Realtor competence at an all-time low

Posted on June 22, 2007 by Jim Duncan

Shocking. Anyone who has been in this business for more than three years can attest to this:

“With the expansion of the number of Realtors, the level of competence has fallen to its lowest point ever,” says former NAR Chief Economist and best-selling author Dr. John Tuccillo.
…
… real estate is no longer a part-time, halfway station on the road to making a quick buck. The new online consumers are expecting a great deal more than their counterparts a decade ago.

I still think that NAR would do well by the professional Realtors to advocate for the use of a competent Realtor, rather than any Realtor; maybe local associations should triple their dues.

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About Jim Duncan

A Charlottesville Realtor who tries to stay on the bleeding/cutting/functional edge of technology and real estate trends. I have been selling real estate for the past 10 years, lived in C'Ville for twenty+ and am married to one of few Charlottesville natives left.
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  • http://www.Charlottesville-Area-Real-Estate.com Toby Beavers

    Tripling the dues during a depressed market would hurt a lot of starving realtors…And thier families.

    So monetary hurt but what’s the point?

    There are good realtors and bad ones…

    Same as clients.

    I could & should write a book titled: The Angry Realtor

    I’ll bet other realtor’s have as many horror stories about getting duped(screwed) by their clients as I do.

    Most American’s today are heartless and empathetic to your hard work.

    As a car saleman how much trust he has in people today.

    Thanks Toby Beavers

  • http://www.realcentralva.com Jim Duncan

    Toby -

    Thanks for stopping by.

    For the record, I have thought and argued for raising dues and education levels for years. The state of the market shouldn’t dictate entry levels.

  • http://NRVLiving.Typepad.com Jeremy Hart

    I agree, the current market conditions don’t have anything to do with whether or not we pay enough – we don’t, by the way – to be a REALTOR. I disagree with those that say that raising the barriers to entry in this industry wouldn’t have any effect on the professionalism and qualifications of REALTORs today. Well, perhaps it might not do anything to professionalism but like any industry there are always snakes in the grass.

  • http://NRVliving.Typepad.com Jeremy Hart

    * Update – just came across this post on the exact same topic. http://mioaklandcounty.com/blog/2007/06/20/separating-the-brokerage-from-the-agent/

  • http://www.Charlottesville-Area-Real-Estate.com Toby Beavers

    I guess I agree with you both after a few hours of pondering the thought. More education would definitely thin out the Quick Buck artists that has become our profession. If you really want to be frank about it…A realtor is merely one step up than a used car salesman on the totem pole of envious occupations. Now that’s a scary thought.

  • http://www.realcentralva.com Jim Duncan

    Jeremy -

    Great link. thanks.

    Toby -

    “A Realtor” – sure; some Realtors are one step up from a used car salesman. Many are not.

    Those that strive to be “the” Realtor will do far better than those who just want to do one to five transactions a year. If the dues were raised, and more people needed to treat our profession as a profession, then I expect that competence would be one of the many things that would be raised.

  • http://NRVLiving.Typepad.com Jeremy Hart

    Now that’s a SAD thought, Toby. I can think of three REALTORs on this blog alone who are trying to set a different standard. But the cream will always rise to the top …