A realtor sells a house for a family, he or she makes a commission (usually 6%). With only very few exceptions, most realtors don’t give a crap about who they are working for (you the seller or the buyer). No, they are only in it for the commission and they will do or say whatever is necessary to “get that sale”.
Realtors played a major role in creating the housing bubble. With some realtors having established close relationships with banks, brokers, appraisers, and anyone that could assist with ‘making the deal’ go through, all for the that coveted prize of the commission.
Consider this television commercial from 2005 -
The homeowners (husband in this case) was apprehensive about the purchase. But Suzanne the realtor did the numbers and said they could do it. In real life this couple would probably be in a home that is now worth less than their mortgage.
The former Chief Economist at the National Association of Realtors, David Lereah, wrote two books during the housing bubble:
While he was working for the National Association of Realtors he wrote these now comical books. The point here is that everyone in the realtor industry, from the NAR all the way down to the individual realtor had one interest… to make that sale. You being able to comfortably afford the home was meaningless to the realtor. Think about this, have you ever heard a realtor tell you that this is a bad time to buy a house? Chances are no, to a realtor there is never a bad time to buy a house. Once the sale is made your realtor is out of there in a flash.
There are some good realtors out there, as with any profession there will always be some good ones in the mix. But in my view, for every 1 good realtor there are 9 bad ones. And the NAR is an organization that should be dissolved.
Someone created the title for David Lereah’s third book in the series, although this one never made it to press.
Need a realtor? Think very carefully about who you choose. Find that one good one out of the 10 if at all possible.

