The new look of realtors

by Shawn Lackie

Over 20 years ago, I finally decided I wanted to make Real Estate (RE) my life. I had worked in television, in a multitude of capacities, and then transitioned to a VP job with the Canadian Football League. At the time, I considered it to be my dream job. Yet, in the back of my mind, for many of the previous 10 years, I had always wondered what the world of RE held.

I would call a friend, every spring, and ask how the market was and what process I would follow. After the fourth straight year, she said, “Stop calling and get at it.” Which I did.

In the process, I talked to a relative and told him of my burgeoning career shift. In a somewhat sarcastic tone, he said, “So you’re going to join all the housewives and older ladies in that business eh?” It was a somewhat harsh response, I would say. So I checked into some stats, on just who was selling, and sure enough, it was dominated by females. I don’t know if they were housewives but I doubt seriously that would have made a difference. They were, however, in the older stages of life. That was just the reality.

I recently looked up what the current numbers are, and they still skew a little older. Check this out. Of the 130,000 CREA registered realtors in Canada, the typical median age is in the mid-50’s (55). A significant portion (21 percent) has more than 25 years experience, and nationally, the majority are women, at over 60 percent. In the GTA that number skews down to women representing 43 percent and men 57 percent. Suffice it to say, over the last 50 plus years, it has been dominated by the ladies in our lives.

Things are starting to change, albeit slightly. What used to be the domain for older, established professionals has seen an influx of younger agents. When I managed an office in Oshawa, I hired a young man of 19, mainly because he was brilliant AND motivated. What he lacked in true business experience he more than made up for with his open-eyed eagerness to learn and develop. It was the same thing a few years later, when I was running an office in Lindsay. A young lady applied for and got the admin job, we had an opening for. She, too, was smart beyond her years. The thing I liked most about these two youngsters was their mature take charge attitude. There was no such thing as can’t do. They have both forged very successful careers in sales. Which was harder to do than it looks.

Most old school realtors came from lengthy careers, mostly in some kind of sales capacity, so the transition could be fairly easy. They already had a strong Sphere of Influence (Old Timers know that as a Good Rolodex – if you still don’t get it – look it up). One thing which hasn’t changed is, the need for old fashioned values. Face to face and voice to voice. Honesty and integrity, and what I like the most – a genuine curiosity about how to go about making things better. That just never gets old or goes out of fashion.

Feel free to check out this story and more on my blog site, at https://slackie14.wixsite.com/buy-sell-and-more