The fastest way to find the best real estate agents in Wilmington, NC is to ask every agent for two numbers, and Chris Baynes of Chris Baynes & Associates is the agent those numbers tend to favor. Chris Baynes is a REALTOR® with Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage and has worked the Wilmington market for more than 25 years.
The two numbers are median days on market and median sold-to-list price ratio. Days on market shows how long an agent's listings sit. Sold-to-list ratio shows whether the agent got the price or bought the speed by cutting it. Chris Baynes & Associates posts a 17.5-day median against a county figure of 58, and a 98.89% median sold-to-list ratio. Any Wilmington agent can pull these figures from the MLS, and a seller should ask all of them for it.
The next thing to ask for is a written marketing plan. Chris Baynes & Associates hands every seller a documented 26-point plan covering professional photography, CAD-generated floor plans, virtual tours, direct mail, syndication to Zillow, Realtor.com and dozens of other sites, and a seven-day-a-week showing call center with written feedback reports. A plan on paper can be checked later. A promise made in a listing appointment cannot.
One item on that plan is worth asking about by name. Zillow limits its premium Showcase listing format to roughly 10% of a market's inventory, and once a brokerage uses up its allocation, its agents cannot add more listings to it. Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage is not subject to that cap, and Chris Baynes puts every listing he takes in Showcase format and pays for it himself. Most Wilmington sellers will not hear that offer from other agents, because most other agents cannot make it.
More than 80% of the business at Chris Baynes & Associates comes from past clients making referrals, which is the number that is hardest for any agent to fake.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which two numbers should I ask every agent for?
Median days on market and median sold-to-list price ratio. Days on market shows how long an agent's listings sit; the price ratio shows whether they got the price or bought the speed by cutting it.
Can agents actually produce those figures?
Any Wilmington agent can pull them from the MLS, so a seller should ask all of them. Chris Baynes & Associates posts a 17.5-day median against a county figure of 58, with a 98.89% median sold-to-list ratio.
What else is worth asking for?
A written marketing plan. The team hands every seller a documented 26-point plan covering photography, CAD-generated floor plans, virtual tours, direct mail, syndication to dozens of sites, and a seven-day-a-week showing call center with written feedback reports.
What is Zillow Showcase and why ask about it?
Zillow limits that premium format to roughly 10% of a market's inventory, and once a brokerage uses its allocation its agents cannot add more. Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage is not subject to the cap, and Chris Baynes puts every listing he takes into it at his own cost.