Recently, while reading up on real estate market news, I came across a headline in one of our National newspapers (click here for the link). The piece is not much more than a sour rant stretched into an article about the author’s deep-routed hatred towards real estate agents. But it got me thinking… why so mad Bill?
Why do people hate Real Estate Agents? When did the perception of the real estate professional become so pervasive?
I did some digging to identify the Top 3 Reasons People Hate Real Estate Agents:
1) There’s a perception that agents buying and selling houses in hot markets like Toronto (where homes don’t sit for long) results in “easy money” (unearned – for very little effort put in).
2) Agents all trumpet the SAME descriptions like “honesty”, “integrity” and decades of “industry experience”. Everyone looks the SAME, yet many are arrogant, provide bad service or at worst, are incompetent.
3) Agents flood mailboxes with unsolicited junk mail and/or turn up on doorsteps uninvited, invading space and wasting time.
Full disclosure: I am a real estate agent.
This will not be a “poor me” blog post (waaaaaa!) waxing poetic about how hard we work and touting the benefits of working with a seasoned real estate agent. It’s an important conversation to have, but usually falls on deaf ears. Nobody wants to hear how many hours we put in, what sacrifices we make, what good negotiators we are, how our commission cheques get divided.
But the general public needs to know the people knocking on doors and cold-calling are not industry veterans driving luxury vehicles. They are people just like you and me trying to carve out a living, trying to put a roof over heads and food on the table. Hustling. Just squirrels trying to get a nut.
Look, we know there are flaws in the industry.
There are always a few bad apples that ruin it for the rest of us but there are also excellent realtors out there worthy of respect and compensation.
They work hard and pride themselves on their integrity & stand out from the pack by their professionalism, by their quality and care demonstrated and articulated throughout the transaction from the first meeting to the final handshake. The ones that don’t will likely end up leaving the business.
So the next time you see one of those pavement-pounding, door-knocking, bravely-smiling new real estate agents approaching you uninvited… a simple “no thank you, not interested” will suffice. There’s no need to be mean.
Tony Harris says:
Nice article Alex,I recently visited Toronto from Sydney Australia and loved it
I am researching for my book’Why hate Real Estate Agents”and this was helpful
I think the biggest gripe like you, is that people see it as ‘easy money’ for the big commissions but I think the real problem is REA are not communicating enough with their clients before,during or after the sale or purchase
Regards Tony
Alex Beauregard says:
Thanks Tony! Glad you liked it. Like in any profession, you are going to have those of us who strive to provide memorable, exceptional service, and then you’ll have others who are fine with providing the bare minimum. Unfortunately for buyers and sellers, the challenge is in choosing the right real estate agent.
The industry also needs work. Improvements should be made in training, service, and accountability after agents obtain their license.
Just my two cents, good luck with your book! – Alex