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Survey Shows Recruiting Younger Real Estate Agents the #1 Challenge for Leading Real Estate Execs
BELLEVUE, WA--(Marketwired - Jul 8, 2013) - The biggest business challenge facing real estate brokerages today isn't making the most of the reviving housing market -- it's being unable to attract younger agents, according to a poll of top real estate executives.
This was among the key findings from the 2013 Imprev Thought Leader Survey conducted in late May. Poll respondents included top executives at leading franchises and independent brokerage firms that were responsible for more than one-third of all U.S. residential real estate transactions last year.
The aging of the real estate workforce has been well documented. According to the National Association of REALTORS®, the average real estate agent is 57 years old, though the average American worker is 41 and the typical age of a first-time buyer is 31.
"Over the last five years the average age of real estate agents has almost moved in lock-step with the calendar," which is also supported by NAR research, said Renwick Congdon, chief executive officer of Imprev, the real estate marketing software firm that works with 150,000 agents and brokers nationwide.
NAR also notes that more veteran agents are choosing to stay in the business and not retire. Apparently seasoned agents are also less likely to make a move to another firm, according to the survey. More than one-third of the respondents (36 percent) said they were "not able to get top producers to apply" with their firms.
Real estate leaders also noted they are struggling to find new talent, which is directly impacting their bottom line. When asked about the biggest challenges they face in driving higher profitability, "need more agents" was the No. 1 concern -- cited by 42 percent of respondents and ranking higher than physical space costs (39 percent) and commission splits (35 percent).
One-third of the executives (33 percent) cited "too few quality prospects" as one of their biggest recruiting challenges.
Other key findings of the 2013 Imprev Thought Leader Survey:
Competitive challenges: Nearly half (49 percent) cited competitors offering "a better commission split," followed by competitors offering lower costs for affiliation
(46 percent); having more market share (23 percent); offering signing bonuses (22 percent); and providing more leads to agents (21 percent). Trailing those concerns were: offering more marketing support (16 percent); having better brand recognition (14 percent); and providing better technology (10 percent).
Profitability challenges: Other profitability challenges the executives said they face included support-staff costs (31 percent); the "impact of discount brokers" (22 percent); and technology costs (18 percent). Fewer than one in 10 executives (9 percent) cited "benefit costs" as a top profitability concern.
More recruiting challenges: The No. 2 recruiting challenge the executives face is not able to find enough time to recruit (44 percent). Respondents also cited an inability to get their teams to help recruit (28 percent) and finding "prospects that fit your culture" (27 percent) as other significant recruiting challenges.
Congdon explained Imprev inaugurated the Thought Leader Survey in 2012 to provide information executives could share. "This is a way for us to better understand our clients and help them learn from each other. It's one of the ways we can give back to the industry," Congdon said.
The Imprev Thought Leader Survey is conducted in late May and late October of each year.
About Imprev
Imprev, Inc. enables real estate companies to build Marketing Centers and web applications on the industry's most advanced marketing platform. The Imprev platform serves more than 150,000 real estate agents worldwide. Imprev provides the industry's only mobile-ready Marketing Centers that fully work on desktop, laptop, iPad or Android tablet. Imprev offers a broad set of custom and "better than white-label" solutions for brands, brokers, agents and teams. Established in 2000, Imprev is headquartered in Bellevue, Wash., and is online at www.imprev.com.
