Jim McCord I think we should call ourselves Nurses, and hope no one notices.

First some facts.

Some full-time agents are terrible and some part-time agents are really great. The person who cuts my hair has a license that required 1600 hours of training. To get a real estate license in California it takes nowhere near that amount of time. It is just too easy to pass an exam and "get" a real estate license as opposed to "earning" a license AND there is no real life real estate business training required to obtain the license.  That training is left completely up to Brokers and they may or may not be that good at training new people. The states make far too much money from new applications for licenses and they will never make it harder to earn a license so the income continues to flood in especially during hot markets.  Private schools who "train" potential real estate agents so they can "pass the exam" would also put up quite a stink.

Now some suggestions: 

1. Require at least a two-year degree from  and accredited college ( I would prefer it be a 4- year degree) because if someone has to invest that amount of time they'll think more seriously before entering the business and more seriously about being honest and ethical so they can stay in the business. After all we have peoples lives in our hands when they are buying or selling a home. Not only can we make their life miserable during the transaction but if we don't do a really great job their lives can be miserable for many years to come.

2. Require more effective continuing education.  Sure, some agents take it upon themselves to learn NAR designations. But most of those designations are not very in-depth and truly useful.

3. Make the fact that an agent is full time or part time  and the number of years of experience transparent to buyers and sellers. In California all we have to show initially is our real estate license number. If we also had to include the number of years of experience and whether we were full time or part time then the public would have more information that would help them decide which agent might be the best to work with. Showing a license number really doesn't have much value. If you received your license yesterday the public can't tell if you been in the business for one day or 30 years.

4. How about adding a much more extensive background check to make sure criminals can't obtain licenses   Of course they can still become criminals by committing fraud in their real estate transactions.

It's time we cleaned our own industry up. No one else is going to do it for us. 

Jim - First off, great question and excellent poll. I believe there are a few reasons why real estate agents do not receive a high level of trust:

1. Less education required than many other professionals ranked higher, and it is fairly easy to enter into the profession (get licensed).

2. We typically are here one day and gone the next, only working with a client for a short period of time (Could be as short as 30 days). We may not ever work with the same clients again.

3. We are not providing any sort of life-saving or caring service like many of the positions ranking higher on the list (nurse, policeman, etc).

4. We do receive a lot of money for each transaction, and many people feel that we are overpaid for what we do, and that makes them unhappy no matter how good we are.

5. There are a lot of real estate agents around, more than necessary. Because of the high numbers, there are some that give us a bad reputation, and are in the business just to make a quick buck. When an agent does something illegal, it is newsworthy because we work with the public. We are a target because we work with people's largest financial transactions they will have.

6. If a home seller doesn't get as much for their home as they thought they should, they immediately feel that the agent did not do a good job. Same thing if a buyer feels they had to pay too much for a home, the buyer will feel as though their agent did not do their best, could not be trusted, and was just in it for the money.

7. Too many agents doing this as a part-time, or second job, and they do not take it seriously. They are under educated on how to best help their clients. Not too many of the other professions on the list can be worked part-time, or as a second job.

1 - part timers; 2- incompetent part-timers; 3-incompetent (alleged) full-timers.

The general public thinks our job is super easy and we make a killing on each sale!

Trust is earned.  I understand this and strive to earn it with every new client I work with.  It takes time to establish trust.  One "bad apple" can taint an industry, and once a reputation is tarnished it can turn into Perception Vs Reality.   Since you mentioned attorney's, they have a lot more education requirements than Realtors, on average 7 years more higher level education for example.

So coincidental, I think it's because of some of the articles that are circulating the web such as this one that I just came upon! So unbelievable!

http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/why-you-cant-trust-real-estate-agents-when-buying-a-house/

Ha Ha Ha.  At least we are ranking above Congressman.

I don't believe it's a Full / Part Time issue. Its all about training and education on our service. 

I've heard of too many agents doing a hard sell, not being totally open about issues with homes--no wonder we have a poor reputation. I got into this business because I had been the "victim" of really bad real estate agents.

Takia Walker posted a link to a blog written by a Mike Holman. Who likes to sound like he is an expert. What does Mike do for a living?  He writes books. For sale. And his 'blog' disparaging agents is to help sell his book disparaging agents. He appears to be an idiot. But I bet he makes a lot of  $$$$ selling books.

Welcome to the Club!  Do what I do - FIGHT hard to improve the image by being a polished professional and delivering quality work product!

Way to many marginal agents are in it only for the sale and are not real honest.   My biggest reason to promote more education and making it harder to get the license.

It only takes one bad apple to spoil the entire basket.  

I think part of it has to do with the fact that they only rarely interact with us, maybe once every 5-7 years? Because of that, they don't fully understand everything we do to keep a transaction together or all of the marketing and other expenses we have just to stay in business. And we always need to be sure that our actions are in our clients' best interest, not our own.

I think Beatrice has a good point and also because it is easier to enter our profession than other degreed occupations, the door is open for agents that aren't as qualified as they should be making decisions they shouldn't.  If they don't have a strong broker behind them, they may be getting poor training as well.

Personally I think the reason we get referals is the same reason we rate low. People love bragging good and bad. Unfortunately one bad experience can touch way more people and for some reason it seems to "stick" for years

I agree with Frank Rubi....more education and training is needed!

Sad we are below lawyers....sigh....We fail to police our own industry over and over....Ethics violations...practicing without training in specialized errors...newbies with no supervision...no surprise.

Actually that is not bad. Many above us require college degrees and sometimes I think that because we handle large financial decisions people expect more. I will say I trust REALTORS® way more than the clergy. I also think I don't mind being held to a higher standard.

I taught school for over 20 years before becoming an agent.  I loved teaching and I love real estate.  I think you have to be a people person to do either profession.  Real estate is as difficult as teaching, but for different reasons.  No matter what, it is our job to make the public know that we can be trusted. 

Three reasons:

One - Bad agents aren't removed. There are many whose licenses should have been removed long ago. 

Two - Education is indadequate. It should take more education to get a real estate license than a hairdresser's license. Not college - agents don't need all that "extra" stuff required for a degree - but real knowledge about things good agents need to know.

Three - NAR advertising doesn't focus on what the agent does behind the scenes. They - and reality shows - make it seem that agents open doors and reap huge rewards.  

Actual practice standards are low for our profession. I am also a CPA Emeritus.  I had to pass a 3-day exam, do a two year internship, and then get 40 hours per year of CPE - hard-core accounting and finance and tax, not "self-improvement",  In addition, as a CPA, we did not hesitate to report to the Board any wrong-doings by another CPA,   We have neither the education standards, training standards, nor the consistent practice of reporting wrong-doing by anothere professional.  Consequently, as a profession in general, we haven't EARNED the trust of the people we serve.

I guess we should be grateful we are a few points above CONGRESS! Unfortunately, too many people can "pass tests," so they become a Realtor. But few are business-minded, or have a clue how to run a business. We live in a resort area, Palm Springs California. Many folks retire here, take the test to become a Realtor because they think it will be "fun" showing homes and they also think it's easy money.

They have NO IDEA how to "hold a deal together," how to negotiate, or how to "educate" their clients. They will LIST a home at whatever price their client feels it should be listed, show homes their clients can't afford, then low-ball an offer to a price their client can afford, and hand the seller a list of repairs the buyer wants done, even though they are merely SUGGESTIONS the Inspector notes which are no more than CYA notes.

I have seen sales fall through that should have been easily saved by an experienced Realtor. I totally understand why we are UNDER lawyers. If they would have had USED CAR SALEPEOPLE in this survey, our profession would most likely have been UNDER them as well.

I think the problem is two-fold. Yes, there are some incompetent agents out there, full and part-time, and some dishonest ones too. However, I think at least a little of the perception starts with the consumer and the fact that they sometimes misunderstand what's happening in the course of a transaction, and automatically think that we've deceived them. Case in point: Several years ago I handled a listing for a family friend, who was normally a reasonable person. When we got to the settlement table, she turned into a raving maniac, carrying on and berating me in front of the buyers, the closing attorney and the other agent. She was refusing to settle, all because my estimate of her net was off by $121. "You lied to me! I am NOT going to sign, this is NOT what you told me I was going to get!!" She wouldn't rest until I gave her the $121 out of my commission, even though I explained to her that the reason it was off was that we settled 3 days later than expected and that amount was additional interest and taxes she owed. I can easily see how a situation like that could have turned into a "dishonest Realtor" story from her perspective. (Footnote - when she came to her senses she apologized profusely for making a scene and said she realized I didn't deserve to be treated that way. She DID keep the money though, lol!)

Hi Jim -- I always a bit more than suspicious abut these types of polls.

Congress always has a low approval yet members are typically overwhelming re-elected.  I think many people asked will take a sheep-like approach in answering but if they were asked about their specific real estate professional would respond differently.  

After 25 years in the real estate trenches...

17% trust in realtors is a higher score that I would give them.

Eve

I noticed that 5% have no opinion on funeral directors. This has me wondering who they asked.

Jim McCord - well, we are not that bad! Only 25% of them have a low level of trust! (Compare that with 37% of Lawyers....)

at least realtors are more trustworthy then congressmen

may be realtors all need to become nurses first.

True Jim McCord but look again and we're leaders in the "average" category. There's always a silver lining somewhere.

Well at least we beat car salesmen. I'm not sure why this profession has such a bad reputation. We are so heavily regulated and most of the agents I've met play nice and fair. 

I think it is due to so many part timers in our field. :(

Sounds like we need  some more of those feel good commercials Jim!

You may need to recruit some teachers to become real estate agents.

I have read studies that say people don't trust Real Estate Agents BUT they trust THEIR Real Estate Agent.

I think we get a lot of bad press...start paying attention to how many movies and television shows make fun of the profession. It is bound to stick in the mind of the public. All we can do is personally raise the level of professionalism.

Well I would think just like other professions there is a bad apples.  Agents do no call back buyers and do not do the right things in business transactions.  Bad agents have not called me back either.  It is always better to be honest, upfront & call buyers back!

Love the question - I don't think the public understands what we do and how we protect our clients' interests

Lots of people have had a bad experience with real estate agents and bad news travels fast. The barrier to entry in our profession is too low for the amount of money involved. It attracts people looking for easy money without requiring much schooling.

The Real Estate transaction by the very nature of things can easily go wrong.  Loan issues, Title Issues, and so forth.  I suspect that any lack of perfection in the transaction is our fault.  Now if you got sick and went to the nurse and it was a horrible proccess you would not blame him/her for their part in your care.  But when something goes south in a transaction it is always our fault.

I have had a bad experience with each and every profession polled, especially the top 5!! (except Congressmen - I'm Canadian!)   There are very few people who take pride in what they do these days and Realtors are amongst them.   I give thanks each day for being allowed to shine and to go the extra mile.  Whilst I think I'm simply doing my job, others believe I'm golden as compared to who and what they've dealt with prior.    

Lots of great comments here!!!  I agree with so many and especially the comments regarding more education should be required to get your license

Can't see why doing this post. It's been beaten to death so let's wack it some more? I don't hold high regard for nurses so there.

Good thing none of my clients were polled. I know I'm not in that category and I'm sure most if not all reading this poll are not either. If you are now is the time to put your act together.

I sometimes hear that agents are only in it for themselves and personally, I run into many of those agents. I'm dealing with one of them now.

If you are reading this and you think you are sleazy... just stop being sleazy.

Some realtor have one goal only... make money. No matter how, no matter if others are affected along the way. I wish agents would work together for the benefit of the clients. People think we make a a lot of money and that we are all the time just chilling and having fun. They don't see the long hours, the events you miss, the long days, especially when you are getting established.
They see easy money with no much effort, and thanks to some unethical realtors, some people have had horrible experiences.

This is an unfortunate stat. But it's my job to disprove this to all my clients - one at a time. 

I have heard stories of bad agents. It's a real shame that they exist and that unsuspecting people end up working with them and get burned. Then it ends up reflecting badly on all of us.  What can we do?  It's up to us to police ourselves. When you know an agent is acting unethically or against the law, then speak to their broker or to a higher authority if they are the broker.

I think we should more clearly define the benefits we have in place for our buyers and sellers.  We are a diversified group, just let them know what you bring to the table.

I think they should poll by state. That would tell a different story I think.

Wow~ What a great bunch of answers! I agree with most of them as well. As a long time professor of real estate and RE Trainer, ethics is always my priority. I preach" PEOPLE FIRST, PROPERTY SECOND."

I believe our industry is shifting ever so slowly to being more mindful, and what I mean by that is that with social media agents are learning to engage and connect with consumers in ways that are less agressive and more transparent. As this continues, I think the trust factor will soften.

At least when they hate lawyers, they still hire them! 

Having an impartial opinion, and "Just the facts" enables nurses and druggist to be at the top of this list.  They impart knowledge without making an extra dime.  That said, I work constantly to provide the very best information as to building science, tips and tricks that I don't earn anything on or for. I've had contractors want to give me referral fees for referring clients (can you say RESPA?!) and I alway so -NO!  Even if I opened up a consulting company, it's not worth the hassle or sending out a blanket form stating that I'm affiliated with another vendor(s) to every client.  Just say no!

I love the Padulas' comment   As sad as this ranking makes me feel for those of us that are top of our game, when I interact with those that aren't I understand.  

Talked to a "for sale by owner" guy the other day and his points were: we make too much money for little work, and all the b.s. (his word) to have property change hands. Real estate agents are there to protect the public, and we need to continue to spread that word. That way we get "respect". Just like lawyers; who do people go to when they are in real trouble? Lawyers.

Becasue there are so many in the industry that we Realtors don't trust and think should be put out of the business. The public sees it too and we aren't fooling anyone.

Another reason is that when something goes wrong in a transaction the blame usually falls on the one making the money and that generally is the agent. Bad news spreads.

Everyone had some great posts here.  My opinion of this is that we are just too much about being a salesperson. We have to constantly think about how to help our clients, and not so much about how we are going to make the sale, and how we are working for free until then. We also have to follow up, return calls be personable, make verbal contact and send thank you notes.  I know it may be easy to get a license but, we will always rise to the top if we remember these simple steps. It really doesn't matter what everybody may think about us.  Sooner or later someone is going to buy a home and they will need a realtor.

That looks like a bug improvement over the last poll I saw which had us at the same level as car sales people, we are 10 points above them now, so let's look at the silver lining here

I find this very depressing.  I like my job.  I enjoy showing homes, meeting and working with new people, and making friends out of my clients.  I enjoy the continuing education classes, reading the blogs and the books.  I like researching the market, and I love to see a client moving into a house and turning it into a home.  That being said, I am sometimes embarrased to tell people I am a real estate agent, and part of the reason is the public's idea that we are all unethical, out to get the sell, and so on.  I wish I knew how to change this.  All I can say is each of us needs to approach our work ethically and prove that poll wrong.  I feel bad even admitting this.  I will say that all jobs are harder that we like to think.  Two of my kids are working in fast food right now and it is amazing how rude people can be to them.  People are impatient, rude, and insensitive.  My daughter told me that she can tell which customers have worked in a type of public service before, they are more understanding.  I guess it is the whole "walk a mile in my shoes" sort of thing.  

I hope I don't sound like an internet troll but one of my biggest pet peeves is professional 'r'ealtors who don't spell 'r'ealtor with a capitol 'R'!

Jim McCord Interesting pool results for sure!  There is nothing that hasn't already been posted in response I can add, except I believe your headline was a bit misleading.  That 17% is for high or very high trust levels.  There was also a 57% average trust level, which means (according to those poll results) 74% or 3/4 of people have an average or higher trust for us, which sounds a whole lot better than 17%  Not trying to split hairs, but I believe we take enough of a beating as it is, so no reason to heap fuel onto the fire, IMO.

Well we are above Congress and car salesmen!  Funeral Directors above us? Of course they would be the "last" one to ever lie to you!  On a serious side...itis a sad thing!

I agree with Diane Davis. Yes there are incompetent and unethical agents but often people have unrealistic expectations. They think their house is worth way more than it is so even if you get them a good price you still should have got them more. They misunderstood the closing costs (even though you explained in detail) and think they should have netted more. They didn’t get pre-inspected (even though you recommended it) and repairs ate up a lot of their proceeds. All these things and more are our fault.

I had a similar experience (except my seller was a raving lunatic from day one). The seller yelled and screamed at closing and refused to sign because she was netting about $1800 less than my estimate. She hadn’t made her last two payments. When we went under contract she asked if she could stop paying her mortgage and I said no, keep making the payments. I pointed that out to her but she still said it was my fault and demanded I make up the difference from my commission (about $2200 after my split) or she wouldn’t close. I told her go ahead and don’t close. By the time me, the selling broker and the buyer finish suing you won’t have any equity left at all. She did close but she cussed me the whole time. After closing her husband dragged her out (he actually picked her up and carried her out the door) as she shouted profanities at me and the closer.

Because a few bad apples have given us big black eyes.

I think it's because of the way we act.

Norm nailed this one!

just checking on which questions have the most answers here at Activerain, this was one which sure got a good response from everyone.

Jim .. I'm actually surprised to see Bankers listed above agents .. and a few other professions ...

Gene 

At least we aren't below Car Salesmen! I've been the teacher and I am also a Journalist. Does that improve my score a little?

I think because many have run into unscrupulous real estate agents who did not represent their interests, communicate effectively with them, and help them with issues above and beyond the call of duty.

Most of the public doesn't know what they don't know about what they know, so it doesn't surprise me, yet, are the results of this poll definitive, I don't think so until I get the facts about who was querried and what the question or questiions were? 

I guess Realtors could take solace from the fact that they are higher than members congress. I personally think lobbyists are ranked too high. IMHO

As Beatrice and others here have alluded, many clients don't know what we do. HGTV is a big culprit here. Showing three or four homes, doing a little paperwork and collecting a big check greatly distorts what we need to know and do.

Interesting that teachers are so highly rated while the public education system is not getting very high marks. As far as real estate is concerned, only total transparency with the consumer will improve the perception in the long term. Obviously, you can only be transparent when you know what you are doing and when what you are doing is right and just ;-) 

I'm OK with the numbers. Very high/high 17% trust level and 57% average. Of course, I would like them to be higher.

Bankers are trusted more??!! Guess they don't know about the banksters, do they??

No, I'm not planning on getting a nursing degree.

I tend to lean toward Beatrice's comment, people don't understand what we do and they think we are paid far too much for that perception.  Add in the fact that they can search online, find all kinds of advice on google, zillow, etc. about the process, and the public has the perception that the agent is superfluous to the transaction.  In other words they can do it themselves so why pay an agent to do it for them.  Only exception I think would be in a new home community.  Someone has to build that house on paper. 

I have always heard this.  That really hurts, you know..I like the idea of calling ourselves nurses...

No doubt it would be nice if we polled better in the "Very High/High" category but we are at 74% average or better (ahead of lawyers), which I believe is an improvement over recent history. 

As for why only 17% high, personally I don't think some Realtors come off as very professional or knowledgeable.

Too many incompetent in the business. To get licensing for the professions above ours requires significant classroom and "hands-on" training prior to licesure. With all the mega-brokerages that provide very little direct training it will only get worse. It is also telling to read the entire chart. We were below lawyers for earning a Very High rating, but our Average rating is actually quite high. I come from the Edward Tufte school of reading data. You have to read the entire chart to understand where you stand.

I believe the old axiom that "It only takes one rotten apple to spoil the barrel".  From the activities of some Realtors in this market, I'm not surprised at all by this survey.  Remaining honest and having integrity always pay off in the long run.  I wish there was a way to monitor the ethics part of this business.  We are not alone.  The same rules apply in all the professions.

I knew lawyers were low, way down there, but I thought Realtors had gotten better ratings in the last few years.  Wow

The few always ruin the fun for the many. Most of my interactions with realtors are positive. Stay humble and always be learning!

Jim, it's a shame that people's perceptions of our value and their trust levels of us is based on their experience with only one or two agents who were possibly part-timers, simply inexperienced, or just unprofessional.  Even with the Realtor code of ethics, not every agent is the same.  As with doctors, dentists, accountants, etc. -- people should always ask for referrals rather than working with whatever agent happened to answer the phone or have the listing they're interested in.

Most folks do not deal with Realtors often enough to really understand what we do.

And as long as we get paid only when the deal closes, we will be viewed with suspicion because of our inherent conflict of interest with that of the client.

Lawyers, accountants and doctors get to charge for their time. It makes their time more valuable and their advice more likely to be taken seriously.

An agents job is to present yourself as a person that cares. The client does not care about what you know, they want to know that you care. Sure, we all try to avoid the sales guy that is bothering you at Costco to swith your Cable TV or cell phone service, you get what I mean...

Realtors as the deal negotiator, our commission depends in Sales Price. The higher the sales price the higher our income (that's why few can trust the negotiator to get the best and lowest possible purchase price). Plus the fact that many are focused in closing the deal asap but few are skilled in TRANSPARENCY most especially in financing side. It's always needed to make necessary research before we do our job to earn trust.