I remember when buyers blamed Realtors for driving prices up prior to 2006. I used to reply "We just market the property for what the buyer will be willing to pay, the buyer's set the market value". In 2007, I started hearing "Realtors and Appraisers are causing the values to fall".
So did Real Estate Agents cause the rise & fall, or did the economy undermine the Real Estate market? . . . and where do we go from here? We may not have the answers to that question without the benefit of hindsight. I've smashed my crystal ball on the pavement, since it stopped working about 4 years ago.
The fact is that we're in a destination community. While our largest buyer pool used to be second homeowners, the Phoenix Metro-area resident no longer has a strong equity position that would allow them to take out a loan on their primary residence and purchase a second home in the cooler Rim Country climate.
So do you want to place blame or fix it? Placing blame is easy, pick somebody. Fixing it requires you, as a consumer, to step up and spend money; after all, that's all that will turn the tide. Until consumers begin spending money, unemployment numbers will continue to climb, with the "ripple effect" knocking down business after business, reducing the overall dollars that our consumer base is willing to spend. Now it's reaching the Municipal level, reducing the spending power of our Police, Fire personnel, City/Town/County employees, as these entities try to balance a budget that is spiraling out of control.
So did the Realtors create the problem? hmmmmm....maybe the Realtors aren't quite the used car sales people that some might have thought we were. I have sworn an oath to act in the best interest of our Client, whether it be buyer or seller, in the highest ethical manner. It's called a fiduciary responsibility (ie; Act as if it's our own money on the line). While there may have been some in our industry that were chasing "the gold rush" during the boom, most of my associate Realtors were acting in the best interest of their Client, whether it be buyer or seller.
While I have driven away some potential Clients in the process, I am proud to say that I have not sacrificed my ethical standards while chasing the almighty dollar. While I intend to make a living, I don't intend to do it with a "bait & switch" business model. As a sellers agent, I represent a property accurately, with excellent photography and descriptive verbage that doesn't stretch the truth. When representing a buyer, I let the property sell itself, disclosing anything that might add or detract to that property, allowing the buyer to make the most educated decision, while encouraging independent investigation.
Buy high, sell low! Oops, other way around
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