NAR® Report says 70% of buyers work with the first Realtor® they meet, Is that a good idea?

As a lending professional, I have an opportunity to meet lots of Realtors®.  The NAR® report says 70% of buyers work with the first Realtor® they meet.  I am not sure that is the best situation.  Now I know several Realtors® that if that were to happen, the consumer would be really well taken care of.  One of the Realtors® I work with has been a Realtor® for sixteen years, has helped 1,000 families to buy or sell their homes, was a real estate appraiser for four years and was a lender, like me, for nine years.  Now that Realtor® knows what he is talking about and would be a good first choice for a buyer or seller.

On the other hand we have over 3,200 Realtors® in the Ada County Association of Realtors® now, and a significant percentage didn't sell a single house last year.  (Yes, things are really tough out there.)  We usually have two Realtors® on every transaction we assist a buyer with their loan.  Usually there is one who represents the seller and one who represents the buyer.  Occasionally, we can have a very experienced person on one side of the transaction and someone who is a little green on the other side. In those cases the more experienced person ends up doing 95% of the work and only gets paid 50%.  From that person's perspective it certainly doesn't seem very fair!

Appraisers have to do a two-year apprenticeship during which a much more experienced supervising appraiser is required to sign-off on all appraisal reports for that period. Has anyone ever considered instituting that type of arrangement in real estate for Realtors®?  I am not saying we shouldn't have new people come into the business, but why not impose an apprenticeship period until a new Realtor® has learned their craft and can be trusted to be out on their own? 

When selecting a Realtor® for your next home sale or purchase, consider working with someone that has been in the industry for awhile, and maybe not go with your neighbor's cousin who was just licensed. Your experience should be fun and exciting, and no the other sort that we see from time-to-time.