20% of agents no longer doing 80% of work, study reveals

A new study shows real estate agents are largely optimistic about their local markets, still struggle with low inventory challenges, and 60 percent of them are doing 100 percent of the business.

According to the Productivity Study of Multiple Listing Service activity released by the WAV Group, a consulting firm, 29 percent of realtors say they are “very optimistic” about their local markets and 71 percent say they are “cautiously optimistic”; none say they are “not at all optimistic” about their local markets.

The study, which surveyed about 150 multiple listing services representing nearly 335,000 realtors, also found that more than 80 percent categorize their local inventory as “somewhat” or “very” limited, with fewer than one-in-five saying that their local inventory is “not limited.”

The study also found that 40 percent of realtors did not close a single transaction in the first six months of this year.

“We thought the numbers would reflect the 80/20 rule,” said Marilyn Wilson, WAV Group founding partner who oversaw the study. “In reality, it looks like a new 60 percent rule is the true standard for real estate.”

Wilson also pointed out that the same number-60 percent-is about the same percentage of agents logging into their MLS system daily.

That’s a significant factor MLS, brokerages and technology providers need to consider when creating a benchmark for new measuring adoption of new technology, according to Wilson.

“If you assume that 100 percent of your audience is ripe for technology adoption, you may want to think again,” Wilson said in a statement to agents.

“If only 60 percent of your target audience is actively logging into the MLS system every day, the likelihood they are going to be seeking out and adopting new technologies beyond the MLS is pretty slim, so why should they be counted? You need to base your benchmark on the 60 percent of your audience that is actually doing business,” Wilson told agents.