Is using an out-of-area agent a genius move or a massive mistake?

It’s time to choose an agent to sell your home. 

For many vendors, going with a local agent is the obvious choice. There’s a good chance they live in the area, have a thorough knowledge of recent sales, know all of a suburb’s drawcards and come with a database full of potential buyers. 

But should you also consider using an out-of-area agent? Or an “all-area” agent, which is how Max Pisano, principal at Melbourne’s MP Estate Agents, likes to describe himself.

For Pisano, the choice shouldn’t come down to whether an agent is in-area or out-of-area but should instead be about which agent is best for the job.

Comparable sales

In a suburb full of four-bedroom family homes with plenty of turnover, it’s easy to pinpoint the agents with the best sales track-record, and chances are they’ll be local.

Robert Allanadale from Tower Property Advisory, a vendor advocacy service based in Melbourne and operating nationally, says the in-area agent will have a list of buyers who are actively looking for similar properties in the area. They’ll know all the recent sales data, even when prices are undisclosed, and it’s likely they’ll have other current listings.

“Potential purchasers will be directed by that agent to other properties the agent has for sale, so a vendor will benefit from the marketing of those other properties at no cost to them,” he says.

On the flip side, says Pisano, your property becomes just one of many, and the agent can quickly shift the focus of the buyer from your property to another more suitable property.

“The out-of-area agent doesn’t have other properties to show the buyer and therefore will focus intently on selling them your home,” says Pisano.

Thinking of selling?: Get a free market appraisal

Out-of-area comparable sales

What if your home is a rare find in your suburb and comparable sales are few and far between?

Shannan Whitney, co-founder of Sydney’s BresicWhitney, says vendors will benefit from engaging an agent with experience in their property category, be that penthouses, architectural homes or acreage retreats.

He gives the example of warehouse listings in Balmain. 

“An agent who may sell a lot of $10 million waterfront properties may have had no exposure to the warehouse category, and therefore have no real understanding about what the drivers of that market are,” he says. “In that situation, having experience in a certain geography may not be a transferable skill.”

Whitney says agents might also establish a niche by specialising in a particular buyer category. 

“For example, there might be agents who have a certain history or amount of results in a certain postcode, yet may not have had any experience at all at a certain price point,” he explains.

“For some vendors it’s often about finding someone who gets the nuances with understanding values at a certain price point, and how the market responds to those price points, as opposed to geography.” 

Postcode v Lifestyle

In the past, buyers were known to target a specific suburb with a clear vision of exactly where they wanted to live. Today’s buyers are more lifestyle-driven, says Whitney.

“I think that buyers at all price points, whilst they have a preference or a liking for a certain neighbourhood or certain postcodes, they are driven by value and driven by lifestyle,” he says.

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“And thanks to affordability issues and a lack of inventory, I think people are forced to consider a range of different areas and consider which ultimately provides them with the best value. Buyers might say I’d love to live in Bondi, but I’m happy to look in Surry Hills.”

Whitney says this means an agent who has been exposed to a broader group of house-hunters across multiple regions can provide more value to vendors by leveraging an extensive cross-section of buyers to get the best price for a property.

Property prices: Track your home’s value

The tyranny of distance

There’s probably no more precious commodity to a real estate agent than time, so spending more time than necessary travelling to open homes and vendor appointments can be a real challenge.

“When an agent has to travel 10 kilometres across town to show the house to someone who may not be interested, they’re not as enthusiastic about it as a local agent is,” says Allanadale. “For the local agent, that’s just part of the job, they only have to drive a kilometre or so and it’s not such a burden for them.”

Off-market campaigns

If a vendor wants to sell off-market, perhaps to preserve privacy, save on marketing costs or in an attempt to secure a speedy sale, a local agent could be the best bet.

“A local agent will have more buyers to show that off-market property because they’re working with more people in the same area,” says Pisano. 

But when a property is marketed and advertised, Pisano believes it’s a level playing field for all agents, regardless of their geographic location.

“If you were sick and you wanted the best treatment, would you go to the local doctor or travel to where you would find the best doctor?” he asks.

“Regardless of whether the agent is prominent in an area or not, the skills they possess are what’s going to sell your home for the highest price, in a reasonable time, and with the least amount of stress.”

Considering selling?

Deciding to sell your home is one of the biggest property decisions you'll ever make, but the right preparation and research will make the process as smooth as possible.

Check out our Sellers Guide to know what we know