In real estate agents we trust?
Realtor Notebook
By Teresa Boardman, Thursday, October 29, 2009.
It is hard to imagine or to understand, but not everyone trusts real estate agents or Realtors. According to a Harris poll, 20 percent don't trust us at all and only 7 percent trust us completely.
As an industry we shoot ourselves in the foot when it comes to being trustworthy. One example is the press releases and other information from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). NAR is a huge trade association that promotes our industry. As such, NAR tends to put a positive spin on buying real estate.
In the land of NAR, it is always "a great time to buy" real estate. The truth is it isn't always a good time to buy real estate -- not every market is the same and not everyone who can buy real estate should be buying real estate. The group also beats the drum about how real estate is local, which is true.
There are those real estate companies and individual professionals who make general statements about real estate that are misleading and breed distrust. One company had signs up all over town advising buyers not to miss out on this great buyer's market.
It sounded like a kind of cheap salesman's trick; the company was encouraging consumers to hurry and buy now before the homes are gone. That company also gives its agents seasonal marketing materials with messages for every season, outlining why it is the best time to buy or sell real estate.
Instead of just publishing numbers and statistics, as an industry we like to put a special spin and paint a rosy picture of the housing market. The general public sees right through it. We are treating them like idiots when we take the numbers and weave them into a fairy tale that ends with: They bought real estate and lived happily ever after.
We should be saying that real estate has appreciated but past performance is no guarantee of future appreciation, and that there are tax advantages to homeownership, emotional advantages, and we all need a place to live. When I am asked whether it is a good time to buy, my answer is and always has been the same: It depends. ...CONTINUED
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Submitted by Jerzy (George) Szkup on October 29, 2009 - 2:13pm.
George Szkup
www.DestinationTucson.biz
Teresa,
Excellent write-up. In some ways our "leaders" are not much different than our legislators. But we do not mind to call ourselves PROFESSIONALS and, occasionally, to compare ourselves to lawyers.
George from Tucson
Trulia - http://bit.ly/hqdIz Q&A, Blog/posts, Resume)
Destination Tucson – http://bit.ly/2Bnb3f (Monthly Blog)
Twitter - http://bit.ly/e3mCI (Georges’ Tweets)
Submitted by Jeanne L Turnock on October 30, 2009 - 5:17am.
Teresa,
Thank you for saying what needs to be said. I used to wonder what was wrong with me because I couldn't just repeat the party line when asked how the real estate market was doing. Apparently nothing is wrong with me because there are others out there (you, for instance) who also think before responding, ask good questions and then tailor their response to the listener's situation. We hold ourselves out as industry experts. Anyone can repeat the ads the see and hear. It takes an expert to combine years of experience, knowledge and a trained "ear" to give really good advice tailored to the audience.
Submitted by Chris Freeman on October 30, 2009 - 3:15pm.
Teresa,
I've mentioned before that I'm a big fan of your "it depends" answers, since they are thoughtful as well as truthful. This is quite refreshing, especially from someone paid on commission, even though surely there are many of the same ilk. Certainly part of the reason so many are distrustful of Realtors is the compensation model - Realtors are commission-based sales people (usually). No matter what a person sells, whether it be furniture, cars or real estate, it makes one have to go a lot further to become trustworthy from a client's perspective. There is also much that is behind the curtain, so-to-speak, in that most people do not know a whole lot about the real estate buying and selling process. This also breeds mistrust, much like a car mechanic's client for someone who doesn't know a lot about cars. Fear of the unknown isn't exactly the easiest barrier to cross to become trusted.
Hopefully once people meet the right agent and get the knowledge and honest answers they need, the barriers come down and people will start trusting them. I bet your approval ratings from clients is rated much higher than average.
Chris Freeman
Chief Technology Officer
WOLFNET www.wolfnet.com
Submitted by Susie Blackmon on November 1, 2009 - 5:10am.
There ARE great realtors out there who are trustworthy and who do not treat the public and their clients like they are stupid with the common 'big box' mantras. Too bad they are in the minority but I do believe attrition will be beneficial in this regard.
Susie Blackmon
http://www.google.com/profiles/Susie28751#about