I found myself getting into an argument the other day. I was having lunch with a couple of friends and was introduced to a gentleman who seemed to be a little angry about the economy. When he found out that I was a Realtor, he could hardly hide his disdain for the profession. He felt that the problems were helped along by unscrupulous real estate agents. I bet you haven’t heard that before!
Now, here’s the punch-line: He was glad so many real estate agents are leaving the business. “So what if a few agents loose their jobs?” Indeed, I feel his pain. In fact, I have no argument with the fact that during the last decade, becoming a real estate agent and making a descent living was what economists call “easy entry.” This is a fancy way of saying that one didn’t have to pay their dues to get in the club. And, yes, many of the non-professionals are leaving the industry. But, there’s a deeper story here. It’s not just the agents who are affected by our grim real estate market.
As in many industries, if an agent is working, there is a job “multiplier factor.” For example, here in the Seattle area every Boeing job creates seven ancillary jobs to support it (e.g. grocery store workers, restaurants, auto dealerships, etc.). When you are purchasing a home (arguably the most costly and important financial decision for most people) you need to understand that this is truly a complex process. Your decision to buy a house sets in motion a very complex mechanism that employees a lot of people…..not just your agent:
The illustration above shows the basic players in most transactions. There are actually many more. The Title Company, Escrow Company and the Lender all employee staff. The real estate agents may utilize/recommend the services of sign companies, printers, professional photographers, stagers and landscapers. A new phenomena is the inclusion of a seller’s inspector as well as the inspector used by the buyers. In the state of Washington, attorneys have become more common due to the number of distressed properties presently on the market.
The most important thing to remember is that when you pick up the phone to hire a real estate agent, you’re hiring a myriad of relationships that the agent has cultivated over many years. We spend a lot of time working with our “team” in order to represent the best interests of our clients.
One last word: The current market has been really tough, and not just for real estate agents. There are a lot of other professionals who are not working. This is a client-centric business based on trust and strong professional realtionships. Let’s hope that it won’t take forever for the market to re-boot. We want to get back to work.
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