Guide · updated 2026-09-18

What questions should I ask a luxury real estate agent before hiring one?

Ask for every sale the agent closed in your price band in the last 24 months, the list-to-sale ratio and days on market for each, the itemized marketing budget and who pays it, which person on the team will handle your file, and how the agent treats dual agency. Then check the answers against public records before signing anything.

Questions about the track record

Start with the questions that have verifiable answers. How many homes have you closed above this price in the last two years, and what were the addresses? On each, what was the original list price, the final sale price, and the days on market? How many of your listings in this band expired or were withdrawn in that period? Who represented the buyer on each sale, and how many were buyers you brought yourself? An agent working at the top of the market can answer these from memory or from a one-page printout. An agent who has to get back to you is usually reconstructing a record that is thinner than the website suggests.

Interpret the numbers rather than collecting them. A list-to-sale ratio near 100 percent with short days on market means the agent prices well. A pattern of large reductions followed by long marketing periods means the agent tells sellers what they want to hear. Expired listings are not disqualifying in a slow band, but ask why each one failed. A listing withdrawn and relisted with the same agent at a lower price is a reduction wearing a disguise, and the days-on-market clock that buyers see may have reset. Ask specifically whether any address on the list was relisted.

Then ask about capacity and staffing. Who will I actually work with, and what is that person's own closing record? How many active listings does the team carry right now? Who answers when you are traveling? How are showing requests handled after hours and on weekends? Who writes the offer and who negotiates the counter? If the presentation was made by the team leader and the answers point to someone else, interview that person before you decide. Ask also how many transactions the team closed last year and how many people did the work, because a high closing count spread across many agents is a different business from one agent with a strong personal record.

Questions about pricing

Pricing a luxury home is judgment applied to thin evidence, so make the agent show the work. Which comparable sales did you use, and what adjustments did you make for lot, view, condition and finish? What is the price band that closed sales support, and where in that band do you propose to list? What is the difference between your suggested list price and the price at which you expect the home to close? What happens at 30, 60 and 90 days if there is no acceptable offer? An agent who has thought about the reduction schedule before the listing starts is protecting your outcome; one who has not is protecting the listing appointment.

Two more questions separate honest pricing from flattery. First: at what price would you decline to take this listing? Every good agent has one, because a listing that cannot sell costs them marketing money and reputation. Second: if a buyer needs a jumbo loan, how do you expect the appraisal to come in, and what is the plan if it falls short? Financed buyers at the top of the market face appraisal risk because comparables are scarce, and an agent who has handled appraisal gaps will describe the mechanics without hesitation.

Questions about marketing and money

Ask for the marketing plan as a line-item budget with names. Who is the photographer, and can I see three of their recent luxury shoots? Will there be video, drone, twilight photography, floor plans and a 3D tour? Which print publications, which international portals, which brand networks, and at what cost? Are staging, pre-listing inspections and repairs your expense or mine? How will you reach agents who represent buyers in this band, and can I see the email or brochure you sent for your last listing? Then ask what the brokerage does if the listing expires without a sale: does the marketing spend come back to you in any form, or is it simply gone?

The commission conversation is short if you ask precise questions. What is your fee, and is it negotiable? What is included, and what is billed separately? What happens to the fee if you also represent the buyer? Will I be asked to offer compensation or concessions to the buyer's broker, and how will you advise me on the amount? Since August 2024, offers of buyer-broker compensation cannot be published in a Realtor-affiliated MLS, so the answer should describe how the agent handles that negotiation offer by offer rather than through a default number.

Finally, ask how the agent handles privacy and off-market exposure. Do you use office exclusives or private networks before a public launch? Under the Clear Cooperation Policy, what can you do before the listing goes into the MLS, and what would trigger the one-business-day submission rule? Who inside your brokerage will see my home before the public does, and what stops a colleague from bringing a buyer and pushing for a quick, quiet sale? The right answer explains the trade-off between privacy and exposure and leaves the decision with you.

Questions for buyers to ask

Buyers now sign a written agreement before touring, so ask about its terms first. How are you compensated, and what happens if the seller will not contribute? What is the term, is it exclusive, and how do I cancel if it is not working? Does the agreement cover every property I look at or only the ones you show me? Are you willing to cap your fee on a purchase above a certain price? A luxury buyer has leverage in this negotiation, and an agent who refuses to discuss the terms in plain language is not the agent for a seven-figure purchase.

Then ask about access and execution. How do you find homes that are not on the market, and how many of your last ten purchases were off-market? Which listing agents in this band have you closed with in the past year? Have you handled cash purchases through an LLC or trust, and how did you protect the client's identity? Which lenders have you seen close jumbo loans on time at this price, and which have failed? Which attorneys, inspectors and insurance brokers do you rely on, and why? The answers should be specific names and recent dates, not categories.

Close with references. Ask for two clients who transacted in your band within the last year, one of whom had a deal that went wrong somewhere along the way. How an agent handled a failed inspection, a low appraisal or a seller who tried to renegotiate tells you more than any closing that went smoothly. Call both references, and ask each one the same question: would you hire this person again at this price? If the agent cannot produce a reference from your band in the last year, the closing record you were shown may be older or thinner than it looked.

Where the answer changes

Massachusetts: Massachusetts allows dual agency only with the informed written consent of both buyer and seller, and requires the Mandatory Licensee-Consumer Relationship Disclosure at the first personal meeting about a specific property. Ask how the brokerage handles an in-house buyer for your home before you sign.
New Jersey: New Jersey contracts written by agents are subject to a three-business-day attorney review period, and the state permits disclosed dual agency. Ask which attorney the agent recommends and how they handle an in-house buyer.
Washington: Washington's revised agency law required written buyer brokerage services agreements starting January 1, 2024, before the national practice change. Ask to see the brokerage's form and its compensation and termination terms before your first showing.
Illinois: Illinois brokerages commonly use designated agency, where the managing broker assigns different agents in the same office to the buyer and the seller. Ask whether that is the practice, and how confidential information is walled off between the two sides.
Georgia: In Georgia, a licensed attorney must conduct the closing. Ask which closing attorney the agent works with and who selects them, since that choice affects the timeline and the fees.