Why Do Realtors Have a Bad Reputation? | Smith Hearn Real Estate (2024)

FAQs

Why do realtors have a bad reputation? ›

The lack of experience among some realtors contributes significantly to the negative reputation. Clients who encounter agents with limited expertise might face inadequate guidance, incorrect information, and ineffective negotiation skills. This lack of proficiency tarnishes the overall perception of the profession.

Delays, a lack of communication, and shady valuation tactics are the most common complaints about estate agents.

Many, if not most, real estate agents will fail in their first year. Three common mistakes that agents make are inadequate prospecting, failing to market properties in ways that lead to timely sales, and not following up with clients to maintain relationships.

Your realtor should be responsive to your calls and emails. You should avoid busy agents who can't devote their time to address your needs. You deserve firsthand information from the agents during the entire process of selling or buying your property. Good agents possess market knowledge.

A reputation for being unsafe or a frequent target for criminal activities can deter potential investors or buyers. The Challenge of Attracting Tenants: Vacant spaces are the dread of every commercial property owner. A compromised reputation makes it even harder to attract quality tenants.

1) Fear of rejection.

This is often the first thing to come to mind when realtors are asked to share their biggest fear, especially for those agents who are new to the industry.

One of the biggest drawbacks of working with a real estate agent is the cost. Agent commissions can be a significant expense for sellers, as they typically take a percentage of the sale price of the home. Buyers may also face additional costs, such as closing costs and other fees.

Poor work ethic

A common reason why new real estate agents fail is because of their work ethic. Even though the profession permits flexible hours, the working hours are long. Also, one may have to work many nights, weekends, and holidays. For those starting, there is no substitute for hard work.

Why do most real estate agents quit after 5 years? ›

Money, or lack of it, is another main reason why real estate agents fail. Agents often make the mistake of hearing how much commission other agents make and think they're raking it in. But they don't consider their expenses, such as brokerage or team splits, taxes, education, marketing, and lead generation expenses.

But here are some highlights: According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) failure is defined as as those who get a real estate license and then leave the industry within the first five years. According to them, 75% of real estate agents fail within the first year, and 87% fail within five years.

Out of the 250 top producing agents identified in the Real Trends survey, the following percentages of agents are found in the following five states: California: 44% New York State: 24% Florida: 7%

And even though attractive agents may command higher selling prices, they do not necessarily outperform their less attractive counterparts; though their homes may sell for more, they also sell fewer properties, and the final sale totals balance out.

However, the 85,049 agents lost between October 2022 and January of 2024, is still well below the 400,000-agent drop recorded between 2008 and 2012. Although this is positive news, NAR's chief economist Lawrence Yun signaled that he expects further losses through 2025.

Unethical agents will often use fraudulent misrepresentation to win a listing, sell a property faster, or push for a property to sell faster. Such actions violate ethical standards and are illegal in many jurisdictions.