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Too Many Chefs in the Kitchen
According to the Consumer Federation of America, there has been a dramatic rise in part-time real estate agents, now making up the majority of industry professionals. The sudden appetite to ride the real estate gravy train seems not to be driven by sugar, spice, and everything nice, like market growth, but by a down market and scarcity of inventory instead.
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Low Inventory + High Number of Real Estate Agents = “Operation Needles in Haystacks?”
This overcrowded industry has meant a saturation of real estate agents, all hunting for the golden nugget (i.e., property listings) that are as scarce as hen’s teeth. Plenty of cooks but too few ingredients to cook with. This multiplication of the real estate agents and the division of the available properties might just lead us to “Operation Needles in Haystacks.”
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Part-timers Bubbling up To the Top
The study also spills the beans, revealing that part-timers are now dominating the real estate industry. It’s like a novice entering the kitchen, flipping a pancake to the ceiling and somehow landing it back in the pan perfectly—applause ensues.
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The Side-effect Recipe on Clients and the Industry
With part-timers in the spotlight, both clients and the industry could be playing a high-stakes game of Russian Roulette. It might get a bit bitter if you have to meander through a jamboree of Sunday hobby agents before you land on the expert who turns houses quicker than a pancake on the first day of Pancake Tuesday.
Final Sip: My Hot Take
Well, folks, it seems like the real estate industry has transformed into a wild party where everyone’s invited—but with an all-you-can-eat-buffet that seems to be running out of food. The ongoing game of musical chairs between these part-time agents and the dwindling property listings has become a catch-22 situation and a veritable hot potato no one wants to hold. Chances are, if we aren’t careful, the game might turn into a bit of a soggy soufflé.
With the industry now teeming with part-timers, it’s like having your mom’s cousin’s friend’s son show up at your BBQ and claiming they can grill the perfect steak — perhaps they can, but you’re likely to chew through a few charcoal briquettes before getting to the juicy part. Clients and the industry alike need to be careful not to get stuck in the molasses of undercooked and inexperienced deals. Bottom line? It’s a chopping block out there, and one might just need a Michelin-starred agent to navigate this complicated concoction. In this unsteady real estate banquet, it’s survival of the fittest, or should I say, the “grill-est?” Oh, how the tables have quite literally turned. Bon appetit!
Original article: https://www.inman.com/2024/01/06/you-sold-how-many-houses-last-year-the-download/
