12 Questions to Ask a Realtor Before You List Your Lubbock Home

Last updated July 2026 by Justin Lowrey, licensed Texas real estate agent, The Lowrey Group / Real Broker LLC, Lubbock, TX

Quick answer: The most important questions to ask a Realtor when selling a house in Lubbock are how they arrived at your list price, how often they represent both sides of a deal, whether you can cancel the listing agreement, and what their sale-to-list price ratio and days on market look like in your part of town. Ask for numbers. Ask for proof. A good Lubbock listing agent will have both ready.

I've sat across the kitchen table from a lot of Lubbock sellers. Most of them ask me the same handful of soft questions. How long have you been doing this. Do you like it. What do you think my house is worth.

Those questions don't tell you much.

Here's the problem. Agents who have been around a while have heard every standard interview question a hundred times. We know what sellers want to hear. So the polished answer isn't the useful part. Knowing what a real answer sounds like is the useful part.

So I'm going to give you both. The question, why it matters here in Lubbock specifically, and what a good answer sounds like versus a bad one.

Two of these are dealbreakers. I'll tell you which.

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What the Lubbock market actually looks like right now

Before you can judge an agent's numbers, you need the baseline. These are Lubbock city single family stats pulled from our MLS for the twelve months ending June 2026:

• Average days on market: about 46 days
• Average cumulative days on market: about 66 days
• Sale price to final list price: about 97.4%
• Sale price to original list price: about 95.3%
• Median sold price in June 2026: $250,000

Hang onto those numbers. Several of the questions below only make sense once you know what average looks like.

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1. How did you get to that list price?

Notice I didn't write "what should I list it for." Every agent will give you a number. The number is easy. The reasoning is what separates a pro from a guy with a lockbox.

You want a comparative market analysis, and you want to see which homes are in it. Good comps in Lubbock are close by, sold in the last three to six months, and similar in size and age. That last part matters more here than people think. A 1950s house in Tech Terrace and a 2019 build in Upland Crossing can be the same square footage and live nothing alike.

Then ask the follow up that most sellers skip:

How does my house compare to each of those comps?

The agent should walk you through adjustments. Square footage, condition, beds and baths, lot size, and school zone. Lubbock ISD versus Lubbock-Cooper ISD versus Frenship ISD moves the needle on price, and any agent working this market should be able to explain how.

If a comp sold for $260,000 and they're recommending $285,000, they need a reason. Updated kitchen, bigger lot, better school attendance zone, something.

Red flag: they show you the comps and jump straight to a number without explaining the gap. That usually means the number is a guess, or worse, it's a number picked to win your listing. An agent who can't defend the price to you sure isn't going to defend it to a buyer's agent.

One more thing. Don't tell them what you think the house is worth before they give you their number. Let them show their work first.

2. What percentage of your sales were you the dual agent?

This is dealbreaker number one.

Dual agency means the same agent represents you and the buyer in the same deal. In Texas we call it an intermediary relationship, and it's legal here as long as the broker discloses it and both parties agree in writing.

It's also where an agent's incentives quietly stop pointing at you.

When an agent stands to collect both sides of the commission, they have a financial reason to steer the deal toward their buyer. Not always. But often enough that you should ask. What that can look like in practice: pushing you toward their buyer's offer instead of a stronger one, going soft in negotiation so their buyer wins, or being less aggressive about marketing the home widely because they'd rather find the buyer themselves.

Ask the question and watch what happens. If the agent gets vague, laughs it off, or starts explaining why it's actually good for you, pay attention to that.

In most markets, a dual agency rate around 10% or lower is normal. Higher than that and you're looking at someone whose business model depends on doubling up. In a market like Lubbock where the agent pool is tight and everybody knows everybody, that number can drift up honestly on occasion. But it should never be the plan.

If an agent won't give you a number at all, that's your answer.

3. Can I cancel the listing agreement?

Dealbreaker number two, and this one is simple.

The Texas listing agreement is a binding contract. Most run three to six months, and most are exclusive right to sell, which means the agent earns a commission if the house sells during the term no matter who brings the buyer. You can't just fire them and hire someone else next week.

So ask directly. If I'm not happy in 30 days, can I get out?

The right answer is a fast yes, with the terms explained. Some kind of unconditional release, or at minimum a clear written process for terminating early. Ask whether it's in the agreement itself or a separate addendum, and then read it.

If the agent hesitates, hedges, or starts talking about how nobody ever asks to cancel, you already know enough.

Here's why I feel so strongly about it. A guaranteed commission is a commission the agent doesn't have to earn every week. Take the guarantee away and watch how much better the communication gets. An agent who is confident in their work has no reason to lock you in.

4. What's your sale-to-list price ratio?

Sale-to-list ratio is the sale price divided by the list price. It tells you whether an agent has a habit of overpricing or underpricing.

But there's a trick here, and most sellers get caught by it. There are two versions of this number.

Sale to original list price uses the price the home first hit the market at. Sale to final list price uses whatever it was priced at after any reductions. The second number always looks better. Some agents will quote you that one without saying which they're using.

In Lubbock over the last twelve months, single family homes sold at about 95.3% of original list and about 97.4% of final list. Those are your benchmarks.

So when an agent tells you their ratio, ask which one it is. Then compare.

Well above 100% of original list usually means they underprice to manufacture a bidding war. Sometimes that's a real strategy. Sometimes it's a marketing gimmick so they can mail out "SOLD OVER ASKING" postcards. Ask which.

Well below the market average, say under 92% of original list, tends to mean they overprice to win listings and then chase the market down with reductions. That costs you time and money, and it's the single most common way sellers lose value in this market.

Listen to how they explain the number. That's the tell. The way an agent defends their own stats is exactly how they'll defend your price to a buyer's agent.

5. What's your average days on market, and what's your average CDOM?

Ask for both. This is where it gets interesting.

DOM is how long a listing sits before it goes under contract. CDOM is cumulative days on market, which follows the property across relistings. When an agent pulls a stale listing and puts it back on fresh, the DOM clock resets. CDOM does not.

Lubbock's citywide average right now is about 46 days DOM and about 66 days CDOM. That 20 day gap is the sound of listings getting withdrawn and relaunched.

So if an agent brags about a 25 day average DOM and their CDOM is 70, you've found something. Ask about it politely and see how they handle it.

Then ask for their DOM in your price range and your part of town. A $200,000 house near 34th Street and a $650,000 house in Vintage Township do not behave the same way, and an agent who quotes you one blended citywide number for everything isn't really answering.

Last follow up:

What does a good first two weeks look like, and when would you tell me to adjust the price?

They should have a specific answer. Showing counts, feedback, saved searches, online views. And a threshold where they'd come back to you with a recommendation instead of just letting it sit.

6. How will you market my house?

MLS plus a yard sign is not a marketing plan. Neither is "we syndicate to Zillow and Realtor.com." Everybody does that. That's the floor, not the strategy.

A real answer has three layers to it.

The hook. What is the one thing about your house that makes a buyer stop scrolling. Every house has one. Mature trees on a Lubbock lot are worth real money because most of this town is flat and new. A garage that's actually deep enough for a full size truck. A backyard with a storm-worthy structure. If a house needs work, the hook might be the price per square foot and the chance to make it yours. An agent who can't name your hook is going to market your house exactly like every other listing.

The buyer. Who is realistically buying this house. A Texas Tech faculty family, a first-time buyer using a THDA or FHA loan, someone relocating for a job at Covenant or UMC, an investor looking at rental yield near campus. That answer should change the pricing, the photos, and where the marketing dollars go.

The demand plan. How they turn attention into offers in the first two weeks. Staging and photo direction tied to the hook. Paid social and search targeted at Lubbock and the surrounding towns people relocate from, Plainview, Levelland, Brownfield, Post. Their own agent network, because in a market this size a lot of deals start with an agent-to-agent text. And a plan for measuring interest and pivoting fast if it isn't landing.

If the answer is basically "we'll put it on the MLS and hold an open house," keep interviewing.

7. How will you vet the buyer before I accept an offer?

Deals fall apart. It happens. Most of the time it's financing, and most of the time it was avoidable.

Minimum standard: a pre-approval letter with every offer, and a phone call to the buyer's lender before you sign anything. Not a text. A call.

But the agents who are good at this go further. They ask the loan officer where the down payment is coming from, whether it's seasoned, and what the buyer's debt-to-income ratio looks like with room to spare. Debt-to-income is one of the top reasons loans blow up between contract and closing.

There's a negotiating angle here too, and it's my favorite part of this question. "My buyer is maxed out on DTI, they can't go any higher" is the most common bluff in real estate. If your agent already talked to the lender and knows there's room, they can push. If they didn't make the call, they just take the bluff at face value and you leave money on the table.

Ask how they handle appraisal risk too. In Lubbock, appraisal gaps show up most often on new construction and on unique properties where the comps are thin, like acreage outside the loop.

8. What's your fee, and how does buyer agent compensation work now?

Two parts to this one.

First, the listing fee. They should state their rate, explain what it covers, and confirm it matches what goes in the written agreement. Ask for a seller net sheet so you can see the fee against your estimated proceeds after taxes, title, and closing costs. On a $250,000 Lubbock sale the difference between what you think you're walking with and what you actually walk with can be several thousand dollars.

Then ask the follow up:

Is your commission negotiable?

The answer you want is a real explanation of what they do for the fee, and what would come off the plate if the fee came down. The answer you don't want is an instant yes with no pushback. If an agent folds on their own money in ten seconds, think about how they'll do when a buyer's agent leans on them about your price.

Second, buyer agent compensation. Since the NAR settlement changes took effect in August 2024, offers of buyer broker compensation can't be published in the MLS. That doesn't mean it disappeared. It moved into the offer, where it gets negotiated alongside price, closing costs, and everything else. Buyers also sign written representation agreements with their agents now before touring homes.

Your agent should be able to explain this in plain English and tell you how they'd advise handling it on your specific house at your specific price point. If they get fuzzy, that's a problem, because this is now one of the terms you're negotiating on every single offer.

9. How many homes have you sold in my area as the listing agent?

Two words in that question matter: listing agent.

Plenty of agents have a big sales number that's mostly buyer side. Selling is a different job. Ask specifically how many they've listed and sold, not how many transactions they've closed.

Then narrow it. Homes like yours, in your area, in your price band, within the last year or so. An agent who has sold six houses in Melonie Park knows what those buyers care about. An agent who sold thirty condos in another state does not.

That said, I'll push back on the way most people use this question. "Knows the neighborhood" is not the skill. Buyers can pull up every school rating and crime map in ninety seconds. What you're actually testing is whether the agent has sold into your buyer pool recently enough to know what's working right now.

So ask for proof. Addresses. A good agent will pull up recent sold listings and walk you through what they priced them at, what happened in the first two weeks, how many offers came in, and how the negotiation went. That story is the real credential.

10. How should I get my house ready?

You learn two things from this answer. Whether the agent knows what actually returns money in Lubbock, and whether they listen before they prescribe.

A good agent asks about your situation first. What's your timeline, what's your budget, are you buying something else at the same time, are you willing to do work or do you need to sell as-is. Then the advice follows.

If you've got time and budget, the recommendations should be the things that move price here. Paint and flooring almost always pay. Landscaping matters more in Lubbock than people expect, because a dead front yard in a town with our wind and water situation reads as neglect to a buyer, fairly or not. Foundation and roof documentation matter, because West Texas soil moves and buyers know it. If you've had foundation work done, have the paperwork and the transferable warranty ready to go before you list.

If you're going as-is, the advice should be cheap and high impact. Clean, declutter, fix what's obviously broken, and make sure the photos don't scare people off.

The wrong answer is a generic renovation checklist handed to you before they've asked a single question about your goals.

11. How often will you update me, and how?

Sounds minor. It isn't. Poor communication is the number one complaint I hear from sellers who fired their last agent.

Ask for a default cadence. Weekly call, showing feedback within 24 hours, whatever it is. "Whenever you need me" is not a plan, it's a way of not committing to anything. You want a stated default plus flexibility on top of it.

Confirm the channel too. Text, call, or email. And ask who's actually on the other end. If it's a team, find out whether you're getting the agent you're interviewing or an assistant you've never met once the paperwork is signed. Both can work fine. You just want to know which one you're buying.

12. What happens if it doesn't sell?

Most sellers never ask this, and it's one of the most revealing questions on the list.

You want to hear a plan, not reassurance. At what point do they recommend a price change, and how big. Do they refresh the photos and the description first. Would they suggest a lease option, or pulling it and relisting in a better season. Lubbock has real seasonality, and spring into early summer is a different market than late fall.

An agent who says "that won't happen" is telling you they don't have a plan for the thing that happens to plenty of listings.

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Frequently asked questions about hiring a listing agent in Lubbock

What is the most important question to ask a Realtor when selling? Ask what percentage of their sales involved dual agency, and ask whether you can cancel the listing agreement. Those two answers tell you more about whose interests the agent protects than anything else on the list.

What is a good sale-to-list price ratio in Lubbock, TX? Over the twelve months ending June 2026, Lubbock single family homes sold at roughly 95.3% of original list price and 97.4% of final list price. Always ask which of the two an agent is quoting.

How long does it take to sell a house in Lubbock? Average days on market for Lubbock single family homes is about 46 days, with cumulative days on market averaging closer to 66. Your timeline depends heavily on price range, condition, and school zone.

How much commission do Realtors charge in Lubbock, TX? There is no standard or set rate in Texas. Commissions are negotiable and always have been. What matters more than the number is what the fee covers and whether the agent can defend it.

Can I fire my real estate agent in Texas? Only if your listing agreement allows it. Texas listing agreements are binding contracts, typically three to six months. Ask about the cancellation policy in writing before you sign, not after.

Is dual agency legal in Texas? Texas uses an intermediary relationship rather than traditional dual agency. A broker can represent both parties with written consent from both. It's legal, but you should know how often your agent does it before you hire them.

Should I interview more than one Realtor? Yes. Interview at least two or three. The differences in how agents answer these questions get obvious fast once you have something to compare.

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The bottom line

Knowing the questions is half of it. Knowing what a real answer sounds like is the other half.

If an agent gives you specific numbers, explains their reasoning without getting defensive, and tells you something you didn't want to hear at least once during the meeting, that's a good sign. Agreeable is easy. Useful is harder.

I'm happy to sit down and answer every one of these for you, including the two most agents don't like. No pressure and no obligation, whether you list with me or not.

Give me a call or send me a message and let's talk about your house.

Have a blessed week!

Justin Lowrey The Lowrey Group, Real Broker LLC Lubbock, TX thelowreygroup.com

Market statistics cited are from the local MLS for Lubbock city single family residential properties, twelve months ending June 2026. Market data changes. This article is general information and not legal or financial advice.