The new MLS has its faults, but one new benefit is a ‘Count’ button, which allows it to search larger sets of data and give us a total number.
According to the SDAR website, in 1985 there were 3,251 agents in the San Diego Association of Realtors (the largest of 3 associations in the county today).
Today’s counts:
17,955 licensed agents paying dues for MLS access (you can specify the members when searching, and non-MLS agents and affiliates were omitted).
13,521 houses, condos, and mobile homes sold in San Diego County in the first five months of 2014!
If 20% of the agents are doing 80% of the sales, that’s a lot of realtors not selling! The public should be aware, and investigate their choices carefully.
With no obvious attempts being made from within the industry to change anything, it’s just a matter of time before an outsider gets a foothold, and possibly change the business forever.
It makes you wonder who it will be. Any big retailer could bundle up a package of services and include real estate sales too – this was an interesting article:
Get good help!
I don’t need to look at any of the 3,251 other Realtors, Jim. I’d pick you–not only for what I’ve learned from you on bubbleinfo for the last 5 years (How can it be 5 years???), but for the fact that you helped me, and I didn’t even live in San Diego!
I use to live in the Central Coast area of CA, had no house to sell, and it was you who helped me–with free advice–when I decided to move out of state.
If you could be as helpful as you were–and you got no commission from any real estate deal with me–I can only imagine how helpful you’d be if I was a buyer or seller in North San Diego County. And yep, integrity matters, and that’s why I’m writing this.
With your advice of: “Get Good Help”, I’d add a postscript: “Get Jim the Realtor, that’s all you really need to know.”
Are you saying billionaire Bezos will butt heads with another, bigger billionaire Buffett? Hmm..