Judy Moore – Technology expertise
Years ago, the first image that popped into many people’s minds at the mention of “real estate agent” was that of a housewife who was listing and selling homes on a part-time basis for some extra money.
Today, the typical Massachusetts real estate agent is a 50-year-old married woman who puts in 48-hour workweeks and has 12 years of experience.
When homebuyers and sellers step into real estate offices in upcoming years, they will likely come face-to-face with a more diverse set of agents, predict real estate professionals.
Real estate agents will be more educated and technology-savvy and will reflect the diversity of the consumers they serve.
“I think agents are going to very highly educated,” said John Fridlington, executive vice president of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. “They will look at real estate as a career … They will be individuals who will be much more technology-proficient.”
The educational and technological skills will also translate into higher earnings for real estate agents. Real estate professionals will put those skills to use to be more productive and handle more transactions, Fridlington said. And the Realtors of tomorrow will more closely resemble the newly arrived homebuyers to this country, those who speak different languages and have a variety of cultural backgrounds.
“They [Realtors] will continue to adapt to reflect the changing consumer demographics,” Fridlington said.
There has been a tremendous emphasis on international real estate over the last few years, acknowledges Judy Moore, a broker with Re/Max Premier Properties in Lexington.
Moore said real estate agents, both locally and across the country, have become more sensitive to the needs of consumers from other countries who are searching for homes, she said. Diversity among Realtors – in terms of ethnic background, age, level of experience and education – will be more evident in the future, say industry leaders.
The real estate industry will continue to attract people in their 40s and 50s who are in search of a career change, but the profession will also draw younger people who know how to take advantage of technology, she said.
“More and more people in their 20s and 30s will choose real estate as a career,” said Moore, who is MAR’s Greater Boston regional vice president.
Moore emphasizes, however, that today’s Realtors have a lot of experience and are embracing technology in order to compete and survive. Many agents today have their own Web sites featuring homes and tips for sellers and buyers.
Today, homebuyers are often on the Internet searching for homes before they even go out to view a home, Moore said. They want information quickly and Realtors are likely to feel the pressure to accommodate that desire. Moore, herself, has an interactive Web site. Customers often tell her that they appreciate the time-saving tool, Moore said.
“Consumers today are very savvy and they are demanding more and more,” she said.
Realtors who don’t adapt – and Moore said there are still a few who don’t have e-mail and don’t use the Internet – will be weeded out, she said.
According to a recent survey by the National Association of Realtors, the typical Realtor today has twice as much real estate experience as Realtors in the 1970s had and is making widespread use of technology.
The survey showed that a typical NAR member is a 52-year-old married woman with a gross personal income of $47,700 who works 43 hours a week. The typical member also has 13 years of experience, works as a sales agent and has some college education.
Those findings closely mirror a MAR survey done in 1998, the most recent data the association collected information about its members.
In that survey, MAR sent out 5,000 questionnaires to randomly selected members. Based on 791 responses, MAR found that the typical member was a 50-year-old married female sales agent with 12 years of experience, earning $35,000 a year and working 48 hours a week.
At the time, 62 percent of the MAR respondents – or about 490 – were women, according to John Dulczewski, MAR’s spokesman. Some 44 percent of the survey respondents said they owned or leased a computer at home or at work. And 54 percent said they either had a bachelor’s degree or had completed some college courses.
Respondents to NAR’s income and expense survey earned a median income of $50,000 and an average income of $69,910. According to NAR, the incomes of real estate professionals in today’s market were in line with those of investment analysts and accountants.
As for the expenses that real estate professionals face today, the survey revealed that desk fees – the cost of maintaining the equipment and materials needed to maintain an office per desk – were higher than previous years.
While there is no data collected on desk fees and Realtor expenses in Massachusetts, Moore said real estate professionals have seen a dramatic rise in such fees. Some agents working in larger firms are now paying for access to multiple listing service networks, whereas before the broker/owner or firm picked up the cost.
Even though Realtors are facing higher costs, larger firms often provide extra training that would normally be paid for by the agents themselves.
All the training is helping to foster more professionalism within the industry. In the 23 years Fridlington has worked for Realtors’ associations – 22 of them at the 100,000-member California Association of Realtors – he has witnessed an increase in professionalism within the industry.
Fridlington expects that to improve even more in coming years.
“There will be a continual progression in the level of professionalism,” he said.
