If I am going to move to a new region, first I pick the area I prefer by renting a few months and learning the reality on the ground, then I grab the best agent based on specialization for that area, not a "generic" one for the whole city.
In my experience, the value of the agent is great there. But it lowers drastically if they are just "whole city agents."
Experience: moved to 3 metro areas in past 10 years.
Even more important given heavy gov't intervention driving house prices up 20+% annually in market markets. Renting for a few months can now do more harm than good overall.
If I am going to move to a new region, first I pick the area I prefer by renting a few months and learning the reality on the ground, then I grab the best agent based on specialization for that area, not a "generic" one for the whole city.
In my experience, the value of the agent is great there. But it lowers drastically if they are just "whole city agents."
Experience: moved to 3 metro areas in past 10 years.