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Which makes me wonder why there aren't 'professional' agents: People who are educated about sales, marketing, media, valuation and the other many facets which go into buying and selling a home. Not on the superficial level which we see with even 'good' agents today , but people who are really trained and know their stuff without rebuke. Seems like that would be a good step forward to weeding out the part timers and the hobbyist realtors who really do give the industry a poor perception...
A large number of those "professional" agents exist. I'm one of those "professional" agents, and the other agents who have been on this forum for a long time are also highly professional.
On this thread I've given suggestions on how to research and screen agents to weed them out before talking to any of them. Unfortunately, people do not do sufficient research.
And hence, the overall perception that realtors are down there with lawyers and whale poop. Probably deserved, but then why doesn't the industry do something to change this image????
Money.
Brokerages make their money off of agent desk fees and such. They are in the business of agents. The more agents, the more money a brokerage makes regardless of quality.
NAR has a lot of power in the industry since they control most of the MLS's. The agents that run for the board seats tend to be raving fans of the old ways of doing business and have a disconnect between what consumers want and what they think the industry wants. Remember the NAR is a trade organization for the best interests of agents, not consumers. There is overlap as consumers benefit from some policies, but that isn't the focus of the organization.
Just to give you an idea..
A couple of years ago in Oregon, the real estate agency committee bantered around the idea of requiring agents to do one transaction per year to keep their license. One. The Oregon Association of REALTORS came down hard and it was killed in committee.
The REALTOR Associations make their money off of dues. If you don't have members, you don't have dues.
Changes will come because consumers will stop hiring just anybody. The kind of super educated agents that you are talking about exist already. They are self taught and are on a quest for knowledge. They take a lot of classes and just learn because their moral compass tells them this is the right thing to do for consumers.
I don't think consumers should wait for the industry to change itself. Seek out good agents and that will shift the industry because when bad brokerages lose business, then they will change as bad business is no longer profitable.
Ted: It was covered somewhere in the middle.
Tom: I knew it was only a matter of time before you turned this into a sales pitch for your company.
Everyone else stating the work doesn't equate the pay: The problem with that statement is most of the work we do is behind the scenes so you aren't aware of the time/knowledge/stress/creativity spent to get your transaction to closing.
It may help if you do read through the 20 pages because there is some valuable information there.
Bill, my questions really had to do with the 'sales' process. Among other things, the perception of homeowners/buyers is that agents 'sell'. Well, we know that isn't really true. They list. The show. They advertise, but if i had to 'sell' my house tomorrow, at something other than a give-away' price, i don't know of any realtor who can 'sell it'. It is not like other 'sales persons' where they have leads for buyers and sellers, and they work those leads when need arises. My experience with some otherwise very good agents is that they are not very good at 'selling'. Especially in this market where they are scared of chasing away any sign of life.
As for education, i am sure many of you have a lot of miles under your feet. What i was asking is that does anyone offer a four year degree in Real Estate Sales? Or maybe four years of undergrad biz education, and a three year masters, like law, but the reward is a licensed real estate degree? That might help the industry a lot, and get rid of the part timers who spoil a LOT of things on both sides of the coin.
Bill, my questions really had to do with the 'sales' process. Among other things, the perception of homeowners/buyers is that agents 'sell'. Well, we know that isn't really true. They list. The show. They advertise, but if i had to 'sell' my house tomorrow, at something other than a give-away' price, i don't know of any realtor who can 'sell it'. It is not like other 'sales persons' where they have leads for buyers and sellers, and they work those leads when need arises. My experience with some otherwise very good agents is that they are not very good at 'selling'. Especially in this market where they are scared of chasing away any sign of life.
As for education, i am sure many of you have a lot of miles under your feet. What i was asking is that does anyone offer a four year degree in Real Estate Sales? Or maybe four years of undergrad biz education, and a three year masters, like law, but the reward is a licensed real estate degree? That might help the industry a lot, and get rid of the part timers who spoil a LOT of things on both sides of the coin.
Worth a thought.
Yes there are universities that offer a degree in real estate. Cornell, Georgetown, et al offer Masters in Real Estate. We have one university in my state that offers a BA in real estate. So yes, they have them. I actually think that real estate needs a program more like a paralegal. Out here that is a two year program, one year of education and one year internship program. I think a Master's would be overkill for what real estate agents are right now. That may morph more in the future. I am saying this as someone that has a Master's Degree.
Yes there are universities that offer a degree in real estate. Cornell, Georgetown, et al offer Masters in Real Estate. We have one university in my state that offers a BA in real estate. So yes, they have them.
With a degree in Business, I took about 12 hours of RE courses back in the day and there were more offered. Although it's not a degree in RE, it can be extensively covered in a standard BBA program.
ASU W. P. Carey School of Business offers a minor in real estate with a major in business. They also offer a one year full immersion Masters of Real Estate Development program.
Everyone still has to take the state exam to get the license.
I studied business, and later on took real estate college courses, a long time ago, at a local college in California. There are junior colleges around that still offer them. Some offer an AA.
Maryhurst University offers a BA and MBA in real estate.
For residential agents, a business major with a real estate minor would be very good because it covers all the bases. It could suffice for many commercial agents. But for larger projects an MBA in real estate would be best.
I would love to see a requirement for a 4 year real estate degree, or business degree with a real estate minor. Even an AA degree in real estate would be much better than what we have today.
One of my best friends in RE became a millionaire times 5, flunked out of college. A degree in RE would mean nothing in my mind unless you know how to sell, something that can't be taught in the classroom. IMHO
There are some very good points being made about what the industry needs in terms of education, training, and salesmanship.
Here's my take on the sales aspect:
An agent needs to know how to sell in order to get a listing. A good salesperson will get most of the listings. That will be his/her specialty. These people are "listing fools", and they can build large teams that can generate a lot of profit for the team, and especially for the team leader.
Their assistants make the listing appointments, and their assistants and/or co-listers take over after the listing is made, while the lister keeps on taking listings; like the Energizer Bunny . Had to throw that in there.
The process of actually selling a house is slightly different, and more complex. A good sales person could be perceived as a pushy Realtor when attempting to "sell" a house to a client.
The listing agent has to know how to "sell" to get the listing. She has to know the market to get the house prepared and priced, and how to "market" to get traffic through the house. The top salespersons will have a team that does all the marketing and everything else for him/her.
The typical buyer does not want the listing agent, or the seller, present when they view the house. If the listing agent is there, s/he is limited to explaining the amenities of the house to the buyer, and is very limited as to the questions s/he can ask the buyer, because she represents the seller, not the buyer.
The buyers agent will be very protective of the buyers information and will want to avoid the listing agent.
The buyers agent needs to know the market so he can counsel the buyer on the current value of the house. She needs to know what the buyer is looking for and help the buyer find the "right" house. The savvy buyers agent is not like the agent on HGTV showing homes. The savvy agent is a listener; allows the buyer to view the home, and points out any red flags, or amenities that are known to be important to the buyer but the buyer doesn't notice it.
By listening, the buyers agent learns more about the buyer, and will pick up on any changes in "required" amenities, so he can help guide the buyer to the right house. It's virtually impossible for a buyers agent to "sell" the buyer a home, because the buyer will know the house as soon as they walk inside; and so will the savvy agent.
The listing agent, and the seller, do not know what a buyer is looking for. While they should have marketed for a particular target market in the promotion material, and also have a list of amenities available to provide all buyers, they do not know what is important to the buyer. Consequently, if a seller and/or a listing agent attempt to point out all the features of the house, it inhibits the buyer and causes them to not be able to see the "big picture" of "does the layout of the house fit my family".
What the listing agent and buyers agent need in order make a deal happen is skills and experience in negotiating. To me, the negotiating phase is the most important part of a transaction.
There are a lot of books and classes on negotiation, and every agent making real estate a career should take advantage of them.
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. Had to throw that in there. 
