Real Estate Agents Top List of Least Prestigious Jobs in America!

I got a kick out of the survey on the Most, and least, prestigious jobs in America.  With Real Estate Agents coming in last of everybody, I think it gives some good food for reflection on why that is the case and what it might take to see that change, even just a little bit.  Most people know some great real estate agents.  Of course, they also feel like they know some they consider less than great.

According to the Best Article Every Day, Real Estate Agents have the least prestigious job in America.  Their company in the bottom ten include athletes, business executives, journalists, union leaders, stockbrokers, entertainers, accountants, bankers and actors.

Coming in dead last on the list, with only 4% of Americans considering the job to have "very great prestige" and a heavy 34% considering the job to have "hardly any prestige at all." Though they may be viewed by the public as the least prestigious job in America, real estate agent and brokers are often hard worker, working late into the evenings and weekends and are usually on call to suit the needs of their clients. - The Best Article Every Day

Read the link for the most prestigious jobs in America!

I would venture that the public feels that real estate agents don't always work for their clients' best interests.  Those feelings area easily confirmed when the National Association of Realtors prevents the google indexing of listings  and even our local Lake Chelan Brokers that insist on keeping a closed MLS of 100 or so agents rather than joining a larger MLS where thousands of agents could view their clients' homes for sale.  The practice of "dual agency" where a broker is supposedly acting in the best interests of clients on both sides of a transaction is a clear conflict of interest that is an accepted practice with most brokers. 

There are honest, ethical and skilled real estate agents in Lake Chelan, and the rest of the country.  Until real estate customers demand better behavior from the agents they decide to do business with, I don't expect the standards or prestige of real estate agents to improve much.