Do you feel that builders are doing their clients a disservice by not requiring their salespeople to be licensed Realtors®? I understand some of the reasoning behind it. Primarily the fact that they don't pay added commissions, MLS fees, licensing and continuing education costs ect.
But when a buyer walks into a model home, and is helped by someone with no real estate education, limited knowledge of the local market, and not required to protect the buyer, is the buyer being best served?
In our local market, some builders hire Realtors® and some hire "salespeople." As a buyer's agent, I work closely with many of these men and women, and like and have a great working relationship with them. It is apparent however, when talking to those of the "non-Realtor®" variety that their knowledge and understanding of the service they are actually providing is limited.
What do you think of this practice? Why do you think some builders do it? Is it strictly a money-based decision? I myself wonder if builders switched to using Realtors® if their sales would actually increase, but can not prove it either way. How can the public be better educated about what they are walking into when they work directly with a builder. I know for a fact that I have gotten better prices for some of my buyers of new construction than they would have gotten going directly to the builder.
