Anthony Marguleas, broker and owner of high-end realty firm Amalfi Estates in Los Angeles, thinks the industry shouldn't be spitting out low-producing agents. Instead, it should be harder to become one.Marguleas researched the number of hours it takes to become a licensed real estate agent, which varies by state. In California, he says, getting a license calls for a 45-hour class. Nationwide, the requirements range from a low of 24 hours in Massachusetts to a high of 120 hours in Ohio, according to ARELLO. He says it takes 9,000 hours to become a doctor and 1,600 hours to become a cosmetologist.
"To dye someone's hair it takes 20 times more studying than to help someone sell the largest investment of their life," he says.
"Real estate agents typically get ranked right around used-car salesmen. The bar is so low to get a real estate license," says Marguleas, who operates in a high-end market in Pacific Palisades, Calif., and has been in the real estate business for 15 years. "I would love to make it as hard as it is to become a doctor or lawyer to raise the professionalism. So many people who do this are part-time and not very knowledgeable about what they're doing. It's why consumers have such a poor image of real estate agents."
How can real estate agents as a group garner more public respect when they are lead by discredited shills like David Lereah? (that was a rhetorical question) Also, I don't agree that it should be as hard to become a real estate agent as it is to become a doctor or lawyer.
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