10 THINGS REAL-ESTATE AGENTS WISH THEY COULD TELL YOU — BUT WON'T
Brian Suico, a realtor in Vancouver who sells homes priced at about $700,000 on average, said he wished he could tell clients "how much we pay in real-estate fees and marketing."
"Everyone thinks we are rich," Suico said. "Some of us are, but like every business, we spend money to make money, and we take risks, and some of us are very talented at our jobs."
An agent based in Washington added that most agents earn only "a small fraction of the gross commission paid, and we have to pay all of our expenses and taxes from that."
"It's far less lucrative (per transaction) than you think," the agent said.
Many agents said they wished clients knew how much work they do behind the scenes.
"We don't just open doors, and we wear many hats," said Spencer Cutler, a Corcoran real-estate broker in New York City. "Yes, part of our job is to show expensive properties in Manhattan, but we're also a transaction coordinator, marketer, therapist, salesperson, telemarketer, CFO, CEO, accountant, analyst, negotiator, teacher, etc."
Claire Groome, an agent at Warburg Realty who sells homes that cost between $1 million and $20 million in New York City, said that brokers do a lot of work that goes unnoticed and that she wished clients knew "how hard (yet rewarding) our jobs are."
"It's an expertise," Groome said.
Scot Dalbery from REAL New York, who deals with rental properties in New York City, expressed similar sentiments.
"Especially in the era we live in now where people think everything can be done instantly and for free through a website or app, clients don't realize the amount of hours spent researching listings, calling agents, making appointments, verifying information, all while answering every text or email from the clients themselves," he told Business Insider.
He added: "I would never want to tell a client that they are unappreciative, but at times it definitely feels that way."