Most people never do this. In 2025, 74% of buyers interviewed exactly one agent before hiring, and 80% of sellers contacted only one. (NAR 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, Exhibits 4-8 and 7-3) Zillow’s 2026 survey found a little more shopping on the buyer side, with 46% contacting at least two agents, but 67% of sellers still hired the first and only agent they called. (Zillow Consumer Housing Trends Report 2026, Buyers; Zillow Consumer Housing Trends Report 2026, Sellers) For a decision that controls several thousand dollars in fees and a six-figure negotiation, that is less comparison shopping than most people do for a refrigerator.

The National Association of REALTORS® puts it plainly: “You may want to talk to a few agents to find the best match to help you on your homebuying journey.” (NAR Consumer Guide to Negotiating Written Buyer Agreements) This post is the how.

The plan in one table

Step What to do Time
1 Pick three candidates: one referral, one from your own research, one from a different brokerage 1 hour
2 Verify all three on the Mississippi Real Estate Commission lookup 10 minutes
3 Send each the same five written questions in advance 15 minutes
4 Hold three 30-minute conversations, ideally within the same week 90 minutes
5 Score them on the same sheet, call one reference each 1 hour
6 Decide, notify all three, negotiate the agreement before signing 30 minutes

Roughly four hours total. The median buyer searched for 10 weeks and the median seller’s home sat on the market for 4 weeks (NAR 2025 Profile), so four hours at the front end is a small fraction of the time you will spend with whoever you choose.

Step 1: Pick three, not one and not eight

Three is enough to see a range and few enough to actually finish. Pull them from different sources on purpose. Referrals are where most agents come from: 43% of buyers found their agent through a friend, neighbor, or relative, and 37% of sellers did. (NAR 2025 Profile) Online research is where more relationships now begin: 37% of 2026 buyers first found their agent online. (Zillow 2026, Buyers) Take one from each pool, and make sure at least one is from a different brokerage than the others so you are not comparing three versions of the same office policy.

Step 2: Verify before you call

Mississippi’s license lookup is public and free. (MREC Find Licensee) It shows license type, status, the supervising broker, and the original license date. Disciplinary actions are posted separately. (MREC Disciplinary Actions) Ten minutes here can save you a 30-minute interview.

Step 3: Send the same questions in advance

Agents give better answers when they are not improvising, and you get a fair comparison when everyone sees the same questions. Five to send ahead:

  1. How many homes did you close in the last 12 months, and how many were in my county and price range?
  2. What is your fee, what does it include, and how long is your agreement?
  3. Can your agreement be cancelled before it expires, and how?
  4. Who else will I be working with, and who is your supervising broker?
  5. Do you or your brokerage have any ownership or referral interest in a lender, title company, inspector, or home warranty company?

Question 5 is not paranoia. Federal law prohibits giving or accepting “any fee, kickback or other thing of value” for settlement-service referrals, and affiliated arrangements are legal only with written disclosure. (CFPB, 12 CFR § 1024.14) An agent who answers this one easily is an agent with nothing to disclose.

Step 4: What to expect in the room

Two things will happen at every interview in Mississippi that first-timers sometimes mistake for pressure.

First, the agent should hand you a form. The “Working With a Real Estate Broker” disclosure “MUST be completed at the FIRST meeting a real estate licensee has with a prospective client.” (MREC instructions) It is a disclosure of how agency works, not a hiring contract. Signing it does not commit you to that agent. An agent who skips it is skipping a legal step; an agent who presents it is doing the job correctly.

Second, the agent should ask whether you already have an exclusive agreement with someone else. REALTORS® “have an affirmative obligation to make reasonable efforts to determine whether the prospect is subject to a current, valid exclusive agreement.” (NAR 2026 Code of Ethics, Standard of Practice 16-9) If you do, the conversation can still happen when you initiate it, and the new agent “may enter into an agreement which becomes effective upon expiration of any existing exclusive agreement.” (Standard of Practice 16-6)

What should not happen: being asked to sign a representation or listing agreement at the interview itself. “You don’t have to sign an agreement that you don’t agree with, and you or the agent can walk away from a negotiation at any time.” (NAR Consumer Guide)

Step 5: Score on the things that matter

Sellers who used an agent in 2026 rated these characteristics “very” or “extremely” important: trustworthiness on first impression (80%), responsiveness (77%), local market knowledge (75%), community reputation (74%), and a strong recent sales history (69%). A lower commission (49%) and a recognizable brokerage brand (49%) ranked at the bottom. (Zillow 2026, Sellers) Buyers chose their agent most often for “local expertise” (38%) and “specialized skills: specific experience with my price point or property type” (33%). (Zillow 2026, Buyers)

A simple sheet, 1 to 5 on each:

Criterion Agent A Agent B Agent C
Recent closings in my county and price range
Clear, specific fee and agreement terms
Cancellation terms I can live with
Answered written questions before the meeting
Explained the disclosure form without being asked
Communication plan (how, how often, who)
Pricing method (sellers) or offer strategy (buyers) with data
No undisclosed vendor ties
Reference checked out

Fee is in the sheet but it is one line of nine. Mississippi’s average total commission in Clever’s August 2026 survey was 5.59%, split 2.81% on the seller side and 2.78% on the buyer side (Clever), and every agent you interview is allowed to quote something different because “compensation is fully negotiable and not set by law.” (NAR) A half-point difference in fee is real money. A two-point difference in sale price, from better pricing or negotiation, is more.

Step 6: Decide, notify, negotiate

Decide within a day or two while the conversations are fresh. Tell the two you did not choose; a one-line text is fine, and it keeps the door open if your first choice does not work out. Then negotiate the agreement before you sign it. “Agreements with your agent are negotiable, including terms about the services your agent will provide, how much your agent will be paid, how long your agreement will last, and more.” (NAR Consumer Guide) Mississippi requires exclusive listing and buyer agreements to be in writing with “a definite date of expiration.” (MREC Rule 3.2)

How I handle interviews at HomesRX

I expect to be one of three. I answer the five questions above in writing before we meet, and I bring the disclosure form and a copy of the actual agreement I would ask you to sign so you can read it at home rather than at a kitchen table with me watching. My fee is a number on page one. I will give you the names of my three most recent closed clients, not three I picked. And if you choose someone else, I would rather hear it than wonder. That is how I would want to be hired.

Frequently asked questions

Is it rude to tell an agent I am interviewing others?

No. It is normal and most experienced agents expect it. An agent who reacts badly to being compared is giving you useful information.

Can I interview two agents from the same brokerage?

You can, but you learn less. Fee policies, forms, and supervising broker will be the same. Use the slot for a different firm.

What if I am already under an agreement and unhappy?

You can still talk to other agents if you initiate the contact, and a new agreement can be written to begin when the old one expires. (NAR Standard of Practice 16-6) Read your current agreement’s cancellation terms first; post #18 in this series covers changing agents mid-process.

Related posts in this series

Continue the series

Dr. Zakk Varughese is the broker-owner of HomesRX in Brandon, Mississippi, a REALTIST® and Founder and Chairman of the Board of the Gulf Coast Association of REALTISTS®. Questions about buying or selling in Central Mississippi or on the Gulf Coast: (601) 667-8414 or SoldByZakk.com.

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