It has been interesting to have our field of business and expertise be of a national discussion for the past few months. Everyone who has ever bought a home or would like to buy a home has an opinion about what we do, how we do it, and what our compensation should be. And that is all fair and up for discussion. What is fair but hard to hear, is that not all of our colleagues, both locally and across the country are the same. 

Having one’s livelihood discussed and questioned can lead us to be defensive and insecure, but for us, we continue to be confident and proud of the services we provide. To be honest, the technical skills and knowledge to acquire a California Real Estate license is not that difficult. But what is needed to be a good agent and be successful in the Bay Area market requires advanced knowledge and experience. Recently, we were listing agents on a home in Walnut Creek that received multiple offers. One of those offers was from a buyer who got their real estate license last fall to save some money on their home purchase. They had  $1mil for a down payment but did not write a competitive offer. They didn’t understand what the market required to write a winning offer. Did they fill out the form correctly? Yes. But with a million dollars down it should have been stronger on terms than it was. That kind of knowledge comes with actual experience and not just technical knowledge. 

Often buyers and sellers hire agents based on relationships. Both of us got started with clients who trusted us personally, even before we were experienced. With that acknowledgement, it is important to hire a real estate professional with the knowledge and experience to understand changing market conditions as well as differences in geographic market conditions. Not only is the number of transactions important but the diversity of experience. Often it's taking knowledge from one market to push through challenges in another market.

As the industry is about to make an historic change in how buyers’ agents are compensated, the value of an educated, experienced and successful agent remains important. We are committed to maintaining the high bar of ethics with transparency and clear communication with our clients and colleagues.