Prior to deciding to come back to school, I was considering buying a home down in Orlando. While I didn't have anywhere near this negative of an experience with real estate agents, I did miss out on a chance to get a really great townhouse -- in part because of my own hesitation, but in part because of an over-eager real estate agent who didn't want to take the time to inform me about the process of buying or give me adequate information about the property. Had she been willing to work with me a little more on giving me information instead of pushing to rush me into a decision, there's a good chance I would have purchased the townhouse.Click and watch this ad. Give it a few seconds to load.
The poor guy - browbeat by his really mean wife, tag-teamed by a realtor, who is going to get her big fat commission. You could just hear the conversation the wife and realtor had before the husband walks in the room.
Folks, the system is broken. This job, realtor, needs to be radically changed, or just go away. If you want someone to work on your behalf, hire them, but pay them an hourly wage. Do NOT base their compensation on you buying or selling a house regardless of conditions, regardless of price.
And shouldn't everyone in the Century 21 marketing department and ad agency be fired on the spot tomorrow? I couldn't have created a better commercial - for why you should NEVER use a commission-earning realtor again.
Hat-tips to the NYT blog and this article at Slate for the lead.
On the other hand, maybe I should thank her? Who knows what buying that would have done about my decision to come back to school?
There definitely does seem to be something non-optimal about the real estate market. The economist in me is guessing that there is too much regulation for property sales and artificial barriers to entry in the real estate profession. This would increases transaction costs and makes the process of buying and selling more complicated and more expensive than it might otherwise be. Anyone know of any concrete studies or information on this?
1 comment:
"simply because all they focus on are sales, sales, sales."
As a working agent I have to completely disagree with this. Working for a major firm that provides a month of training after the real estate exam shows how dedicated to training their agents for knowledge AND customer service that they are. Yes, there are agents (especially the 'fly-by-night' companies) that try to take advantage of unknowledgable consumers but, if this company allowed us to work that way, we would be released from working with that company. It's not just knowledge of the home buying process that consumers lack but also the knowledge of how to pick an agent with skills and customer based service.
In regards to "If you changed the compensation structure to where it was not commission based the problem would disappear overnight." I do not believe this would correct the problem overnight but it is certainly an idea that should be worked on. If not only changing the commission structure but also the education level. A college gradute is more likely to work for a customer with a code of ethics compared to a high school educated person who is just looking to make a buck.
In summary, the compensation is just for an educated, ethical, and hard working agent but the consumer MUST research and find the right agent. How? Ask friends who they used and what they liked or disliked, look at the stats of the company the agent works for, spend a day working with the agent and if you feel pressure on any issue fire him/her.
Education level would more likely help justify not only the commission level but also the ethics that are adheard to by an agent and their company. Make a college level educaton a requirement of real estate licensee such as a degree in marketing, advertising, etc.
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