So, if a real estate company sells lots of homes and has a market share does that make the company a better company?
Or is it that the company has the most amount of agents. Companies are always recruiting and invest quite a bit in training. Studies show that 80% of agents decide not to continue after the first year. Companies get bought out, managers change, people retire, new agents come in and start to learn and experienced agents decide it is time to try another company. This is the cycle in all companies. There is a lot of agent movement from office to office. There are wonderful agents and not so good agents in all company's.
Why do agents move from company to company? Some offer lots of free training, some make it mandatory, some charge for training and it is up to the agent whether to attend or not, some have wonderful experienced managers/owners, some have managers in training, some let the agent keep a larger percentage of their commission, some pay for office supplies, some will provide advertising for listings weekly some won't and so it goes. Agents interview different office's and try to find the best fit. Every agent has different ideas about what will work for them. There is a certain pattern to agent movement. New agents learn and after a couple of years want to see what else is out there in terms of what a company can offer them. After 15 years I decided that I would prefer to control my own business, make my own marketing and financial decisions and not be subject to corporate shifting and changing. I went to RE/MAX prime properties. The corporate support is there as is the owner/broker experience I need if an issue arises but I control my business. The education that is available is superb, on the internet 24/7 or on the RE/MAX satellite station. This was what I thought at this point in my career would work best for me.
Real estate company's make money by keeping a percentage of the commission that the agent is paid. Some franchises also make money by charging for marketing materials that they provide. There are lots of different models.
Different companies do things differently. Does any of this make one company better than the next? I have been in both small independent firms and larger franchises. I have been in two different offices within the same franchise and things are vastly different from office to office. Buyers and sellers really don't have any contact with the company and it does not matter which company has a home on the market because we can all show any house through the MLS.
Do agent's who invest in their careers bring more to the table? Does more real estate education and experience mean anything? Does an agent with an individual website, perhaps even a blog bring more to the table. Studies show that the answer is yes. Does that mean that an agent who does not have their own website or blog or continued education is not committed to their career? No, it doesn't, there are wonderful agents who have not yet embraced the internet.
If you are buying or selling it is the agent, not the company that will be in charge of your transaction. Hire the agent, not the company.
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So true. We have one company in The Florida Keys that boasts that they have such a high market share. They do but they also have 5 times the agents of any company. If you have a real estate licence and a pulse they will hire you. They are also the company that has been brought in front of the grievance comity the most due to errors by unexperienced agents. Do you want quantity or quality?