b'choosing and using.a real estate agentWhen it becomes tougher to sell your house, having a good real estate agent on board is a necessity.A couple of years ago, you could sell a house without much troublethe targets and understand the best way to reach them. You have to and within a couple of weeks. Thats when the market was booming.package and price the product correctly and market it well. This is not Now, that market has gone flat, and buyers can suddenly take theira market for short cuts.time to make decisions. In this type of climate, sellers have to be farWhere do you start? Scan through the local property media and see more competitive to make their home stand out from the crowd.which agents are busy in your area.Take a note of names on local The solution? Get a great real estate personone who accepts thatfor sale signs. Be careful, however, about selecting somebody on the real estate market has changed and has adjusted their businessthe strength of their visibility. Just because a salesperson has bought and marketing strategy to deal with it. According to Ian Keightleyadvertising space for their vendors or put up signs outside homes, of Salescoach training, this market requires a positive attitude and adoesntactuallymeantheywereabletosellthosehomes,says whole new skill set that many agents havent learned. He says aroundMegan Jaffe of Megan Jaffe, Ray White Real Estate, in Aucklands 60% of those currently selling real estate have never experienced atop-end suburb of Remuera. market like this before.Megan believes that word of mouth is best. Look for a proven He advises sellers to be meticulous in their approach when employingtrackrecordofpeoplewhohaverecentlybeenthroughthe an agent. Be verycareful. Theyve got to understand the principlesexperience of selling and ask for testimonials. They must be able to of marketingthey have to know the product [your home], identifydemonstrate results.84'