I shudder to think about how many real agents I’ve spoken with over the years, from all parts of the country. However diverse they might be in their personal characteristics they’ve been near-unanimous in one aspect of their thinking: client loyalty runs to them as individuals rather than to their firm.
J.D. Power’s 2013 Home Buyer / Seller Satisfaction Study suggests that a large majority of agents may be misguided:
“A real estate company’s agent remains the most important aspect of the customer’s experience among first-time and repeat home buyers and sellers; however, customer loyalty is first to the company and second to the agent,” said [J.D. Power’s Christina] Cooley. “Interestingly, less than 20 percent of customers say they “definitely will” switch real estate companies if the sales agent moves to another company. In the end, it is the combination of the company’s standards, processes and approach to addressing customer needs combined with outstanding execution by the sales agent that will truly differentiate the customer experience.”
The J.D. Power survey is limited to clients of large real estate firms.