Selling or buying a property is often a once-in-a-lifetime project. Before giving a listing to an agency, more and more sellers type its name into Google and read its reviews. In a market where several agencies compete for the same properties in the same neighbourhood, your reviews and your replies have become a sales argument in their own right.
Here is how estate agencies and brokers can make the most of them.
Why reviews carry so much weight in real estate
Three reasons explain the particular weight of reviews in this sector:
- the stakes are high: a seller entrusts an asset, a buyer commits years of savings;
- the relationship is long: valuation, listing, viewings, offer, pre-contract, completion: months during which anything can go well or badly;
- agencies look alike from the outside: reviews are one of the few concrete points of comparison.
A seller hesitating between three agencies for their listing will often look at which one has the most numerous, recent and detailed reviews.
What clients say about an agency
Real estate reviews are often rich. The recurring themes:
- communication during the sale: being kept informed, getting feedback after viewings;
- responsiveness: calling back quickly, answering questions;
- the accuracy of the valuation and support on pricing;
- the professionalism of the negotiator, their knowledge of the area;
- handling the unexpected: surveys, financing, solicitors or notaries, delays.
The number one pain point is almost always the lack of news. It is also the easiest to fix: a regular update, even a brief one, changes the perception of the whole sale.
Getting reviews at every stage
The classic mistake is to ask for a review only at completion, often months after the relationship began. Think about the other moments of satisfaction too:
- after a valuation the client appreciated;
- at the signing of the pre-contract;
- at the handover of the keys, for the buyer as well as the seller;
- for tenants and landlords, after a successful letting.
A direct link sent by text or email, a QR code in your window or in your key handover pack: the methods are detailed in our guide to getting more Google reviews. With no incentive, and asking all your clients.
Replying professionally
Your replies are read by your future sellers. They must reflect your professionalism:
- thank people personally: mention the neighbourhood, the type of property, the negotiator (with their consent);
- when facing criticism, stay factual, never reveal any confidential detail of the file (price, conditions, personal situation) and offer a direct conversation;
- keep a consistent tone across the agency’s negotiators: a simple reply charter avoids inconsistencies.
Our method to reply to negative reviews applies, with particular attention to the confidentiality of transactions.
Reviews as an argument to win listings
Numerous and detailed reviews are an argument you can use in your valuation appointments: showing that other sellers in the area were satisfied reassures far more than a brochure. They also feed your presence on Google: an active profile, with recent reviews and replies, strengthens your local prominence, one of the criteria Google highlights in its tips on local ranking.
Your Google profile, the agency’s shop window
Complete your profile: opening hours (including Saturdays), phone number, website, services (valuation, lettings management, block management, life annuity sales…), photos of the team and the agency. Google posts let you highlight a successful sale, an analysis of the local market or advice for sellers. Our guide to optimizing your profile details each section.
A concrete example
An agency with three negotiators received a few reviews a year, mostly at completion. It decided to ask for a review at three moments (valuation, pre-contract, completion), to send a weekly update to each seller and to reply to every review. Within a year, it went from 25 to 140 reviews, with “follow-up” and “responsiveness” as the most frequently mentioned themes. Its negotiators now show the Google profile during valuation appointments.
Tracking your competitors
In real estate, neighbouring agencies are your direct competitors for every listing. Following their reviews reveals their weak points (often follow-up) and helps you stand out. See our article on monitoring competitors through their reviews.
How Replik helps agencies
Replik for real estate offers replies to your reviews written with your arguments and in a tone that is consistent across the whole agency, without ever disclosing confidential information. Replik helps you get more reviews, analyzes what your clients remember about your support, tracks your competitors and manages your Google profile and posts.
The agency checklist
- A complete Google profile: Saturday opening hours, services (valuation, lettings management), team photos.
- A review request at three moments: valuation, pre-contract, completion.
- A regular update with each seller while the property is on the market.
- A reply charter shared by all negotiators.
- A reply to every review, without ever disclosing any detail of the transaction.
- Regular posts: successful sales, the local market, advice for sellers.
- A monthly look at competing agencies’ reviews.
Frequently asked questions
Can you mention the negotiator in a reply? Yes, if the client mentioned them and the negotiator agrees. It is a nice way to showcase the team.
A seller unhappy with the sale price leaves a negative review: what should you reply? Stay factual and general: recall your valuation method and your support, without ever mentioning the figures of the transaction, and offer a conversation.
Should you ask a buyer for a review? Yes: the buyer is often a future seller, and their review reassures both of the agency’s audiences.
In short
In real estate, reviews are an argument to win listings. Ask for them at every key stage, reply professionally and discreetly, fix the number one pain point (the lack of news), and lean on your reviews in appointments. Start with the free audit of your profile.