Fewer less professionals - a negative positive

This from the National Association of REALTORS. Seemingly bad news which is really good news, and why IT IS IMPORTANT IN MEXICO TO USE ONLY AMPI & NAR PROFESSIONALS!

Way Too Many REALTORS®?
By NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun

NAR membership figures have finally begun to fall. Whew!!!

The number of REALTORS® grew from 750,000 at the turn of this decade to close to 1,370,000 as recently as August 2007. That is an addition of 83 percent in short seven years. From 1980 to 2000, membership figures bounced around in the narrow band of 620,000 to 820,000.

Such a rapid increase in membership is not necessarily healthy. How many of the new members have ever seen a down market aside from the last two years? How many understand the importance of repeat and referral business and not just a single transaction?

Given that about ½ million REALTORS® have less than 5 years of experience, sloppiness in some transactions no doubt exists. A complaint I hear quite frequently from REALTORS® is about the second-rate conduct of some of their fellow new members.

Every attempt by state and local REALTOR® associations to further raise professional standards gets knocked down by government regulators as hindering competition. NAR has made efforts to strengthen professional standards and the code of ethics but has been careful, knowing that the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission will be breathing down our neck.

Fortunately though, consumers are smart and can navigate through in finding the right REALTOR®. When asked, 68 percent of recent homebuyers said they would definitely use their REALTOR® again or recommend their REALTOR® to others. An additional 19 percent said probably use again. For home sellers, the figures were 62 percent definitely and 19 percent probably.

The vast majority of REALTORS® are, therefore, serving their clients in the most professional way, and understands that consumer interest is their interest.
Business seems brutally competitive at times. With sales activity trending at 10-year lows in recent months, that is all the more accurate. Still, business is entrepreneurial and that means there are a multitude of business models and widely varying levels of professionalism among members.

Entrepreneurial businesses tend to follow the 80-20 rule of 80 percent of the business activity being conducted by 20 percent of the people. In real estate, a similar type of figures show that top 20 percent of REALTORS® earned a median income of $175,000 while the bottom 20 percent earned less than $10,000. The figures are from NAR's survey of members and reflect business activity in 2006.

With home sales having fallen 13 percent in 2007, the competition is no doubt more intense. The membership figure is now turning sharply lower. Perhaps this is what is needed to boost the overall professionalism of members. Fewer REALTORS® also mean more business opportunities for the remaining REALTORS®.