The median age for both brokers and salespeople in our industry is 51. This doesn't really surprise me, as I look around at the weekly meetings and conventions I attend. Often age means experience, and this is a benefit to our clients, but it is especially important for agents to keep up to date with the changes in the industry, and especially with its increased reliance on computers.
I know a few agents in my age group who fought against the computer, and still miss the days when we had a daily hand delivery of printed sheets with the new listings, and a weekly book published with black and white photos of properties for sale. To get a true update, we had to drive to the local Board of Realtors office, and check the handwritten list of that day's new listings.
How different (and exciting!) it is to be able to go online and see a virtual tour and/or multiple color pictures of every property for sale.
Recently, a Nebraska court found that it couldn't’t reject a discrimination claim
filed by a real estate agent against her former employer, a real estate and mortgage company. Although the company claimed that the agent was fired for being too “traditional” for its unique business model and failing to close loans on her listings, the agent alleged that her age was the determinative factor, citing evidence which swayed the court.
The agent who represented us in the sale of my mother-in-law's Florida condo was 83, legally blind, and wheelchair bound. Her son handled the paperwork and the driving, and she still sold every unit in that development!
No comments:
Post a Comment