Email Elizabethare realtors overpaid
Do Real Estate Agents Make Too Much Money?
Before we get started on the topic of whether real estate agents make too much money, let me be clear that I am not about to tell you how much money I earn as a top producing Sacramento Broker, because how much I earn as a real estate agent is not what this blog about, plus it’s kinda gauche to discuss. I’d like to talk about how those in the 1%, whether it’s all people in the world or just the top agents in any given community, are often looked down upon and intensely disliked simply because they earn more money than somebody else. It’s like everybody gets dumped into one category, being earning more than the person who is upset about it earns.
A retired elderly friend of my mother’s was like this. He used to mail me cartoons cut out of newspapers about denigrating the wealthy, which also included attacks on real estate agents. It was as though he could not be a good defender of the downtrodden, or an effective political activist trying to right wrongs, without slamming those with a net worth higher than his.
Do some real estate agents make too much money? A few, perhaps, you’ve met some of those, but most agents also earn exactly what they are worth. You’d probably be surprised to know that the average salary of a real estate agent in the United States is less than $50,000. Out of that, agents expect to fork out overhead expenses, medical and insurance costs, federal and state taxes, so they’re lucky to end up with half that amount, if that.
When sellers sometimes ask if I will discount my commission, my answer is always the same. I don’t mind the fact they asked, but my answer is no because they are paying for superior service. They are paying for assurance that the million and one mistakes I have made and observed over the past 40 years won’t happen to them. What I have learned and pass down to them has a dollar value. That assurance carries a dollar value. If sellers want a less experienced agent, they can certainly hire that kind of agent for less money.
If they want a full-service agent who is dedicated to focusing on their needs and producing results, then they agree to pay my fee. I will fight tooth and nail for them to protect my client’s financial interests, which means that small bump that I charge over many other agents makes its way back into their pockets at closing. Do real estate agents make too much money? For what I do, I earn what I am worth. Just ask my clients.
The Reasons Realtors Get Paid So Much
There are many valid reasons Realtors get paid so much.
For those who wonder about the reasons Realtors get paid so much, I’ve got news for you. For starters, they don’t. According to NAR most Realtors earn around $45,000 a year. Is that a lot of money to you? Further, you’ve got good Realtors and bad Realtors, just like any other profession. I hate to break it to you, but that dentist who is sticking a drill bit in your mouth? He’s that snotty-nose kid who used to sit behind you in third grade, kicking your chair. Although his grade point average throughout grade school was a lousy D-minus, he grew up and got a license to practice dentistry. And now he’s your dentist. Or your Realtor.
The really good Realtors make a shitload of money. Because they have knowledge. You’re paying for their knowledge and expertise on every single transaction. The more transactions a Sacramento Realtor closes, for example, the more she is worth. Any mistakes along the way she never repeats. She has answers to questions you don’t even know to ask. Because she has paid the price to earn a reputation for excellence.
She has held open houses in 115-degree heat sans air conditioning while you were relaxing at home in the pool. She has hauled buyers from hell and back to show homes while you napped. She has trudged in 6-inch heels through filthy foreclosures unsafe for human occupancy while you shopped for back-to-school clothes at Macy’s. She has endured crazy rants from lunatics who had no business listing a home while you licked the bottom of your ice cream bowl. She has chased cats in her bare feet who bolted from a home showing in pouring rain while you taught your dog to shake. She has saved transactions from canceling, pulled rabbits out of a hat and pounded lenders into funding while you gazed at the evening stars from your front porch.
Excessive soap suds can make a dishwasher overflow.
She gets paid for what she knows. No matter what you think you know about real estate, you do not know what a Sacramento Realtor who has been in the business for more than 40 years knows. This really hit home to me the other day when our dishwasher overflowed. I could not find the source of the problem. I called an appliance repair guy who checked it out, charged me $80 and said somebody (not me) had inadvertently put a dish or glass into the dishwasher with dish soap on it. Probably the cats. The dishwashing cycle churned so many suds it overflowed and seeped through the door.
Do you know how to eliminate excessive amounts of soap suds? I didn’t know. You pour cooking oil into the dishwasher, 1/4 cup or so, and voila. The suds vanish. It cost me $80 to learn that. Money well spent. Same reasons Realtors get paid so much.
There is a secret to loosen an aerator when it refuses to turn.
Another expensive lesson. I could not remove the screen from a faucet in our master bath. I tried turning it counterclockwise with my hands. I tried a pliers. I asked my husband to give it a go. The aerator seemed clogged. Our water pressure was low. I called a plumber. He charged $75 for a home visit. Would you like to know the secret to cleaning a faucet screen when the aerator refuses to turn? When a pliers doesn’t work, there is an answer. You squeeze the aerator while simultaneously turning the faucet. I did not know that. Cost $75. Money well spent. Same reasons Realtors get paid so much.
I met with a potential sellers a few days ago. His wife has self-diagnosed a neurological disorder. I suggested she go to the doctor, but these guys don’t trust doctors, they think doctors make too much money and that doctors don’t know everything because, hey, we have the internet. You’ve got good doctors and bad doctors. I hate to say this, but doctors do know stuff that we don’t know. I’ve researched symptoms, been completely convinced I had some weird disease, and it was nothing remotely similar to my research and, yet, a doctor fixed my ailment. Money well spent. Same reasons Realtors get paid so much.
I would not hesitate one second to visit a doctor if something was wrong. I am paying that doctor for her years of medical school, training and knowledge acquired on the job, for her expertise. There is a place where people go who think they know everything and don’t need qualified professionals. I think it’s called Fox News.
Of course, the trick is to hire a good Realtor with top-notch reviews and decades of experience. Realtors like me get paid for our insight and offer negotiation skills. You can call a full-service Realtor like Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Or, you can call a discount agent and also get what you pay for.
