Most agent-choosing advice is written by referral sites paid per introduction. This is the version a brokerage publishes when it is confident in the interview: the seven questions, the answers a good agent gives, and what our own listing-failure data says the wrong choice costs.
Three things the data supports: recent closed transactions in your specific market and product (not lifetime volume anywhere), pricing honesty you can verify (ask to see their last five listings' original ask vs final sale), and a communication commitment in writing. Awards, headshots, and franchise brands predict marketing budgets, not your outcome.
Two or three, asked the same questions so the answers compare. One interview tells you nothing; five tells you less than three because the questions drift.
Seven that work: How many homes did you close within 15 minutes of mine in the past year? What did your last five listings ask originally and sell for? What is your pricing recommendation for my home, and what sold comparables support it? What happens in week one, specifically? How will you communicate and how often, in writing? What does your fee cover, exactly, and what is negotiable? If my home has not gone under contract by the typical market time, what is the plan? A good agent answers all seven with specifics; a weak one answers with adjectives.
That is the classic mistake, and Florida's own market record shows the cost: about 20 of every 100 new listings statewide expires or is withdrawn unsold, and roughly four in ten of those failed listings never adjusted price at all. An agent who 'buys the listing' with a flattering number is volunteering you for that statistic. The right answer to want is a price tied to closed comparables, with the reasoning shown.
Verify the license on the state DBPR lookup (free, instant). Then test local fluency the portals cannot fake: a Florida agent should speak comfortably about CDD assessments and where to verify them, flood zones and what they do to insurance, the year-two property-tax reset, and for condos the post-Surfside document checklist. An agent who shrugs at any of those will cost you money in Florida specifically.
You are not required to have one, but the builder's site agent represents the builder. Your own agent typically costs you nothing on a new build - the builder pays the commission - and negotiates incentives, reviews the builder's contract timeline, and attends the walks.
Choosing on flattery instead of evidence is measurable: about 20 of every 100 Florida listings fails to sell, the failed ones sat months before giving up, and roughly half of active listings statewide are already cutting price to correct an opening number. The interview above is how you avoid funding those statistics.
Momentum matches you with an agent by market and product, and every question on this page is fair game in the first conversation — including the last-five-listings pricing record. Start with the agent directory or the match form on any market page. If another brokerage answers the seven questions better for your street, hire them; the interview is the point.
No agent rankings, no astroturfed “top 10” lists, and no pretending brand size predicts your outcome. A repeatable interview, the verification steps, and the data on what pricing mistakes cost — applied to anyone you interview, including us.
Market statistics cited are computed from licensed Florida MLS records on their linked source pages, with methods stated there. License verification is via Florida DBPR’s public lookup. General information, not advice; deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Equal Housing Opportunity.
