The Party is Over… Now Leave

Despite the lull in the real estate market, large firms continue to hire like crazy from real estate agent courses that are still jammed with peoplewho signed up to reap the rewards of a market that was recently booming.
For those of you who are thinking of leaving your jobs on Wall Street or Madison Avenue for the easy money of real estate, think long and hard. Even the top agents are puzzled by today’s market, and a very real option is that we are in a waiting period with fewer transactions.
That’s bad news for would-be agents. The “new agent revolving door” is picking up momentum (you can almost feel the breeze) just as it did in the late 80’s and early 90’s when people like myself could barely scrape together enough deals to stay afloat. I was one of the fortunate ones who survived that period, but I watched countless people enter and leave the industry sometimes in as few as three months. Many new agents are begging for business right now. They’re volunteering to help at open houses, exchanging long hours for a chance of coming into contact with a potential buyer or two.
Further evidence of the desperation is the story of the agent who agreed to a seller’s notion of a fair price (which was in fact absurdly high) just so she could find potential buyers of other properties from the listing.
The cooling of the market, combined with the mass hiring of new agents, is dramatically changing the face of the industry. Take it from someone who has been around for 15 years–whether buying or selling–there is no more important time to have an experienced agent to guide you through a market as complex as this one. Buyers know that, and it’s really not the best time to be a novice in New York real estate. The best advice for those of you who are new to the market? See if you can partner up with a veteran who can help you operate with confidence even in a slow market. That can make a big difference to you and your clients.