How to Test a Real Estate Agent's Knowledge Before Hiring

Buyers say the main reason they picked their agent was “local expertise” (38%) or “specialized skills: specific experience with my price point or property type” (33%). (Zillow Consumer Housing Trends Report 2026, Buyers) Yet 54% of buyers hired the first agent they contacted, and the median buyer spoke to their agent only twice before hiring. (Zillow 2026, Buyers) That means most people are judging expertise on a single conversation. You can do better in the same amount of time by asking questions that have checkable answers. Here are ten, with what a good answer sounds like and how to verify it.

The ten-question test

Questions 1 to 3: does the agent know the market today?

Days on market. The national median was 51 days in September 2026 (Redfin); Mississippi homes were going pending in about 36 days (Zillow), and the state’s median days on market as tracked by the St. Louis Fed runs higher. (FRED) The right answer is not any of those numbers; it is your zip code’s number, with the month it was measured. An agent who gives you a national figure, or says “things are moving fast” with no number, has not looked recently.

List-to-sale ratio. The national median sale was 98.5% of final list in September 2026, and 19.8% of listings had a price drop. (Redfin) Ask for the agent’s own ratio against original list price, not final. An agent whose listings sell at 97% of the original price with no reductions is pricing well. One whose listings sell at 99% of final after two cuts is not, even though the second number sounds better.

Concessions. Sellers gave concessions in 44.7% of U.S. sales in the three months ending August 2026, the highest August share since at least 2020. (Redfin) A good agent knows whether that is true in your price band locally, and can tell you what a typical credit looks like. This is the question that most separates working agents from occasional ones, because the only way to know is to have been in recent negotiations.

Questions 4 to 6: does the agent know the law and the contract?

The disclosure statement. Mississippi’s Property Condition Disclosure Statement applies to “residential property (1 to 4 units),” and the Commission’s form states that the statutes “require the seller of residential real property to cause a PCDS or a copy thereof to be delivered to a buyer prior to the signing by the buyer of an offer to purchase or a binding contract of sale.” (MREC, Property Condition Disclosure Statement) If it arrives late, the buyer has “three (3) days after delivery in person or five (5) days after delivery by deposit in the mail, to terminate his or her offer.” (Miss. Code § 89-1-503) The form is “NOT a warranty of any kind” and “not a substitute for any inspection(s) or test(s).” (MREC PCDS) A good answer covers all three points: who, when, and the buyer’s remedy. An agent who hesitates is hesitating on something they handle in every transaction.

Agency. Every Mississippi licensee must give you the Working With a Real Estate Broker form, which lists the relationships available and the duties each carries. (MREC form) Ask the agent to explain, without the form, the difference between representing you and being a dual agent, and what you give up in the second case. Acting for both sides “without the knowledge of all parties” is grounds for discipline. (Miss. Code § 73-35-21(1)(e)) Post #14 in this series has the full answer so you can grade theirs.

Contingencies. A competent agent can explain, in plain language, the financing, appraisal, and inspection contingencies, what happens to your earnest money under each, and what waiving each one risks. Earnest money must go into a trust account within “two (2) banking days.” (Mississippi Real Estate License Law, § 73-35-21) If the explanation is “don’t worry, I’ll handle it,” that is a worse answer than a slightly clumsy correct one.

Question 7: can the agent price a house in front of you?

Pricing is the service sellers value most, with 42% calling it their agent’s single most valuable contribution. (Zillow 2026, Sellers) Pick a house, yours or a listing you both can see, and ask for a price with three comparable sales and the adjustments. Good signs: the comps are closed sales from the last six months within a mile; the agent explains why each is higher or lower than the subject; the range is narrow with reasons for its ends. Bad signs: active listings used as comps (those are asking prices, not evidence); an online estimate as the anchor (Zillow reports its own off-market median error at 7.20%) (Zillow); or a number noticeably higher than the comps support, which is how listings get won and then cut.

The REALTOR® Code of Ethics sets the standard here: services “shall conform to the standards of practice and competence which are reasonably expected in the specific real estate disciplines in which they engage.” (NAR 2026 Code of Ethics, Article 11) Pricing a residential property from comparable sales is the core competence of residential brokerage.

Questions 8 to 10: experience, fee, and currency

Fee. It is “fully negotiable and not set by law.” (NAR) The test is not the number but whether the agent can state it instantly, explain what it covers, and say whether there are other fees. Hesitation here predicts hesitation later.

Recent local closings. The median REALTOR® closed nine transaction sides in 2025; the median for agents with two years or less was two. (NAR 2026 Member Profile) Ask for the count in your county and price range, and ask for the addresses. Post #16 in this series explains why recent, relevant volume predicts outcomes better than total years.

Continuing education. Mississippi requires 16 hours per two-year cycle: two of contract law, two of license law, four of agency law, and eight elective. (Mississippi REALTOR® Institute) Ask what the agent took last year beyond that. An agent who can name a course and what changed in their practice because of it is one who is still learning. An agent who cannot remember took the minimum online in December.

How to run the test without being rude

Say at the start: “I’m asking every agent the same ten questions, and I’d rather hear ‘I don’t know, I’ll find out’ than a guess.” Good agents like this. It signals a client who will make decisions on evidence, which makes their job easier. Agents who bristle are telling you how they will react the first time you question a recommendation.

Score it simply: a specific, current, checkable answer gets a point; a confident vague one gets zero; an honest “I’ll check” gets half. Then check two or three of the answers. The portal market pages, the state license lookup (MREC Find Licensee), and one call to a recent client will verify most of them in an evening.

What the test does not measure

It does not measure negotiation style, work ethic, or how the agent behaves at 9 p.m. when an offer deadline hits. Those come from references and from the first two weeks of working together, which is why a short initial agreement term matters (post #29 in this series). The test measures knowledge, which is necessary and not sufficient. An agent who fails it will not be saved by charm; one who passes it still has to show up.

Frequently asked questions