We know home sellers are frustrated because their homes are not selling, because there are so few buyers right now.   We know many sellers have reduced their listing price once, twice, and sometimes several times.  And yet many homes remain unsold.  It’s as though buyers are just not showing up, which they aren’t.  None of this is front page news anymore.   We read everyday in the newspapers what sellers are going through: the stress, the financial strain, the uncertainty, and for some a foreclosure if the home doesn’t sell fast.

But what is it like for Realtors?  If you read my blog often, you know that I like to tell my readers the truth.  Of course, what I write is colored by my limited knowledge and experiences, just like everyone else.  But my readers constantly express their appreciation for my open writing, honest expressions of the challenges home sellers and home buyers face, and for insights they often do not get from others.  By the way, I do get some heat periodically from other real estate agents in the area and from newspaper publishers, so I must be doing something right.  After all, I’m not writing here to make other professionals like me.  I hope they do.  I’m a sensitive person.   I do write to help my clients and to help others who are buying and selling real estate.  That would be you.

The question today is what is it like from a real estate agent’s perspective to have many listings in this market?

An agent can only manage so many listings at one time, because of all the administrative work associated with each listing, and because of the level of customer service required to keep each client satisfied.  How many listings can an agent manage practically?  You’ll hear different numbers, but an agent can effectively manage a dozen listings, plus or minus.  That number could be increased to two or three dozen, provided the agent has one or two assistants.  But there is much more to the story.  (more…)

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