Why People Hate Real Estate Agents

By Jim Palmer Jr.

One day in a casual conversation some folks made the comment, “I hate Realtors®”. I ignored the comment, partially because I’m used to comments like those and partially because they qualified their rude outburst by saying, “But not you!” As I traveled home that day I pondered why that sentiment is prevalent. Is it deep seated resentment lingering from a bygone era, or is it a relevant and deserved bias?  This pondering led me to a Google search that was like opening up a floodgate! The posts were varied and some quite venomous!

I believe the main problem facing real estate agents is the fact that about 3 out of 4 brokers don’t have enough experience and will probably wash out of the real estate profession before they gain enough on-the-job-training to  avoid some negative reviews. Much of this is avoided when conscientious Managing Brokers are heavily vested in the maturation process of “baby brokers”. Even among the ranks of seasoned brokers, too few take advantage of professional career development opportunities that are vital for success. Most agents rely solely on the school of hard knocks instead of also investing in expensive and time consuming schooling. Additionally, there are the old dogs that refuse to stay relevant, hanging on to the fact that they have always done it that way.

Another reason consumers hate agents is because the business seems easy on the surface. To sell a home, some folks think it means sticking a sign in the yard and posting photos online. They fail to realize that in most cases it is much more complicated than that. The expertise it takes to skillfully navigate a modern transaction (except the most rudimentary contract), is tremendous, yet the sad truth is some agents don’t earn what they make creating the perception that Realtors® are overpaid.

Even though there are those agents who love to brag about their earnings, most don’t sell more than 4 homes per year and from that income their broker takes a cut, then they pay taxes and overhead. The net profit is never as much as it may appear. Sometimes being self employed means lean economics, which may tempt some brokers to be aggressive and pushy or dishonest and self-serving.

The truth is that most Realtors® are hard working, competent, honest, and worth every penny. Smart consumers know it is not as hard as you think to pick a good Realtor®!