Do you know what your real estate agent is doing
It's 10 AM Monday and I've got a question for buyers and sellers in the Charleston South Carolina real estate market. Do you know what your real estate agent is doing?
I don't rant very often, well, OK, maybe once in a while, 
but ... I was just thinking.
Because of difficult market conditions, many agents are leaving the industry. With the Charleston MLS holiday gala this Thursday evening and real estate agents getting their tuxedos (or gowns) ready for the festivities, my thoughts turn to the ultimate formal animal, the penguin. I wonder how many real estate agents will be attending this year's festivities and how many others will be leaving the real estate profession.
Others are taking more secure jobs and will only be working real estate on a part time basis or not at all. It's a sad reality. With unit sales down by about 25% in the Charleston real estate market, it only makes sense that at least 25% fewer agents will be needed. And generally, only the top 20% of all real estate agents make money in any kind of market so with annual dues coming due, many agents have decided to get a full time job to support their families.
During the real estate boom, many people thought real estate was easy money and got their license. The real estate schools were so busy there was a waiting list to get into the class. The Charleston MLS even waived dues during the 4th quarter of 2005 because there were so many agents in the Charleston area, they collected far more money than was needed for their budget earlier in the year.
A few agents even made some easy money when all you had to do to sell a house in Charleston was to stick a sign in the yard and enter the listing in the MLS. Still others represented friends and family in the purchase of a house. None of that prepared unseasoned real estate agents for being successful during the slower real estate market we are currently in.
I just concluded a successful purchase for a client and dealt with a true professional on the other side of the transaction. We both have an in house closing coordinator who kept us informed as the contract went from ratification to financing to inspection to contingency removal to closing. While there were bumps along the road common to almost all transactions, knowledge, availability, responsiveness and professionalism among other qualities kept the sale on track toward a successful closing.
I mentioned that just in case you thought that all you have to do is fill in a few blanks on a contract and presto, magic, the house is sold. There is actually a little more to a successful real estate transaction than meets the eye. And it's a lot more difficult when one of the agents works only part time in real estate.
On occasion, I have seen agents representing clients do nothing more than write a contract and disappear until the closing so that they could pick up their well earned paycheck. 
Just recently I was checking on the price and status of a listing for a house that I competed for about 6 months ago. When I am not chosen as the listing agent, I like to see how the agent did. It expired unsold.
That in itself isn't that extraordinary in today's Charleston real estate market because there is a lot of competing inventory. What is surprising is that the sign and lockbox are still out front of the home and the listing expired 2 months ago. I know the agent was a friend of the seller and that is why they chose to use him rather than me and I also know the agent is a part time real estate agent, having a very successful business and real estate is just a part time hobby. But the listing expired 2 months ago and I'll bet you a dollar that neither the seller nor the agent knows the property hasn't been active in the MLS for 2 full months.
I get calls from time to time from buyers who would like for me to show them a property. It is proper protocol to ask the buyer if they are currently represented by another real estate agent. Some buyers admit they do have an agent so you have to tell them that their agent must show them the property. (Still others don't know that you only have to find one good agent who can show you every home for sale in the Charleston real estate market but that's a subject for another post.)
But they say, "well, he/she can't, they're busy".
Busy doing what?
And is that the person you want to represent you in the purchase of your largest financial asset.
As I said at the top, do you know what your real estate agent is doing?