Okay, so I meant that a little tongue-in-cheek. It seems that no matter what the state of the housing market, we Realtors are here to comfort you and to tell you that there has never been a better time (to buy, sell, wear women's clothing... whatever).  The current NAR campaign is a perfect example of this.

So it may be the perfect time to buy, but I could never tell somebody that without knowing more about their situation, their desires, their dreams, and, yes, their financial situation.  The current economic crisis has nothing to do with not buying when we should and everything to do with buying when we shouldn't.

Buyers and sellers deserve an agent who will be honest with them. The problem, however, is that the system of compensation for agents does not reward them for doing so. This is why the system must change.

An agent only gets paid upon the sale of a house. In weekly meetings, all over the country, real estate brokerages are having the same conversations. They are not talking about how to help their buying clients make the right decision, they are instead discussing how to get the buyers to close on a property (whether it be one of their own listings or not), how to convince them to buy.

As listing agents, it is our job to sell a property. It is our job to close the deal. I am hired for my expertise in negotiation, in marketing, and in sales. How, then, can it not be a conflict of interests to represent both the buyers and sellers in a negotiation? (In fact, I think that it is a true test of an agent whether they are willing to put themselves in such a position or not...more about this in a later post).

As a real estate agent, I want to be something closer to an accountant, a lawyer, somebody who gives his or her client the best, most relevant information, so that they can make a decision for themselves as to when the right time to buy is, for them. Of course, I think it is our job to make recommendations, but I think that the current structure makes a recommendation "to buy" seem tainted (or, dare I say, swarmy), even if it is the best recommendation for a client.

For the past number of months I have been working on the launch of a new real estate company with a new model. It may not seem like the right time to be working on the launch of yet another real estate company. But, it may be the perfect time. The current economic and housing crisis has a lot to teach us, if we are willing to learn. A great opportunity is before us. An opportunity for change. An opportunity to be something better, for ourselves and for our clients.