Signs that genuinely warrant a change
- You cannot get hold of them. Not "they were slow once" — a repeated pattern of unanswered messages while your listing sits or an offer deadline approaches. In this business, responsiveness is much of the job.
- They will not give you an honest opinion. An agent who agrees with everything, particularly on price, is not representing you. You are paying for judgement, and the most valuable version of it is the part you did not want to hear.
- They do not know the area. If they cannot answer basic questions about the community you are buying in, that is a real deficiency. Five questions that test this →
- They pressure you. Manufactured urgency, dismissing your concerns, pushing you past your budget.
- Sloppiness on documents or deadlines. Errors in a contract or a missed condition date are not minor; they are the part with legal and financial consequence.
- They are not marketing your listing as agreed. Compare what was promised at the listing appointment with what actually happened.
Things that feel like problems but usually are not
- Your home has not sold. Frustrating, and frequently a pricing conversation rather than an agent one. Changing agent without changing price often changes nothing. Diagnose it properly →
- They told you something you did not want to hear. That may be the best service you received.
- You lost a home in competition. Sometimes someone simply paid more, and the alternative was overpaying.
- They work with other clients. Full-time agents do. Availability matters; exclusivity is not realistic.
Raise it before you leave
Most of what goes wrong is expectations that were never made explicit. Say plainly what is not working: how often you expect to hear from them, what you want done differently, what you need in the next two weeks.
If it improves, you have saved yourself starting over with someone who does not know your situation. If it does not, you have a clear basis for the conversation with the brokerage. How cancellation works →
If you are considering this because you already have someone else in mind, be straightforward about it. Everyone in this industry has been on both sides of that conversation, and handled openly it is far less awkward than it feels.
Still deciding who to work with? Start with what to look for in a Calgary REALTOR®.