How to choose a Nantucket listing agent: the questions worth asking
Most owners choose a Nantucket real estate agent on a friend's recommendation, a familiar name or a good first conversation. None of that is wrong, but it isn't an interview. A listing here is a large decision, often made from another state, in a market with few comparable sales and a short season. These questions work with any agent, including me.
The price, and the sales behind it
"How did you arrive at that number?" matters most. A good answer is a short list of closed sales from LINK, the island's multiple listing service, matched to your house on segment, condition and position, each with its first asking price, its sale price and its time on the market. You should see the evidence, not just the conclusion.
Two answers deserve caution:
The town's assessment. It exists to divide the tax levy among owners, not to track what buyers pay. On Nantucket the two numbers have little to do with each other.
The highest number in the room. A high price isn't a promise. Over the last three years, the 219 single-family houses that sold within 30 days of listing closed at a median 99.4% of their original asking price. The 38 that took more than a year closed at a median 76.7%. A price chosen to win the listing is paid for later, by the owner. The guide to why island houses don't sell has the full figures.
Public, private, or one and then the other
Ask: "Would you take this house to the open market right away, and why?"
Of the 137 home sales LINK recorded from January through August 2026 (houses, condominiums and multi-family), 35 show no marketing period, which is how a private sale enters the record. A quiet round offers privacy and a test of the price, with no days on market accumulating. The cost is that fewer buyers see the house, and you may never learn what the full market would have paid. The selling guide explains how a quiet pre-launch works.
A good answer names both sides, explains the choice for your house, and is specific about how private buyers are reached.
When they would list it, and why
Late spring through midsummer brings the most buyers and the most competing listings. Fall brings fewer showings, from people who came to look. Winter is a small audience with little competition. A good answer ties the date to your house, not to the agent's calendar, and says when the photographs will be taken. For a summer house, that's often months before the listing goes live. The factors behind timing have their own guide.
What the marketing plan actually contains
Ask for the plan in writing. Your buyer will probably see the house first on a phone, from somewhere else. The plan should name:
- Professional photography in the season that suits the house
- Aerial photographs where the setting is part of the value
- Measured floor plans, which buyers who can't visit rely on
- A description written by someone who knows the street, with every fact checked
- Where the listing will appear, and how buyers and agents off the island will hear about it
- The first month, when a new listing has the market's full attention
Then ask who pays for each item, and look at one of the agent's listings on your own phone.
What they would check before the sign goes up
A buyer's attorney will read the town's file on your house, and your agent should read it first. Ask what they'd want in hand before listing. Listen for a current Title 5 inspection if the house is on septic, historic district approvals that match the exterior as it stands, building permits that were opened and closed, and the flood zone. The seller's checklist covers each document, and if something never got a permit, decide what to do before a buyer is involved.
A good sign is an agent who tells you something about your own file that you didn't know.
Who shows the house, and how you'll hear about it
Ask who opens the door for a showing: the agent you're interviewing, a colleague, an assistant or a lockbox. None is wrong, but that person is doing part of the selling, and you should know who it is.
If you live away, ask who meets the photographer, the septic inspector and the fire department, and how often you'll hear from the agent. A good answer is a schedule: feedback after each showing, and a report even when nothing happened. The guide to selling from off-island lists what an agent should handle for an owner who isn't here.
How agents are paid now
Commissions are negotiable, and there is no standard rate.
Practice changes that followed the National Association of REALTORS® settlement took effect on August 17, 2024. On the multiple listing services they cover, a listing no longer carries an offer of compensation to the buyer's agent, and buyers sign a written agreement with their own agent before touring homes. A seller can still choose to offer compensation outside the listing service, or a concession toward the buyer's costs. Ask how this works on the island today, and what the agent recommends for your house.
Then ask three plain questions. What is your fee? What does it cover? And what happens if you also represent the buyer?
Massachusetts adds a useful rule. At the first personal meeting to discuss a specific property, a licensee must give you the state's Mandatory Licensee-Consumer Relationship Disclosure, which says whether they are acting as a seller's agent, a buyer's agent or a facilitator. One agent can represent both sides only with the informed written consent of both.
The agreement: how long, how you leave, and how the price changes
Before you sign, ask:
- How long does it run? The term should make sense against the island's selling calendar.
- How can I end it early, and what would I owe?
- Is any fee owed after it expires, for example if someone who saw the house during the listing buys it later?
- How will we decide on a price change? Agree before the listing starts on what evidence would prompt one, such as showings without offers, no showings at all or a new sale nearby, and when you'll review it.
A good answer is in writing, in plain language, from an agent comfortable with your attorney reading it first.
A record you can check
The state's Division of Occupational Licensure has a free license search on mass.gov, where you can confirm that an agent's license is current. Then ask for the agent's recent listings and the LINK history of each: the first asking price, the sale price and the time on the market. Ask about one that didn't sell, and for two past sellers you can call.
How I answer these questions
It's fair to ask me everything above. The short version: