Everybody seems to be a real estate expert

It seems everybody is a real estate expert and all real estate agents are a dying breed, according to an article in the New York Times. But considering it is the NYT, what they publish may or may not be factual. Anyway, the NAR responded to the article. I wanted to pass it on...

March 6, 2006

To the Editor:
Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt’s vicious attack on real estate agents (Endangered Species, New York Times Magazine, March 5) carries so many errors of fact and false assumptions that there is insufficient space here to put the record straight.


The authors could have lifted their thesis from Bill Gates’ “The Road Ahead,” published a decade ago. He predicted the Internet would reduce the number of real estate agents in half, but instead, there are about a third more members of the National Association of REALTORS® today. And the percentage of home sellers who choose to hire professionals continues to rise, despite the fact that we have just witnessed what may prove to be the greatest seller’s market in history.


What happened? First, the real estate industry adapted to the Information Age and changed the way we work to meet consumers’ needs. That’s why studies have consistently shown that home buyers who use the Internet to search for a home are more likely to work with a professional than those who don’t. The industry also spawned new business models and gave consumers more choices in how they work with professionals.


Second, what real estate agents do is very different from travel agents or securities brokers. Every piece of real estate is unique, the transaction process is complex and, if you will excuse me for pointing out the obvious, real estate is the original bricks and mortar business.
Finally, the plain fact is that hiring a professional pays off. The typical home represented by a professional last year sold for 16 percent more than those sold without a professional’s help.
That profit more than pays for the agency’s commission. Millions of homeowners know it, and that’s why they will continue to call on experienced real estate professionals.

Sincerely,
Thomas M. Stevens CRB CRS GRI2006 President, National Association of REALTORS®