Can anyone tell me why all the Realtors are being blamed.......?

Question

I have been looking at a lot of questions about people trying to sell their properties, but have not been able to get them sold. It seems that most Realtors are getting blamed for the downfall of the market. I would like to know what the public thinks and what is the basis of the blames. Are todays Realtors really that incompetent?

Are sellers better off selling their properties on their own as opposed to paying a high commission fee to a Realtor? Since the market is not bearing any buyers, wouldn't it make sense just to sell the property as a FSBO and offer more incentives to a buyer. Please respond, I am hoping to get answers from California

Answer 1

It's too general a statement. Just substitute whites, blacks, jews or whatever into your statement "Are todays Realtors really that incompetent?" to see my point.

Of course there are some incompetent realtors, just like there are incompetent lawyers, doctors and just about anything else you can think of.

The issue driving down the market (in some areas, not all) is that greed drove prices up too high in recent years past, artificially high, and now things are coming down to a more realistic level.

Take the Bay Area for instance (where I bought and sold 2 properties between 1997 and 2004). At the high, the average home price was well over $500,000.00, and yet the average wage was probably $14-16 per hour.

Do the math, and you'll see that the drive (for which the real estate industry did their part) to increase profits and property values simply escalated far faster than the inflation and wage increase rate, and after a while, many people simply couldn't afford to be homeowners. But the new housing industry was too slow to catch on, and thus we have (in some markets) more supply than demand.

What happens when supply exceeds demand? The prices fall.

So the question is much more complex and requires a more complex answer than simply blaming it on realtors.

Our economy and the price of gas (which we can squarely blame on Bush) is more to blame than any realtor I know.

Answer 2

As a lender I have to disagree with one of your posters saying it's the lender. It was actually Wallstreet who invented these programs. Without these programs "realtors" would not have had such a successful past few years. You can point the finger at lenders but I never had one realtor tell me not to do a loan but if I couldn't do it they'd find someone who could.

Now with that said, in answer to your question. Pretty much the subprime fall out, rise in interest rates, rise in foreclosures have it all at once rather then at a slower pace. There are so many homes for sale right now that the competition is fierce. So in some cases, instead of dropping your sales price $10,000 or more, look at the option of increasing the commission to the selling agent another percent or two. As hungry as realtors are right now, you know with a higher incentive to agents that they will most likely show your property first to their buyers. I know you think they maymake too much already, but adding 1-2% more to the selling agent is sometimes cheaper then dropping the price tens of thousands of dollars. I just had a past client of my try this and she had a offer within one week. This may not be typical for everyone, but it might be worth a try.

As far as FSBO, if you choose to do this, you would be very wise to pay a real estate atty to write up the contract to make sure all of the california disclosure laws are covered and you are protected. As you and I know CA is a sue happy state so a few hundres bucks now could save you thousands later. You should also have a lender to work with to preview the loans on the people that are making the offers to make sure they are solid deals.

I hope this helps, if you have any more questions, please feel free to email me at [e-mail]

Answer 3

Realtors get blamed for alot of things happening in the market but that is because the "new agents" just getting their licenses are not experienced but believe they know what they are doing because they are doing it by the book. So Realtors get lumped into the equation. Sad but true....There is a difference between an agent and a Realtor. Agents have gone to real estate school,taken and passed a Principles course and have taken the state exam. Same as a Realtor but Realtors go the extra mile by taking more classes and becoming certified in those specialty classes.

If the general public had a better understanding of how the process really works then we would not be so quickt o critize.

Answer 4

Of course Realtors are not all incompetent. I've tried to explain the scenario to countless posters in these forums. A Realtor can ONLY do the best job possible in making the house well advertised and promoted, providing guidance for the seller in the process.

However, it is NOT possible to simply manufacture a buyer out of thin air when the market is weak, as it is in so many areas of the nation at this time. If there are no buyers coming forth in spite of the realtor's best efforts in promotion and sale, there is simply nothing which can be done.

I just saw another post a half hour back where a seller was blaming her realtor because no one showed up at the open house. What was the realtor supposed to do ? Stand in the street with a shepherd's crook and snare folks by the neck to DRAG them physically into the open house ?

Answer 5

There are many factors such as the secondary mortgage market falling apart, the fact that in many places it is a buyers market. Ask to see a Comp including the average days on market for properties like yours that have sold in the last 6-9months. This will give you a realistic idea of what to expect as far as time frame, sold price,etc. A GOOD Realtor will also let you know how they will work to achieve your goals versus the current market conditions. Also there are Realtors And then there are real estate agents,there is a difference!

Answer 6

The problem is in most markets there are more homes on the market than people looking to purchase.

There is really only so much that a Realtor can do. A homeowner has to agree to price the home properly, clean up, and stage. The home has GOT to set itself apart for the competition.

One thing people have got to understand is if you think about it a Realtor doesn't sell the home. Price and appeal sell the home in the end. The Realtor does everything in between.... advertising, negotiating, advice, handling questions, scheduling appointments, etc. etc. etc.

Realtors in this market have to be more careful in the homes they choose to list. If a homeowner wants to overprice the home - they shouldn't take the listing. If they won't clean or stage or take the advice of their agent - the agent shouldn't take the listing as well.

Answer 7

Having recently sold a home and am now in the process of buying another I can honestly say that yes there are many incompetent sales people out there. But in indefense of that -- there are many good ones as well.

I can't tell you how many "Realtors" came to my home to show it to their clients without doing their homework ! I ended up giving many a tour and sales pitch. I sold the home. My broker did the legalities.


I don't blame the downfall in the market on Realtors.. It actually falls heavily on wallstreet and those blabbering idiot stock brokers and day traders screwing with the economy. They are all like a bunch of sheep who play follow the nervous leader.

Oh and a lot of people price themselves out of the market. You've got to know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em.
I have seen some very nice homes still up for sale almost 2 yrs now because they think they have the Taj Mahal.

Answer 8

We are doing a FSBO,the market is so slow,that we needed to drop the price,drop the broker and go it alone. Buyers want it dirt cheep,sellers need to pay off their Mortgage and Brokers need to make a living. Maybe if during the slow market times,brokers would want to do some type of a special...like If they sell your house in the next 3 months only take half of the 3 - 6% they usually get.

Answer 9

I don't think that realtors are incompetent at all. If anything it's the other way around. The buyers and sellers are the incompetent ones. I know that when I bought the house I'm living in( my first and only) I didn't know anything about the house buying business so I relied heavily on my realtor. At the time if anything didn't go well I would have blamed her because I expected her to take care of me. She knew better,I didn't. That was me being incompetent. It's my job to know what I'm getting in to and hers to show me my options.
T.D.

Answer 10

If you have access to a competent real estate attorney I would suggest FSOB. Expect to put a lot of time into showing the house yourself but in the long run you will save on the broker comission. In this market no one is having any luck at selling property.

As far as who is to blame about the current situation in the real estate market, no single person or organization is responsible. You can blame a little bit of everyone. I feel that most of the blame should fall on dishonest developers, appraisers, title companies and BAD mortgage brokers. Over building and over inflation of real estate values are the root of the problem. I could go on and on about this but if you pick up just about any good paper or book you can get more details.

If you are in California and looking to purchase and need a mortgage contact me and I can help you out.