Choosing the wrong selling agent could leave homeowners short-changed, with experts divided on whether local specialists still deliver the strongest result in a market where buyers are more informed than ever.
According to Ray White Urban Springs Licensee Andrew Huggins, one of the most damaging mistakes a seller can make is appointing an agent who does not work regularly in the property’s location.
“It happens all the time,” he said. “Sellers choose an agent because a friend recommended them, because they sold a property somewhere else or because they were persuasive during a listing presentation.
“But when you look at how property actually sells, the decision often defies logic.”
Drawing on his experience in the City of Belmont, Mr Huggins said strong sales campaigns were not built on exposure alone but on connecting the right buyers to the property quickly and creating competition between them.
He said the largest local agents often controlled the biggest buyer networks, benefiting from larger local databases, repeat buyers and established relationships with investors and developers.
“When a major local agent lists a property, they often already know multiple buyers who want it before the advertising even begins,” he said.
“They can call them, message them and bring them through immediately.
“An out-of-area agent may have a database, but it is not suburb specific and is usually scattered across many locations.
“That difference alone can determine whether you get two or 10 buyers competing – and competition drives price.”
Mr Huggins said agent recognition also influenced buyer behaviour more than many sellers realised.
He said if a property was listed by a well known area agent, buyers were more likely to assume it was priced realistically, was represented by someone who understood the local market and the property’s value, and was being handled professionally.
“This creates confidence, and confident buyers are more willing to act quickly and bid strongly,” Mr Huggins said.
“Out-of-area agents sometimes convince sellers they can outperform established local agents, but if an agent truly delivered better results in a suburb, they would already be selling there consistently.”
However, Realmark Urban Residential Sales Consultant Audrey Vaslet said the local agent advantage was not what it used to be.
“Buyers today are far more informed with the internet, and most of the times they’ve done their research before they even step into a home open,” she said.
“They can access recent sales, school zones and even future developments with ease.
“In most cases, they’ve already decided the suburb works for them.”
Ms Vaslet said sellers should focus less on whether an agent dominated a particular patch and more on how they handled the campaign.
While an agent’s local knowledge could still help with pricing and positioning, particularly when it came to understanding a suburb’s pockets, it might also create complacency.
“They may have preconceived ideas on the value of your home and if an offer comes in around that expected range, you will be comfortable that you have achieved a good price and the agent will push for a deal, rather than test the market further,” she said.
“That is where, as a seller, you are at risk of leaving money on the table.”
For Ms Vaslet, the bigger differentiators were persistence, follow-ups and negotiation.
“What really matters is strategy, marketing and how relentless the agent is in following up buyers, creating competition and negotiating every last dollar,” she said.
“That’s what drives a premium result over local knowledge.”
“Also, not every local agent is a good marketer or negotiator.
“Someone who’s been in the area a long time can be stretched too thin, with too many listings to give yours the attention it deserves.”
This article was originally published in The West Australian on Saturday 2 May 2026, written by Keren Bellos.