British Columbia · Seller Report
Most buyers do not find your home. Their agent shows it to them.
Sellers imagine a buyer browsing online and falling in love. It happens — but a large share of sales start with a buyer’s agent who has a client with matching criteria and puts your home in front of them within hours of it going live.
Which means an agent’s reach into the buying side of the market is worth more than most of what appears on a marketing brochure.
Part one
The four channels, and what each is actually worth
MLS® and the agent alert system
By a wide margin the most important. The moment your listing hits the board, alerts fire to every agent with a client whose criteria match. Those agents call their buyers that day.
This is why launch timing and getting the listing details right — property type, price band, features — matters so much. A mis-categorised listing does not reach the alerts it should.
Agent-to-agent networks
The part that does not show up on any brochure. An agent who is actively in contact with other agents can tell a colleague “I have something coming that suits your client” before it is live.
Ask the question directly: how many agents will personally hear about my listing from you in the first week? The answer, and how confidently it is given, tells you a lot.
The agent’s own buyer database
Any established agent is working with buyers right now and has a database of people who looked last year and are still watching. Some of your best prospects are already on somebody’s list.
Ask: how many active buyers are you working with in my price band and area?
Portals and paid advertising
Real and worth doing — but mostly a syndication of the MLS® listing, reaching the same buyers a day or two later. Paid social advertising can add genuine reach, particularly for unusual properties.
Useful. Not the main event, whatever the brochure suggests.
Part two
What this means for how you choose an agent
Ask about the buying side
Most listing presentations are about marketing your home. Ask instead how many buyers they are currently working with in your price band, and how many agents they will personally contact about your listing in week one.
Local matters more than large
An agent who works your specific area every week knows which colleagues have clients looking on your street. A national brand with no local presence does not. Buyers find homes through MLS®, not by walking into a branch.
What you offer the buyer’s brokerage matters
In most residential transactions the seller’s brokerage offers compensation shared with the buyer’s brokerage. It is negotiable — and reducing it narrows the pool of agents who will prioritise showing your home.
Watch out for
This is the hidden cost in a cut-rate listing fee. Ask any agent quoting a low total what it means for the buyer’s side, and get the answer in writing.
Be easy to show
All the reach in the world is wasted if a buyer’s agent cannot get in on Saturday afternoon. Every declined showing is a buyer who views something else instead.
Questions we get asked
Do I need a big brokerage to reach buyers?
No. Buyers find homes through MLS® and the portals that syndicate from it, so the listing reaches the same places regardless of the sign in the garden. What varies is the individual agent’s network, their buyer database and the quality of the marketing.
What about an exclusive or off-market listing?
Some sellers have genuine reasons — privacy, a tenant, a sensitive situation. Understand the trade-off: fewer buyers see it, which generally means a lower price. There are also board rules requiring that a seller be advised in writing of the consequences of not publishing to MLS®. Make sure that conversation actually happens.
Should I offer a bonus to the buyer’s agent?
It happens, particularly on properties that have been sitting. It can increase showing activity. It is also not a substitute for correct pricing — if the price is wrong, a bonus brings agents who then advise their buyers not to write.
How quickly should my listing be everywhere?
It should be on MLS® the day it goes live and syndicated to the major portals within roughly 24 to 48 hours. Check it yourself a couple of days after launch, and tell your agent if anything is missing or wrong.
Ask us about the buying side
How many buyers we are working with in your price band, and how many agents will personally hear about your listing in week one. It is the question most sellers never think to ask.
Call 778‑234‑2000 Prefer to write? Send a message insteadPlease note: MLS® is a registered trademark owned by The Canadian Real Estate Association. Commission arrangements are negotiable. This page is general information about British Columbia and Canadian rules, current at the time of writing, and is not legal, tax, financial or mortgage advice. Figures and programs change — confirm anything you intend to rely on with the relevant authority or a qualified professional. Sonny Bhinder is a licensed REALTOR®, not a lawyer, accountant or mortgage broker. Not intended to solicit properties currently listed for sale, or to cause a breach of an existing agency relationship.