Challenges for real estate agents in today's market
Real estate agents are dealing with new challenges in today's Charleston South Carolina real estate market in different ways. The first and most obvious challenge is proper pricing and preparation of the home that real estate agents are listing for sale since price and condition are the two most important factors within the sellers control in selling a house. On the buy side, the most challenging aspect is setting reasonable and realistic expectations for the buyer in terms of what they can get for the money. The balancing act is that some sellers think their homes should sell quickly at top dollar while doing nothing to enhance their property while some buyers think a buyers market entitles them to be able to steal a house for a lowball price.
In the WSJ Online however, June Fletcher reports that real estate agents are being called upon to perform menial, sometimes humiliating tasks including vacuuming thousands of flies, painting the side of the house, cleaning debris from a crawl space or boarding cherished pet rats for their clients. Click here to read the article.
I've always taken the approach that if I treat my clients the way that I would like to be treated it would lead to success in my real estate career. My wife and I hire others to do those sorts of tasks so I would probably offer the same solution to my clients if I was called upon to do those sorts of things.
As mentioned in the article, I do provide my clients a strategic plan, market statistics and comparable prices, local market knowledge, a strong online presence and support before, during and after the sale. In addition, I am available and responsive, many of my clients have been totally surprised how quickly they can get answers to their questions or advice to solve their problems.
I just hope no one expects me to chauffeur their kids to a soccer game or clean their toilets. 
I think one of the reasons for these unlikely new demands on real estate agents is that clients seem to think that real estate agents are overpaid and underworked. Right now though, most are not making a lot of money and the ranks of real estate agents seem to be thinning. A few years ago, the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors (CTAR) did not have enough room in their facilities to accommodate the growing number of new real estate agents entering the profession. One quarter, dues were even waived because CTAR had so much extra money in their budget. Today's challenging Charleston South Carolina real estate market is changing all that.
I've heard that many agents will not be renewing their licenses because they don't have the money available for the annual dues. Some have taken part time jobs in order to support their families. Others are opting to transfer their license to referral status and no longer remain active real estate agents. A closing attorney told me that a number of real estate agents have recently refinanced their homes in order to raise cash. Those are all signs of some tough times and it is distressing to hear all those things. The barriers to entry in real estate have always been a little too low and many who thought it was a path to instant riches are finding out that it wasn't as easy as they might have thought.
Today's challenging real estate market requires experience, knowledge and help from professional real estate agents. It shouldn't include "gofer" services but that doesn't mean you can't go the extra yard on behalf of your clients, perhaps it really is all about treating others as you would like to be treated.