Breaking Down 7 Popular Stereotypes About Real Estate Agents

Well this one may be a bit controversial but I've been thinking about this for a while and decided after encountering so many people that have strong opinions about agents that it's time to share my thoughts.

I think the final straw was when I heard a radio commercial by a discount brokerage that took a shot at other brokerages implying that the main reason client's homes aren't selling is because of the commissions charged. Of course there was no mention of how price is calculated by other comparables and they failed to mention what is common practice by them, which is letting the client inflate their asking price on their home so they can obtain the listing. This kind of negative advertising drives me crazy. So with this in mind let's debunk several popular myths about real estate agents.

Stereotype #1: All Real Estate Agents Make Tons of Money

The fact is that most agents barely make enough money to afford the family mortgage and to pay all of their bills. In many families it takes 2 incomes to support the household and in our profession this is mostly the case. In the Treasure Valley most agents are not making close to the 6 figures that is a common belief. In fact in our market you would need to sell approximately 30 properties at an average of $250,000 per home in a given calendar year to earn around $80,000. This is not an easy goal to obtain during a slower market and even during a good market it's considered great to sell 20 homes per year.

Sure there are some hot markets such as San Diego, New York or San Francisco where during the housing boom an agent could sell 10 homes in a year and make $80,000. But in most markets where the median price for a home is $240,000 or even lower that's simply not the case.

Commissions are not fixed and are always negotiable. First the commission fee is split between the listing and selling brokerage. Next the brokerage splits the commission again with the agent and it's common for agents to earn 50 % to 70% of that split. After all expenses and there are many a sold home at $250,000 may yield around $3,000 to $4,000 and that's before taxes. Not exactly tons of money.

I also want to say that for those agents operating in higher priced markets making money is not a sin. What about lawyers, doctors, top sales people or executives in any profession? As with any job these agents have worked hard to get where they are and enjoying the monetary result is one of their rewards. It's fine to make money but to say that all agents are rich when most are just making it by just isn't right. Myth #2 is another big one that contributes to the negative stereotype people have of agents.

Stereotype #2: Being a Real Estate Agent is Easy!

Oh my there's almost no such thing as an easy transaction in this business. Long hours are common practice. This job comes with lack of sleep, high stress and the managing of each detail of the transaction, which almost always presents difficulties and new challenges. There are agents in the business 30 years plus still encountering new scenarios that requires hours of research, calling and writing letters on behalf of their clients to get positive results.

There are so many moving parts to any transaction coupled with the many hats that we wear (see my other recent blog post). In most of our business relationships we are counselors, research analysts, project managers and conflict management specialists.

We answer to our clients and they often expect more from us than they do their friends and family. If you enjoy working late nights and weekends away from your family, spending money on everything from marketing, advertising, gas, license fees, monthly fees, association dues and of course taxes, all along knowing you are dependent on the what the market is doing and that you're actually pretty lucky if you earn $50,000 in one year, then yes please do consider this as a career. Ok then why do it you ask? For me it's the rewards of helping people find homes, freedom to make decisions on my own and in part setting my own schedule.

Stereotype #3: Agents Are Show Offs and Have Huge Egos

Some do that's partially true but there are many down to earth that simply put their client's needs first. I've heard people complain about the fancy cars and suits that seem to go with an attitude of I'm too good to help X or Y out. I've seen and heard a few people behave this way in our industry but I believe it's not the norm.

I hope that I'm not showing off when I say have you seen my 2003 Outback Subaru? How about my associate Tami's older Grand Am? :) Splurging is not an option and certainly not what we choose to do. Again if you've earned the rewards there's nothing wrong with spending the money. However, we operate on the motto of putting our client's needs first. We are grounded and what drives us is finding and selling homes for people that need to make a transition in their life. Next time you come across a pompous agent just remember they are in the minority and run to another respectable agent that you can relate to and will do the job right for you. The next myth often doesn't help remember this point too much.

Stereotype #4: Agents Are Consumed With Their Image

You've seen it before, over and over again in all advertising from billboards to magazine ads. It's on our business cards, on automobiles and sometimes it's on movie screens, television shows (see Desperate Housewives) and just about anywhere else you can think of looking. It's the agent with the model image. It's the head shot with the perfect hair, the wonderful smile, the expensive attire and sometimes even the cleavage. The real estate industry is about selling us and not our services. People identify with an image and if you don't present the image they won't choose you. This type of thinking feeds into our industry. It's so out of control isn't it? I really don't care what John, Mary or Fannie Mae looks like. I just want someone that will get me results. I want someone that I can identify with and someone that answers their phone or gets back to me within an hour and not hours later or the next day. I want someone knowledgeable about what's going on in my subdivision, community, city, county. Isn't this what most of our client's want? Then why do we perpetuate the standard headshot followed by the home? Why do we prop our image up instead of our results?

Let me say that it's not just the agents that maybe consumed with their image. It's the media and the industry as a whole that continues to encourage and promote this effort. I believe it's our own industry the real estate profession that continues to promote this way of thinking. While it's true we must sell ourselves, I believe it's not so much what you look like "model wise" as proven in most top producer industries rather it's the skills you have to back it up. This brings me to the next popular myth.

Stereotype #5: Being a Real Estate Agent Requires No Real Skills

Agents without the proper training and continued learning will be exposed as providing inferior services and often will not do well in our industry. Great agents know that learning never stops and that they must and do continue to learn from their peers, their brokers, their mandatory classes, and their often elected seminars and courses all in an effort to better support their clientele.

Some agents go through intense certification programs and like sponges they soak up anything and everything in an effort to benefit their client relationships and maintain their competitive advantage. These are the agents I'd like to have as my associates.

Clients sometimes see agents bumble around and/or not provide them with the answers they need. They may continue to use that agent but when the transaction is complete the client is left with a negative stereotype that all agents must be like this and that it's an easy job requiring little to no skills. Unfortunately these agents help keep this stereotype going strong. Agents must have people skills, conflict management skills, negotiation skills and the knowledge gained from classes, training and real world experience to break down this stereotype.

Stereotype #6 Agents Only Care About Making a Sale

We have turned down listings when it would not be in our client's best interest to list the home. In cases where the client is upside down with their balance due vs. what they could obtain for the house is too great we recommend alternatives such as leasing the home or contacting their lender. We also look at other alternatives. It's not about making a sale it's about making sure the client is protected and feels comfortable with their decision.

A few agents I know follow the same business practices, but there are several that try and talk their clients into doing things that aren't right. Unfortunately these few agents feed into this stereotype. Also on the selling side we always say that it must be right for the buyers. We run comparables and when a home is priced too high we make suggestions about the offer range. If it doesn't work out for the buyer we believe that another home will work out, even if it's weeks or months down the line. It's not about putting pressure on client's to make decisions that they will regret later on. It's not about getting a new sale or reaching a quota for the month. We look at all options with the client and review things in great depth. Customers appreciate that we are not about pressure services and therefore they refer others to us. This is a win-win for agents and clients!

Stereotype #7 Agents Never Listen & Often They Aren't Honest

Ok so I combined these two. There's an art to really listening. Many agents don't listen and often end up showing people homes they don't want at all. All this does is cause frustration. Often when given a second chance some agents will show client's homes in a higher price range indicating that there were not many other choices. Again this feeds into the stereotype. On the listing side agents that let owners set prices far above the comparables are being blamed later on by the same owners. It's about being honest from the beginning even if it does cause you to miss out on a listing.

Fortunately many agents do listen and adjust home searches to the features that their clients want to see. As we have access to the multiple listing service we can and do show you all the properties and adjust the search based on your feedback.

As with any industry there will be a share of dishonest people. I've run into this in banking, telephone services, advertising and fast food. The problem we face is that purchasing or selling a home is the most important decision with hundreds of thousands of dollars going into consideration on both the buying and selling sides. People trust us daily with guiding them through the process. We must continue to earn this trust through honest and straightforward answers. Listening to what's being said and establishing client expectations will go a long way toward knocking down this stereotype.

I could continue on and on with additional stereotypes but I feel these are the ones I hear the most often. I hope that I've managed to break a few down into rubble. I'll end this by saying with all that real estate agents face on a daily basis would you want this job? For me the answer is still YES!