I’d love to see some type of referral and rating system for agents, title/escrow companies, and lenders. This would require professionals to give up some control about their messaging, but I think there are some real opportunities as well. Unfortunately, early efforts at this (Trulia/Zillow) have not turned out particularly well.

I had to leave the conversation about halfway through. I would agree with that statement, and it goes way back to when the REALTOR Pledge obligated all REALTORS to uphold the value of property . The pledge was changed (not so very long ago and during my 18 years in the biz), but there’s still a bent toward wanting to uphold the value of real estate generally.

The was a group formed to support buyer’s rights, but it got a little mixed up with following the money. Somewhat because their numbers where just not strong enough to make a difference, so they started focusing on making money. Many could not survive as buyer’s agents without taking listings, and their numbers have diminished.

The Group is called NAEBA – National Association for Exclusive Buyer’s Agents. You may see it kicking up again with some steam, but during a seller’s market their charge to uphold buyers rights and respresentation did more harm than good for their clients at times. Especially the times when the most vocal buyer advocates were shunned by listing agents, and that buyer was passed over for a more passive one. That was part of the DOJ suing NAR issue. Some Brokers tried to remove EBAs from the right to have an IDX site that showed property for sale.

I am amazed and apalled at the number of agents who use “Buyer Agent” as a lip service only or mostly Title. When push comes to shove, I would say 98% of agents still think the buyer is getting a “free ride” and should act as such. Most don’t want to agree that the buyer is paying for his representation as part of the sale price. I would venture to say that less than 1% of agents in the Country think the buyer pays for his representation as part of the sale price, and treats their clients accordingly.

Did I hear that right? Nobody commented on it.

I do wonder, however, how wide-spread this acceptance of the “bubble” crowd is to the broader real-estate professional community. I have noticed a few derogatory comments from realtors on some sites, calling out bubble-bloggers as nutters, and even insinuating that they are partially to blame for the real-estate slow-down.

Maybe this is just a small minority of the professional real-estate crowd…

Of course, there are some fellow bubble-heads who can’t maintain a civil conversation either, so maybe it all works out in the end.

Thanks Tim, Jillayne and Dustin!