How to Know If You're Ready to Hire a Real Estate Agent

Buying and selling have gotten harder to start. First-time buyers fell to 21% of the market in 2025, the lowest share since NAR began tracking in 1981, and their median age rose to a record 40. (NAR 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers) About a third of mortgage buyers (31%) were denied financing at least once before they were approved. (Zillow, Agents Add Value) None of that means you should wait to talk to an agent. It means the conversation goes better when you know where you stand. Here is a self-assessment for buyers and one for sellers, and a note on what “ready” does and does not require.

Readiness, at a glance

The first column is a low bar on purpose. A first conversation costs nothing and signing nothing; the written agreement is required only when an agent starts providing services such as “identifying potential properties and arranging tours.” (NAR Consumer Guide to Open Houses and Written Agreements) Post #19 in this series covers what that first meeting looks like.

Buyers: five questions

1. Do you know what you can borrow, from a lender rather than a calculator? Pre-approval is the single most useful thing you can bring to an agent, and most buyers know it: 47% got pre-approved within their first three homebuying activities, and 94% of mortgage buyers were pre-approved by the time they bought. (Zillow Consumer Housing Trends Report 2026, Buyers) It also unlocks showings, because many sellers will not allow them without it. If you are not sure you will qualify, talk to a lender first; the agent can suggest one, but the lender’s answer is what sets your search.

2. Do you have the cash, and do you know what it is for? The median down payment in 2025 was 19% across all buyers, 10% for first-time buyers and 23% for repeat buyers, the highest for first-timers since 1989. (NAR) A 10% down payment on a $270,000 Rankin County home is $27,000 (Zillow, Rankin County), but you do not need 10%; several loan programs allow far less. What you cannot skip is closing costs, which your lender must itemize in a Loan Estimate within three business days of your application. (CFPB, Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure guide) Know the two numbers, down payment and closing costs, before you fall in love with a house. Seller concessions can cover some closing costs, and they appeared in 44.7% of U.S. sales in the three months ending August 2026, but you cannot count on them. (Redfin)

3. Do you know your timeline? The median buyer searched for 10 weeks in 2025, looked online for 2 weeks before contacting an agent, and viewed 7 homes. (NAR 2025 Generational Trends Report) Add 30 to 45 days from contract to closing. If your lease ends in six weeks, you are late, not early; if it ends in eight months, you can take your time with the lender and start the agent conversation in a few months. Both are fine as long as you know which one you are.

4. Can you write down what you want? Price ceiling, areas, must-haves, deal-breakers. Half of buyers say the thing they most want from an agent is help finding the right home (NAR 2025 Profile); the agent cannot do it from “something nice with a yard.” You do not need certainty. You need a starting point that you will revise after the first few showings.

5. Are you prepared to commit, for a short term? Since August 2024, a written buyer agreement is required before an agent tours a home with you. (NAR, What the Settlement Means) It can be short; NAR notes the term can be “one day, one month, one house, one zip code.” (NAR, Written Buyer Agreements 101) If you are not ready to sign anything, that is a signal you are still in the research phase, which is a fine place to be, and agents can still answer questions and attend open houses with you without an agreement.

Sellers: five questions

1. Do you know your number? Your mortgage payoff, any second liens, and what you need to net. The agent will estimate closing costs and commission, which is “fully negotiable and not set by law” (NAR), but the agent cannot tell you whether a sale works for you until you know what you owe and what you need.

2. Do you know why you are selling, and how firm the timeline is? “We need to be in Madison before school starts” and “we’d sell if we got the right price” are different listings with different pricing strategies. Be honest with yourself before you are honest with the agent.

3. Could the house be shown within 30 days? Not perfect; showable. Declutter, repairs you already know about, the yard. Sellers rank pricing and market knowledge as their agent’s most valuable contribution (Zillow 2026, Sellers), but pricing assumes a presentable product. An agent can advise on what to fix; you have to be ready to do it.

4. Have you started the disclosure? Mississippi requires the seller of a one-to-four-unit home to deliver a Property Condition Disclosure Statement to a buyer “prior to the signing by the buyer of an offer to purchase.” (MREC, Property Condition Disclosure Statement) Reading it before you list tells you what buyers will ask about and what you may want to fix or price for.

5. Do you know where you are going? Most sellers are also buyers. If you need the proceeds from this sale to buy the next home, tell the agent; it changes the contract terms (sale contingencies, closing dates, possible leaseback) and the timing. Repeat buyers put down a median 23% in 2025, usually from equity in the home they sold. (NAR)

Signs you are not ready yet, and what to do instead

• You do not know your credit score or have recent collections. Talk to a lender or a HUD-approved housing counselor first; six months of repair can change your rate materially.
• You have no cash for closing costs. Build it, or find out whether a down-payment assistance program applies to you. The agent can wait.
• You are selling because of a crisis with no plan for after. A good agent will help you think it through, but a good agent will also not list a home a client cannot afford to leave.
• Your timeline is “sometime.” That is fine; it just means you are in the research phase. Read, attend open houses, and talk to agents without signing.

Signs you are more ready than you think

• You have a pre-approval letter, even if it is lower than you hoped. An agent can show you what it buys.
• You rent and your lease ends in four to six months. That is exactly the window.
• You have equity and a reason to move but feel overwhelmed by the process. Overwhelm is what the agent is for; 56% of buyers who used an agent said the agent was their most helpful resource, ahead of any app or website. (Zillow, Agents Add Value)

What “ready” does not require

It does not require knowing the market; that is the agent’s job (post #38 in this series). It does not require perfect credit or 20% down. It does not require having picked a neighborhood. And it does not require being certain you will buy or sell; a first conversation is an information-gathering step, and the agreement that commits you can be as short as a single day. The thing it requires is honesty about your finances and your timeline, because every piece of advice an agent gives depends on them.

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