Yes, I agree with this article.  I believe we have too many Realtors and so many that are part time, not willing or able to give the client the full attention they deserve.  Many will leave the business because of the slow down and hopefully they won't return.

Howard, Great Post... I started a thread about this very thing and the public frustration with Real Estate in general.  There is too many Realtors because the test IS TOO EASY as well as the qualifications.  What other high paid industry can you go from being Joe Nobody to Realtor in less than 2 weeks if you really wanted to push it. NO other industry is it that way, at least not the ones I consider to be professional industries, I do hope that most consider us to be a professional industry.  

Real Estate has a very low retention rate, which is good, but at the same time the test and hiring process is just ridiculous.  They should make the test so hard that only 1 in 10 ever make it.  NOW HOW NICE WOULD IT BE IF THERE WAS A SHORTAGE OF REAL ESTATE AGENTS???

Along those lines, here's an interesting result of a survey taken by Millionaire Systems of agents polled between 2006 and 2007.  

Time Agents Spent Prospecting Every Day:

3 hours or more                         1%

2-3 hours                                 5%

1-2 hours                                11%

30 minutes - 1 hour                    8%

None or less than 30 minutes      76%

Since we are in the lead generation business, this statistic almost guarantees that at least one in four (if not many more) Realtor/agents will have to find other meaningful forms of employment or sources of income.  

                         No leads = no business.

Hap

Great article and great post.  Like I have said before, this is all out war and the real estate industry of today will probably be extinct in 5 - 10 years from now if not sooner.  

I think the industry itself is to blame for the over abundance of real estate practitioners.  Getting a license to sell real estate is way to easy and most brokerages concentrate on the quantity of agents they have, not the quantity of transactions per agent.  This article hits the nail right on the head, the real estate industry needs a good thinning out!  However, I think that the brokers are the ones who should be doing the thinning, not the market.

I am staying the service course, I will go down with the ship.  I have had a strong web presence for the last several years and plan to continue improving my systems to stay competitive until there is no life left in this business as a quality service provider.

It will be interesting to see who the last agents standing will be!

To be on the safe side, I am starting to build additional online businesses outside of the real estate arena to provide extra income streams in the future and I suggest everyone else do the same.  Feel free to contact me if you would like suggestions!

I will have no problem with some agents leaving real estate ... especially the ones who lack in honesty and client service ... wouldn't we have an ideal world if all of those let real estate business?

Good post. To expand on the fact that there are too many Realtors in the business we also have to look at several factors contributing to it. All of the comments touch on those factors. Yes, the qualifications to get your license are somewhat easy... take a few classes and pass the test and your in - that is the first. The second is the brokerages who thrive on the agent count no matter full or part time just to get the transactions out of the agent, Let's remember 30 part time agents who only do 2 transactions a year is 60 transactions for the broker so if it doesn't cost the broker anything to keep the part timers around might as well keep 'em. Third, there is no movement, that I am aware of, to uping the standards to get into the business. Union workers go to apprentice school for 3 to 5 years before they are able to graduate into the full wage sector of the experienced union workers, medical students must complete internships where they cultivate their skills before being allowed to go into world as Doctors yet very few Real Estate company's promote education and training to further the quality of the realtors in the industry. Who is to blame? The part time agent can trip over two transactions a year and be happy with an additional 7-10K a year I don't blame them, they pay their dues and take their continuing educational courses every 2 years and their $600 investment has a nice return. I look more to the brokerages in the business to demand a higher standard of those agents who are serious about the business and working at it full time. Those agents are the ones who will drive the industry and push the others to follow their lead or "get out the way".  

Lucia is correct. Multiple income streams = wealth. Especially in this business. Paid bills aid perspective. And this business is expensive.

The next 3 paragraphs are not for the faint of heart . . .  ;)

IMO, real estate classes should be 6 months long, with at least one solid month devoted entirely to comprehension of the contracts and contract writing. A 6-12 month apprenticeship should be mandatory after initial licensing. The 'senior agent' should then submit an endorsement of their protege as part of the requirements for permanent licensure.

Testing should be much harder and given at both prelicensure and then again, at the end of the first or second year in business--that test focusing strongly on ethics and requiring an essay response to a difficult ethical situation in addition to multiple choice questions (evaluating the communication skills of those entrusted to draft legal documents in addition to their understanding of the laws, COE etc).

And brokers should be retested every 4 years (not just a one day broker management clinic) to make sure they are current with the industry and not 'phoning it in'. I would gladly do this.

I'm aware that this scenario will never happen.   LOL

Howard, looking back over my first 3 years in this business I felt like I survived the standard "weed out" program. I think maybe by 3rd year if agents aren't where they projected they would be in 3 years they are ready to bail.

This business has never been about the money, I love this business. Yes, of course, I like it when I earn a check for all my work, but that is not why I am here and it will have nothing to do with keeping me here.

However, my business is growing and has grown each year.

Over the last 10 years in my husband's mfg business, he had two employees think that owning your own business was where it was at. They both left pretty cocky, they were going to make their mark in the world. Both of them experienced owning their own business and quit and came back and told my husband they had no idea what he went through. He simply said "yes, it's hard consistent WORk"

I think everything will right itself. Less agents. Discount brokerages will be hungry, and we will be back to square one, where we just carry on doing the best job we can for our clients, like we are doing now.

My take from awhile back on the ease of getting a real estate license:

http://www.phoenixrealestateguy.com/it-is-past-time-to-raise-the-bar/138

Note the comparison between getting a real estate license and thing like hiar styling, nail technician, etc.

It's ridiculous....

What a great blog site (Phx RE Guy)! Recognized some of my local compadres there. You can bet your bottom dollar that if Todd Tarson does make it to AAR President, and he has the stuff, he would ruffle some feathers to raise the bar and I would back him.

Whoever said they did their classroom hours via tape has to be mistaken--perhaps a study tape. AZ requires 90 classroom hours or at least 27 with reciprocity.

ROFL . . . in my area the answer to that would be Sure, No Problem . . . and they do permanent makeup too, LOL

Well thanks Candice! A lot of blood, sweat, tears and swearing goes into creating that blog!

Todd's a great guy. He's got a good blog too at http://mocoreal.blogspot.com/

Unfortunately, all this is way too common!  I just put a client in a home and they told me that they had just been stopped by a local police officer because their Nevada plate triggered some sort issue on the patrolman's computer (I understand such issues are commonplace when folks from Nevada move out of state).  At any rate, the officer got all the info he needed, but before he let my client go on his merry way, he added "so, since you're from out of state, need any help finding a home...I'm also a Realtor".  Interesting prospecting technique!!!!

JudiB

We have a 48% decrease in sales here in southern california (inland empire). I am still glad for the slowdown even though it is taking a little bit of a hurt on myself. The agents that jumped on the band wagon are falling off and us professionals will still be here doing what we do best, providing service