In a report that is indicative of the what happens when barriers to entry are low –
A 46.1 percent increase in the number of Realtors in Massachusetts since 2001 means there is now one Realtor for every 1.6 houses sold in the state so far this year. That number is on track to fall far short of the 2.9 houses sold for every one Realtor four years ago.
This sort of number hurts everybody – including me and my business! Now I just need to find the numbers for the Virginia Association of Realtors.
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I find myself mentioning this very topic way too much. The barriers of entry into this field (real estate agent) are far too low. Anyone can pay for the minimal number of hours of classes, and it takes next to no intelligence to pass the test. There are a number of people that become real estate agents because they can’t do anything else. This needs to stop. Licensing requirements need to become much more stringent, keeping your license (i.e. Continuing Education) should require much more work and the profession itself needs to find a way to up it’s standards of professionalism. Helping someone buy or sell a home may seem like an easy way to make a buck. But we, as real estate agents, need to realize that these people (our clients) rely on our expertise in what is typically one of the biggest investments of their lives. We shouldn’t just let anyone off the street “earn” a license and start brokering.
Amen.