Over the last 10 years, I have been a student of real estate.  I say student because I don't think you should ever stop learning or having a strong desire to learn.  And real estate, like our world, is constantly changing. 

But one thing I've noticed is how few agents continue to aggressively learn as they continue their career.  Many get their license and in the ensuing years do only what is required of them ito keep their license.  Here's an example.  Some months back, I took another agent along on a "short-sale" listing appointment with me at his request.  He had been in business for 18 months and had sold a few homes, but he didn't feel comfortable with listing presentations or finding comparables, and he admittedly knew nothing about short sales.  

We ultimately listed the house and on our drive back to the office, I began a line of friendly questioning to see if I might be able to offer anything of value to him in the way of advice.  The first thing I realized is that he was more than 30K high on his market analysis and this was a 140K listing.  Next, when I asked him if he had a listing presentation that he practiced, he said no.  When asked why, he said, "I just don't have that desire to like you to learn and practice and....".  I couldn't believe my ears.  He was striving to be average and that's exactly what he had achieved.  It clearly did not bother him a bit.  Then to top it off, he said he never really felt comfortable explaining the contract forms to his clients because he didn't understand them.  WHAT?  

In reality, he's more often the norm than the exception.  In my humble opinion, I've found far too many newer agents believe they've hit the pinnacle when they obtain their license, and they never crack a book, read a periodical or attend classes/seminars that will help them better understand the nuts and bolts of the business rather than how to market more effectively.  With this particular agent, he declined my offer to help him understand the processes and paperwork, he simply didn't want to know or do any more than he already did.  A sad commentary indeed.

I know there are plenty of agents out there that work hard every day to become more knowledgeable, but I think we all have a duty to help push the newer agents in that direction.  Many are young and don't have a lot of life experiences to fall back on and that is where those of us with some gray hair can help. 

So, for those in our industry who also believe that learning never stops, I applaud you.  It is the only way we can be considered the Doctors of Real Estate.