Is the “Recovery” Leading to a Boom in Real Estate Agents (in Virginia)?

# of newly licensed real estate agents in Virginia - as of 27 October 2014-1

Is the “Recovery” Leading to a Boom in Real Estate Agents (in Virginia)?

Not yet.

There’s a sweet spot for productivity. Too few and you’re not (in my opinion) truly competent; in the words of an agent from whom I’ve learned a lot over the years, “if you’re not doing enough business, you’re not screwing up enough to learn.” Experience matters; every transaction, every person, every situation is different. If you’re doing too many, the customer is going to feel (and be treated like) a number rather than a human – a person making a big freaking life and financial decision – the right balance of productivity is critical.

But …

Think about this:

– about 10% of the licensed real estate agents are new, some of whom are likely experienced agents from other states, but in general, new.

– In my opinion, if a new agent is mentor-less, he or she is not remotely qualified to represent a client.

– As the real estate market recovers, more agents will enter the profession.

– Hopefully we never return to 2006 numbers.

– I’m going to cover some of this in more detail in this month’s Monthly Note, focusing on the consumer’s responsibility when vetting and hiring representation.

# of licensed real estate agents in Virginia-1

For some context, in Charlottesville there are about 900 Realtors:

– 672 have done at least a half a side (co-representing either buyer or seller)

– 289 have done at least five sides this year

– 149 have at least 10 sides

– 66 have at least 15 sides

– 44 have at least 20

Credit to Calculated Risk for the idea and Virginia’s DPOR for emailing me the data – quickly!

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2 Comments

  1. Simon Campbell October 31, 2014 at 15:31

    “if you’re not doing enough business, you’re not screwing up enough to learn.” oh how I love that quote! I always joked that if you could make fog by breathing on a mirror – then you could be a real estate agent. I am just glad they do not accept the same level of incompetence when licensing doctors or tax consultants.

    Reply
  2. Pingback: Professionalism? Meh, says NAR - RealCentralVA.com

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