By Eric Berman, REALTOR® | The Eric Berman Team at Compass
TL;DR:
Most advice on choosing a listing agent asks about years in business and homes sold. Those are weak signals. The questions that actually predict outcomes are narrower: what the agent recommends on buyer-agent compensation and why, how they'd build a comp set for a home that's been expanded, whether they'll tell you your price is wrong, and what the plan is if it hasn't sold in sixty days. In Levittown specifically, an agent who doesn't know to call the Town of Hempstead before the paint goes on will cost you weeks later.
The Compensation Question Most Sellers Don't Know to Ask
Start here, because it's the largest financial decision in the engagement and most listing-agent advice hasn't caught up to it.
Until August 17, 2024, buyer-agent compensation was posted on the MLS and offered essentially automatically. That ended with the Sitzer/Burnett settlement. Compensation is now negotiated within each individual offer, and buyers sign written agreements with their agents before touring homes.
The practical effect is that the buyer-side decision is now yours, not an industry default. On a $650,000 Levittown sale, two and a half percent is roughly $16,250.
So the question isn't "what's your commission." It's:
What do you recommend I offer on the buyer side, and why? A good answer engages with your specific price band and buyer pool. Levittown draws payment-sensitive buyers, many stretched on cash to close, and a buyer who has committed to paying their own agent may simply not be able to reach a home offering nothing. An agent who says "offer two and a half, everyone does" hasn't thought about it. An agent who says "it's your call" without analysis hasn't either.
And separately: what's your listing-side fee, and what does it buy? That's negotiable and always was, with fee-negotiated listings at one and a half to two percent increasingly common on Long Island. The useful evaluation is what the percentage buys — pricing judgment, photography, negotiation — not the percentage alone.
An agent who can't discuss both sides clearly is telling you something.
What Levittown Expertise Actually Means
Every agent claims local expertise. Here's how to test it in about ninety seconds.
Ask how they'd build the comp set. Levittown homes were built to a handful of standard plans in the late 1940s and altered individually ever since — dormers, rear extensions, garage conversions, finished basements. Two houses that started identical can differ by a thousand square feet. An agent who says "I'll pull recent Levittown sales" will misprice in one direction or the other. An agent who asks about your specific configuration before quoting a number is working from the right premise.
Ask what they do about permits. The correct answer involves calling the Town of Hempstead before anything else happens, because a meaningful share of these expansions were never permitted or never closed out, and the buyer's attorney orders municipal searches after contracts are signed. An agent who treats permits as something the attorney handles later has never watched a closing slip six weeks over a 2009 dormer. The full picture of how permit issues resolve covers the mechanics.
Ask about the Mansion Tax threshold. Most Levittown sales fall below one million, which is an advantage — buyers keep cash that Manhasset buyers surrender. An agent who knows that, and knows it changes for substantially expanded homes approaching the line, understands the market.
The Questions That Predict Outcomes
Four more, and they're uncomfortable by design.
"If you think my price is too high, will you tell me?" The honest answer is yes, plainly, with the comp set to support it. An agent who agrees with whatever number a seller proposes is easier to hire and more expensive to keep — a home priced above its band is filtered out of buyer searches entirely, and the cost lands in the first three weeks when interest is highest.
"What's the plan if it hasn't sold in sixty days?" A good answer distinguishes between traffic problems and price problems and says what data would tell them which. An answer of "we'll adjust" is not a plan.
"Who takes the photographs, and can I see their work?" Buyers decide whether to schedule from a phone screen. In Levittown's compact original layouts, lighting and angles matter more than usual. This is one of the few areas where the difference between agents is directly visible before you hire anyone.
"How do you handle a buyer's inspection request?" Look for the ability to distinguish safety and habitability items — which an appraiser may require anyway — from visible deferred maintenance already reflected in the price, from cosmetic requests that should be declined. The framework for handling those requests is what a competent answer sounds like.
What to Weigh Less Heavily
Three common criteria that matter less than they appear.
Years in the business. Useful as a floor and weak above it. A ten-year agent who hasn't updated for the 2024 changes is worse than a four-year agent who has.
Volume. Sales counts measure activity, not fit. An agent selling widely across Long Island may know less about the expansion question than someone who works this market specifically.
Any performance claim you can't verify. Rankings, "top producer" designations, and success-rate assertions come from a wide range of sources with a wide range of rigor. If a claim matters to your decision, ask what it's based on. A verifiable credential should survive the question comfortably.
Interview More Than One
The most common mistake is hiring the first agent who comes to the house, usually because they were recommended and the conversation was pleasant.
Two or three conversations produce something a single meeting can't: comparison. Three different price opinions on the same house, and three different explanations for them, tell a seller more about the comp set than any one presentation does. Notably, the agent quoting the highest number isn't usually the best choice — an unrealistic price is easy to promise and expensive to carry.
Ask each the same questions. Compare the answers rather than the personalities.
And read the listing agreement before signing, particularly the term length and the protection period — the provision under which commission may still be owed after the agreement ends if the home sells to a buyer introduced during it. The fuller treatment of what happens if a listing doesn't sell covers that clause in detail.
A Worked Example
Consider a composite case — a Levittown seller with an expanded cape who interviewed three agents.
The first quoted $739,000 and was enthusiastic. The second quoted $712,000 and explained the comp set: five closed sales of similarly configured expanded capes, adjusted for the finished basement. The third quoted $705,000 without much explanation.
She asked all three the permit question. Only the second raised the Town of Hempstead unprompted, and asked whether her dormer had been permitted.
She asked all three about buyer-side compensation. The first said "the standard is two and a half." The second walked through her price band, the cash constraints on buyers at that level, and recommended offering it deliberately rather than by default.
She hired the second. The dormer turned out to be fine; the basement finish from 2014 wasn't, and resolving it took nine weeks — entirely before listing, because the question got asked in February rather than discovered in July.
Where to Start
Interview two or three agents and ask each the same questions. Lead with the compensation recommendation and the reasoning behind it. Ask how they'd build the comp set for your specific configuration. Ask what they do about permits before listing. Ask whether they'll tell you when your price is wrong. Ask what happens at sixty days. Look at the photography. Then compare the answers, not the presentations.
Sellers wanting a starting read on value before any of those conversations can begin with a quiet look at current figures — and the fuller picture of what drives a Levittown sale covers what a good agent should be telling you.
The Honest Bottom Line
The criteria most sellers use — years in business, homes sold, how confident someone seemed — are weak predictors. The ones that matter are specific and mostly uncomfortable to ask.
Whether the agent has a considered position on buyer-side compensation, because that's now your decision and it's worth five figures. Whether they build a comp set around your actual house rather than the town name. Whether they'll call the Town of Hempstead before anyone spends money on paint. And whether they'll tell you something you don't want to hear about your price.
An agent who handles those four well is worth hiring regardless of what their marketing says. One who deflects them is worth passing on for the same reason.
This is general information, not legal or financial advice. Listing agreement terms, commission structures, and protection periods vary. Read your agreement and consult a licensed New York real estate attorney about anything unclear.
FAQs
What should I ask a Levittown listing agent about commission?
Two separate questions, because there are now two decisions. First, what they recommend you offer on the buyer side and why — since August 17, 2024 that's a seller decision negotiated within each offer rather than a posted percentage, and on a $650,000 sale two and a half percent is roughly $16,250. A good answer engages with your price band and buyer pool. Second, what their listing-side fee is and what it buys. That's negotiable and always was, with fee-negotiated listings at one and a half to two percent increasingly common on Long Island.
How can I tell if an agent really knows Levittown?
Ask how they'd build the comp set. These homes were built to a handful of standard plans in the late 1940s and expanded individually ever since, so two houses that started identical can differ by a thousand square feet. An agent who says "I'll pull recent Levittown sales" will misprice. One who asks about your specific configuration first is working correctly. Then ask what they do about permits — the right answer involves calling the Town of Hempstead before anything else, since unpermitted expansions are common here and surface in municipal searches after contracts are signed.
Should I hire the agent who quotes the highest price?
Usually not, and this is the most common expensive mistake. An unrealistic price is easy to promise and costly to carry — a home priced above its band is filtered out of buyer searches entirely, so it isn't rejected, it's never seen. The cost concentrates in the first two to three weeks when accumulated interest is highest, and by the time the price comes down the listing carries days-on-market history. Ask each agent to explain the comp set behind their number, and weigh the explanation more than the figure.
How many agents should I interview?
Two or three. A single meeting gives you a presentation; multiple meetings give you comparison — three different price opinions on the same house, with three different explanations, tell you more about the comp set than any one presentation can. Ask each the same questions so the answers are comparable, and compare the answers rather than the personalities. The most useful questions are the uncomfortable ones: what happens at sixty days, and will you tell me if my price is wrong.
What should I look for in the listing agreement?
The term length, and the protection period — a provision under which commission may still be owed after the agreement ends if the home sells to a buyer who was introduced during the listing. Windows commonly run between thirty and one hundred eighty days and terms vary, with many agreements providing that the clause doesn't apply if the seller engages a new brokerage. The practical risk is a seller who negotiates directly with a buyer who toured during the listing, unaware of the obligation. Read the agreement and ask an attorney about anything unclear.
By Eric Berman, REALTOR® | The Eric Berman Team at Compass
Eric Berman | Long Island & Queens Associate Broker | Compass
1468 Northern Blvd, Manhasset, NY 11030
(917) 225-8596 | eric@ericbermanre.com | theericbermanteam.com
