Realtor competence at an all-time low

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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7 Comments

  1. Toby Beavers June 23, 2007 at 14:51

    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

  2. Jim Duncan June 23, 2007 at 15:11

    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.

  3. Jeremy Hart June 23, 2007 at 16:33

    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.

  4. Toby Beavers June 23, 2007 at 18:14

    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.

  5. Jim Duncan June 24, 2007 at 06:33

    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.

  6. Jeremy Hart June 28, 2007 at 00:08

    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 …