Real estate agents are professionals who help in connecting the buyer to the seller. A lot of real estate agents also do rentals wherein they connect tenants to landlords and even maintain the property on the behalf of the landlords. The real estate agents work by linking together the two interested parties and charging a commission for their services.
For sales, they charge commission only to the seller but for rentals (i.e. agent managed rentals) the commission is charged to both parties involved in the transaction. Real estate agents generally calculate their fee as a percentage of the selling price (in case of sales) and as part of the rent (for rentals). People, who want to sell/let their property, leave the details of their property with the real estate agent (and in fact, even leave the keys of the house so that the real estate agent can arrange for viewings without them getting into any hassle). The other interested party (i.e. the buyer/tenant), gets access to this information by contacting the real estate agent. That’s how the real estate agents become a hub of information.
A lot of home buyers and investors use the services of Realtors for getting good deals but also getting information on the newest properties available. Realtors are the most familiar with the market situation and it makes sense to approach them to get an idea of the current market value for properties in that region. Realtors know the prices of various properties types in various locations and are always able to give a Current Market Evaluation to determine what a property might be worth.
A home owner thinking of selling a property can get often get several thousand more for a property when following the advice received from a good Realtor. A good Realtor will also look at and follow the needs of a home buyer and try to make suggestions on the type of property that could be available within their budget.
So a great real estate agent will not only throw out a list of current properties for sale to the buyer but will actually determine the needs and make suitable suggestions. This works to the benefit of both the client and the real estate agent. Firstly, if the Realtor is able to sell the house they get a commission and secondly, if the Realtor makes the buyer happy they earn a good reputation.