I would guess that every REALTOR I would ask that question of would give a slightly different take on the answer.

There are many ways for real estate professionals to gain expertise. The National Association of REALTORS ( NAR ) provides many designations requiring mastery at different levels. States have programs leading to designations that also provide general or mastery levels for certification.

Beyond those designations though , most of the many real estate professionals would be found. So what is real estate expertise and where may it be found. Below would be a sampling of examples of how the question " What is Real Estate Expertise, might be answered from the various perspectives.

I know that politically active real estate professionals ( REALTORS) might answer in a way to include all their efforts made to protect private property rights. And when you consider that they know more about legislative issues and the process that it takes to educate the elected representatives, it would seem logical. Many Realtors would love to be able to have a quick speak of all that but you can only get that from being involved at that level.

A different answer alltogether might  come from the social up-scale type of agent who knows all about luxury homes and what motivates people with the means to want to own them. They may be the most envied of the REALTORS since they usually entertain a lot or are entertained in all the right circles. Usually living a luxury lifestyle is the answer given for them to claim this expertise.

Then there are the  local neighborhood specialists who often times know nearly every family, nearly every property and eagerly engages in that geographic area. They would say they are expert because they know every floor plan, every type of  motivation of why people buy there and even why many sell. They know the schools, the shopping and quite possibly where all the cracks are in the sidewalks. They truly know the neighborhood and the people that occupy it.

There are more general and broader based  community experts that might even be involved in the schools, with the town council or the building and planning board. They are often able to access and share first hand information, just in a different form. Their focus is broader based and might encompass many neighborhoods.

Then you have the Volunteer professional that might serve on the local board in some capacity. They get everything filtered through 1^st hand knowledge of the industry itself and are able to translate that into client benefits. They may have worked on the standard forms or even the local political campaigns and their perspective is in benefits to the consumer and industry alike. Community service provides yet different experiences and may enhance the exposure as well as the type of specific benefits or information that leads to their expertise at that level.

I think you can see that there is no one answer to the question “What is real estate expertise”. It all depends on the level of involvement and where one’s specific interest and experience lie.

In Niche Marketing for example, we find different examples of those interests and the specific expertise that is required for the consumer to benefit.

Historical Homes, Luxury Homes,Townhomes, Condo Living, Geographical experts and many others where agents specialize  in specific types of clients such as, 1^st time Home Buyers, 1st Time Sellers, Divorce Situations or Divorce Attorneys, Seniors Down sizing and Military or Corporate  Relocation are other examples where expertise is claimed within the guidelines of that Niche. In recent years we also hear of the ShortSale and REO Niche.

We know that there are many many different types of real estate expertise and what they have in common is an unmistakable passion and very specific knowledge not always shared by the general real estate practitioner.

And we also know that one can still be an expert REALTOR and not be an expert in one category or another. But it is becoming more common today to declare what you have expertise in because of the extensive Internet marketing now required and the need to distinguish yourself and stand out to be successfully discovered by the Internet Empowered Consumer.

So how would you define your own real estate expertise and what do you have to back it up? Eventually you may be asked. For those with interest in the Internet Marketing side of the question are most often offered the by the networks they join, ways for stating their expertise. But it is up to you to define it and defend it with whatever empirical evidence you have of earning that level of expertise. So, be it special courses you have taken and are certified in, years of specialized experience or self study by your own initiative, real estate expertise is being more greatly demanded by the consumer.

One caveat is also useful here. The more expertise you claim, the more liability you may have to defend against should that ever become necessary. So be always be careful what you claim. An example of this point could be the " Short Sale" specialist. If you have a transaction involving a short sale for example and where it ever challenged for some reason and you claim to be an expert, you would necessarily also enjoy a greater liability in whatever about it, might be challenged. Being realistic in what you claim, is a good standard.