Anthony Marguleas of A.M. Realty in Los Angeles is currently working on a book about the secrets and myths of the real estate industry. He's conducted research into the time it takes to become a qualified real estate agent, versus other professions. The results, he says, make shocking reading.

Marguleas researched and polled 20 professions requiring licensure in California, from pilot to plumber, from teacher to chiropractor. He found that a real estate agent could qualify to sell homes as a professional with a mere 48 hours of training. That's less training than the next lowest - estheticians or beauticians require almost 12 times more training at 600 hours, followed by a police officer which requires 1120 hours of training to qualify for their jobs. A hair stylist has to complete 1500 hours of training, a chiropractor 3840 hours, a CPA undertakes 5980 hours.

These are literal classroom attendance hours of coursework.

The only professional license that came in as low as the real estate agents' was that of home inspector.

"To be a Home Inspector, I could go to the American Home Inspectors Training school and do a 6-day start-up course, from 8am - 6pm each day (say 8 hours actual training)," says Marguleas, "so in essence, it's about the same as a real estate agent, if you don't include the one-day marketing course which they add on after the six days."

Marguleas says, "This confirms the beliefs that the public has about the generally low level of professionalism that is still rampant in the real estate industry. Most people consider a professional to be an expert - someone who has undergone specific training for their career and has a certain level of knowledge and experience, too."

He continues, "The fact is that many people are becoming real estate agents with a minimum of training - because the industry makes that possible, is that many real estate agents don't have much grasp of the business at all, let alone the intricacies: keeping on top of changes in legislation, for example. The typical real estate agent probably started out in another occupation and either wasn't making enough money, lost their job and couldn't find another in the same area of business, or just decided to 'give it a go.'"

With the qualification process only taking 48 hours to obtain a license, becoming a real estate agent has become an easy career choice for a lot of people, suggests Marguleas. Many agents are actually 'part-timers' who have another occupation: disc jockeys, hairdressers, contractors, or actors (especially in Los Angeles), he says.

Given that real estate agents are assisting people with the most important - and usually the most expensive - purchase of their lives, Marguleas suggests that the training to become a real estate agent should, at the very least, be equal to that of a stock broker (1920 hours).

Here are the results of Marguleas' research: (hours are approximate)

• Doctor: 6840 hours
• Astronaut: 6760
• CPA: 5980
• Dentist: 4840
• Psychologist: 4320
• Veterinarian: 3840
• Chiropractor: 3840
• Architect: 3840
• Lawyer: 3360
• Archaeologist: 2880
• Pilot: 2560
• Plumber: 2080
• Stockbroker: 1920
• Hair stylist: 1500
• Chef: 1500
• Electrician: 1425
• Teacher: 1360
• Police Officer: 1120
• Esthetician: 600
• Certified Residential Appraiser: 120
• Real estate agent: 48

Marguleas recognizes that agents can distinguish themselves by carving out a true career in the business and by seeking to understand every aspect of the industry in order to provide the best possible service to their clients. These agents spend more time obtaining other qualifications, such as becoming graduates of the Realtor's Institute or training as a Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) or an Accredited Buyers Representative (ABR), or undertaking courses through the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing or other specialties.

Still, Marguleas frets, "In California, the number of Realtors has increased 44 percent in the last five years. Now there are almost 400,000 people with real estate licenses in California, 66,000 of them in Los Angeles. In the early part of 2004, the number of real estate agents in Los Angeles outnumbered properties for sale at a ratio of 7:1. These figures make for a cut-throat industry."

Nationally, the number of licensees has swollen to 2.5 million, according to ARELLO, and the National Association of Realtors has also reported record membership of over one million, a 25 percent increase over the last five years.

Published: November 15, 2004

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