Donald S. Teel

My apology for the name error in my previous comment, Marta. DT

Mary...spot on! (hmmm, sounds British!) Finally, a breath of real world, fresh air. Why is it that each time a new technology is introduced to the real estate industry we retool it until it looks like an MLS print out? That is what our blogging efforts have become, mostly. After all of our conferencing, networking meetings and fish-bowl thinking, we still haven't discovered how to do with social media what Mary suggests and has accomplished. This is an excellent example of the new "rapport" building models that are going to emerge as more of us discover that real estate, property purchases and market stats are not the primary staple of most people's lives. I applaud you Mary and only hope that my wife does not find your blog in her daily Googs for cosmetics! Oh, by the way, do you have anything in a refinishing product for men?! The Refinishing Serum post seems suitable for me because being in Arizona I have some UV induced damaged skin that extends to dull, tired, rough and pigmented skin, as your post states. :-) Donald Teel - Founder www.ePartnerUSA.com www.REALonomics.net 928.777.8100

Well, well, well...let's see if I have this correct. There are too many of us, right. Correct-a-mundo. We have perhaps the most bloated labor force of any industry and yet, we cannot seem to bring ourselves to reduce our numbers as other industries do. Our bloated economic model is one of the key elements of our model that is destroying the profitability of Broker-Owners and local real estate firms because the PPCT (profit per closed transaction) is pathetic and unsustainable. We need to vent the bloat by raising the initial standards for entry, tweaking the national agent count by State in accordance with a minimal transaction per agent formula and last but not least we need to increase the annual costs in order to drive out fair-weather-members and to supplement NAR for the reduction in agent count. Oh, how we love our numbers! We have continued our perpetuation of the definition of success being agents, agents and, more agents, taking it to a self-destructive level. Here is the economic truth of the matter. The correct entry standards and limitations on active members will actually create more wealth and prosperity for Broker-Owners and agents. But, do we have the guts to reinvent our national, state and local models? The sole benefactor of our bloated economic system is NAR and the dues that run the mother ship. If we decreased our labor force by 50% and increased our dues commensurate with actual costs, our local agents and companies would realize a significant net financial gain. The actual cost of dues when measured against profit would decrease on a percentage basis of gross commission income. REALonomics estimates that we need approximately 300,000 - 450,000 agents to operate the industry at acceptable and sustainable ROI. After all of the revenue decrease from the downturn and suffering and pain we have endured we still cannot bring ourselves to run this industry according to sound economic principles. There principles include a solid definition of the labor force requirements. Nice article...well written! Additional Thinking: www.realonomics.net/2007/04/bloated-economics-too-much-of-us/ A Bit More Food for Thought: www.realonomics.net/2009/08/tenus-terminatio-cuspis/ Respectfully submitted, Donald Teel - Founder e-Partner www.ePartnerUSA.com REALonomics www.REALonomics.net 877-380-1000