vetted thoroughly. They may not rip the seller off, and honesty and integrity are definitely important, but it's not sufficient. An honest but incompetent real estate agent can be just as costly to the seller as a dishonest real estate agent.

The next step will be to determine and select an appropriate Toronto real estate agent to represent you in the sale of your home. An exclusive listing agreement will need to be signed before the real estate agent can market your home to the general public.
Overall, the main criterion in selecting the right real estate agent to represent you in the sale of your home is their ability to effectively promote your home and their overall professionalism.

Trap Warning ⚠️:

Some sellers mistakenly believe that choosing a Toronto real estate agent is solely determined by the sale price they quote. This can be a BIG mistake. It is important to understand that the market dictates the selling price of a property, not the agent. A real estate agent can only use their marketing capability & negotiation to maximize the market price or even slightly higher than the market, but it will never be 30% above the current market. 

Selecting a real estate agent solely based on the highest sale price quote, without substantial evidence such as comparable sales in the neighbourhood and consideration of market trends, is a risky move. Not only may the seller be presented with an inflated price with the sole intention to get their listing, overpriced homes often stay on the market for an extensive period of time and end up selling for LOWER than the market price. 

Ultimately, sellers should be more concerned with how the real estate agent plans to sell the property and the effectiveness of their marketing and promotional strategies. The agent who excels in advertising and marketing the property is the one most likely to secure the highest price under the same market conditions.

a) In the Greater Toronto Area, buyers typically don't have to pay a commission to their real estate agent, instead, sellers pay for both buyer's & seller's real estate agent's commission. The commission is included in the property's listing price. The most common commission rate offered to the buyers' agents in Greater Toronto Area is 2.5% of the sale price. (And Yes, taxes are extra.)

b) The real estate agent will agree on the commission to be paid to the buyer's broker when signing the Seller's Representation Agreement Listing Agreement with the seller. This information is displayed in the Co-operating Brokerage Commission (CB Comm) section of the listing information for the buyer's real estate agent to view. It is the seller's freedom to pay the buyer's broker a commission, and while it is common to pay 2.5%, the seller may choose to pay only 2.25%, or less, or even only $1, meaning the seller does not pay the buyer's broker a commission, leaving the buyer to cover the buyer's broker's commission. Note that the downside of this is that for some Toronto real estate agents who only charge a commission based on the amount specified in the MLS, such a commission structure would be a disincentive to show the property. However, if the listing (seller) agent has a strong ability to attract buyers, or if the market is a strong seller's market, this could potentially save the seller commission. Also, some buyer's brokers have already set a commission for their services when they sign an agency agreement with their buyer's client. If this amount exceeds the seller's stipulation, the buyer can either make up the buyer's brokerage commission on their own, or they can engage the buyer's broker to negotiate with the seller to have the seller pay it. At this point, the seller needs to ensure that the net selling price, including the buyer's commission, still meets their expectations.

c) In the Greater Toronto Area, the more common seller's brokerage commission is currently 1.5% to 2%. However, in the Asian market, especially the Chinese market, realtor commissions tend to be lower or include services that are available in the mainstream market for an additional fee, such as staging upholstery. It is the common desire of all sellers to get good value for money, but please keep in mind that when searching for low commission brokerage services in Toronto, it is important to stick to the points mentioned above in the interview session and not sacrifice quality of service. Sellers need to look at the net benefit. A good marketing campaign can lead to more and better offers, which often ends up being far more profitable than the commission savings offered by a discount broker. The quality of a candidate real estate agent's marketing program, not the amount of commission, is the only indicator of a seller's agent!