Wanted: Young Brokers
An interesting article to pass along that appeared in Sunday’s Boston Globe (“Brokers Taking on Younger Look”) about the need for the industry to attract young brokers who often tend to better understand how to reach the growing demographic of young, tech-savvy home buyers. Coupled with that, a study last year revealed that the real estate industry – which has a median
age of 52 – risks facing huge shortages of brokers as baby boomers retire if it doesn’t attract more Gen Y practitioners to real estate careers.
Why do you think younger people don’t consider a career in real estate? How can the industry attract more young people to the field? Also, do you think young practitioners have an advantage in today’s market in reaching out to young home buyers than more seasoned practitioners?
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Comments
I don't think real estate brokers properly market to attract younger professionals. Also, I find that it is harder for younger real estate agents to reach out and grab the young home buyers, because 1st time buyers look for experienced agents to help them be guided through the home buying process. If current brokers properly market to young professionals and keep them on board through mentorship programs, they will succeed in obtaining and keeping young talent.
Posted by: Jason Bonnet | April 30, 2008 01:27 PM
We Realtors work on commission. We do not get paid by the hour. For most Real Estate Professionals, it takes a considerable amount of time learning the business, meeting contacts, and doing some serious grunt work before you have a career that you can depend on for income. I see many of my contemporaries, the recent college grads shunning the idea of commission based work for these reasons. Many of them have debt from student loans, rent, or car and cell phone payments that prevent them from being able to get into the business. This is a struggle and the reason, in my opinion for so few young professionals in Real Estate.
Posted by: Ian Phipps | May 6, 2008 01:40 PM
This is a major challenge in real estate on several fronts.
1. It shows that real estate is not viewed as a "profession". When I became an agent I called it a profession and was chided by numerous agents in that a "real" profession is one that requires training and in their mind the "x" hours required by states isn't enough to make a difference. When our own don't see it as a profession, why would our best and brighest young people want to jump on board?
2. Real estate is usually a "found" profession. There are 2nd and 3rd generation agents, but for a lot of us this is our 2nd or 3rd generation occupation.
3. Depending on your state the term "broker" has different connotations. In Ohio, for example a "broker" is the office leader - the only "person that exists" in the eyes of the state. The rest of us work for the broker as agents. There can only be one broker per office, hence you'll see more brokers with their license on escrow that are not counted.
Posted by: Toby Boyce | May 8, 2008 08:15 AM