Too Many Realtors - An Agent for Every Homeowner, Whether They Want One or NOT

STILL TOO MANY REAL ESTATE 
BROKERS & AGENTS!

On the Menu | Soft and Getting Softer | End of the Line for Agents

It's happening from COAST to COAST.  Huge unsold inventory, a mortgage market that's in full collapse, a bubble economy that 
is heading toward a day of reckoning for speculators, and a truly unpopular President and an uncertain political outlook.  If you want a template 
on how to proceed, refer to your recent history from the late 1970's and early 1990's.  Rising energy costs, wide spread turmoil
in the financial sector.  Sound familiar.  Welcome to the good old days, they're here again, brought to you by yet another Bush.  We're hoping it
won't fool Americans into thinking a Clinton will have to turn them around with another run at healthcare 'reform, taxes approaching 80%, and 
social engineering 60's style.  Can you say 'Stagflation'?  Plant a garden, keep your powder dry, stock up, and wait it out.

The shakeout is close to reaching maturity. Agents have dropped out in droves while others are restructuring their business models, starting to
look at a whole bunch of alternatives. The Market is speaking loud and clear and the inevitable is happening. Agents who are customer-focused
will prevail, and those who 'just get listings' will find out it's a different landscape, and simple hanging a sign and posting an MLS ad won't cut it anymore.
Experienced Agents are saying it and starting to face reality. We hope the Rose-Colored Glasses Pollyannas at NAR are mature enough to admit as much.

The buying public needs to feel they get value for their time and their dollar. Technologies have enabled home sales and purchases to be done
more efficiently and inexpensively. Buying a home (or selling one for that matter) is not exactly rocket science. Title to property has become less a point
of litigation, and where it's required, the services of an attorney would be used to settle title issues at far less cost than the 3% that a person with 6 weeks
night school will expect to receive. (Beware of the person who uses legal jargon but is not a lawyer, they're in over their heads).

Agents at one time were but no longer are the controllers of information, since it is now easily accessed and shared. The Internet has assured that principals
will have direct access to enough information to make their own decisions. Agents need to understand they can be a facilitator, and accept less compensation,
or insist on trying to be the third-party central figure in a transaction between 2 principals (the buyer and the seller). The Agent of tomorrow will have
to look very different from the Agent today. But don't take my word for it, read it here in Broker Agent News.

There are Too Many Real Estate Agents and Brokers: Don't believe it, look HERE or HERE, or HERE, HERE, or HERE

A good example is Alexandria, Minnesota. A nice resort / vacation community of about 12000 people in West Central Minnesota with
plenty of lakes, outdoor activities, and way too many REAL ESTATE BROKERS & AGENTS.

Let's take a closer look: 17; 11; 15; 22; 10; 13; 12; 25; 9; 4 More Here; 5 More Here. This is not all of them.
There are 7-10 more 'mom-n-pop' shops with hubby-wife teams or individuals out on their own.
All told, there are at least 158 licensed real estate brokers and agents in Alexandria, with a population of 12,000.

ONE LICENSED BROKER/AGENT FOR EVERY 76 PEOPLE!, WHETHER THEY OWN A HOME OR NOT!
Take into account the number of homeowners, then look at the number of transactions. After getting to number of home sales during the
previous 12-month cycle, it seems the average income of an agent in Alexandria, MN is under $13K.

Figuring in the old 80/20 rule, where 80% of all deals are done by 20% of the area practioners, and you've got 32 agents making a living and
126 agents who would probably make more as a barista in a coffee shop, or a clerk at the local C-store. We're betting that 80/20 does not apply,
and that it's more like 90/10 or even 98 / 2. Why would you pay for continuing education and other fees every year to be able to proclaim, "I'm a
licensed real estate agent", when it's probably a better option to tend bar, cut lawns, or serve coffee?

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Got more examples of TOO MANY BROKERS & AGENTS in your area? Send us your links, along with your opinions,
to webmaster@toomanyrealtors.com.