Nice idea, maybe you are right. I could not do my job on a salaried basis. My thoughts are that we no linger need real estate companies at all. Many have a lot of vacant office space as technology makes going to an office unecessary. Real estate companies do not sell houses and individual agents are able to easily compete on the web against the big corporate web sites. I know that in the business world people think that big huge companies are all that but the truth is as a company of one I can really serve my clients on an individual basis. When I get too many clients I refer them out so that I do not have to hire help or expand my operation. It is a great life!

Realtors are going to be slow to the idea of compensation changes. In the State of Michigan it is not totally out of the picture to be an �employee� sales person, however the state licensing system really is not geared for that. I think that a flat fee with split will become more common then a salary based pay sales professional. A salary system may not be a bad idea, for the fact that it will introduce the element of an �employer� who then would evolve into a competitor in the open market, more similar to retail where agents (employees) would have to provide service as well as agency. In short what I am saying is like a food service or dry goods store where management has to take into account customer satisfaction. Over all the real estate sales industry is going to go through changes although it is hard to say at what speed. In Michigan changes may come about faster because of the heavy auto industry base, but the general consumer will bring on the ultimate drive.

I agreed with Teresa's original comment, that many of us pursue a real estate career because it's less a career than a lifestyle.

Along those lines, it's not the idea of salary that would keep me away but the likely inherent expectations.

I'm at a desk most mornings by 9, sometimes by 8. But the desk is in my home office. I'm still working come 4 or 5. But it's either in my home or in the field. Ten or 12-hour days are not uncommon, but they are on my terms.

After nine-plus years of regimented scheduling, the proverbial punching of the clock, there's just no way I could go back to that world.

It may be for some people. It's not for me.

Also, how attractive salary looks depends on the level of success you enjoy. A company might match salary for a low- to medium-level producer, but couldn't come close to matching what a top producer makes.

One thing that might shoot a huge hole in the whole premise is the proliferation of 2.0 in the world of real estate. Blogging takes the power away from the company and puts it into the hands of the agent. The agent who does the blogging is the expert. The agent that can get his or her blogs to the top of the organic searches down the long tail of the internet will generate the leads. Big companies that buy keywords and banner ads and hire salaried employees will not generate the same passion. And with the right internet marketing and exposure a single agent can do the same amount of advertising for a property as the large companies. I think the Internet will make the Real Estate Industry even less corporate than it is now.

Teresa, Shane, Jonathan and Tony,

Thanks for commenting. Lots of great points. I basically agree with most of them.

* Being self-employed is a better lifestyle for sure.

* Top producers tend to make more money in a commission structure environment (though not always).

* And of course... an agent with a quality website and/or blog can reach top 10 positions on organic search engines for his or her local market.

In fact it is very interesting to see some individual agents and teams do better than the larger companies online.

If your blogs and lead generation efforts grow you might become full time "local real estate personalities". You could then generate leads for other agents that you can't take care of yourself (like Teresa is doing).

My gut though is that guys like you are the exception. Most agents won't be able what you do.

And sadly enough... even in the early stages of the new real estate world I see nationwide marketers dominate the local search results both organically and paid.

-Ola

Unscientific study, I asked 16 realtors from four different companies if they would prefer to be salaried. None did. The bottom line is most would start another business to stay self employed rather than becoming an employee.

Hi,

Thanks for doing that! :-)

I guess I am not surprised by the responses you got.

The main point I was making is that we will probably see more salaried agents in
the industry.

But I don't see the commission-based compensation going anywhere anytime soon.

If you look at the nearby mortgage industry there are a lot of inbound call center loan officers working for the large lenders. Many of them are on salary + bonus.

At the same time we have tons of independent brokers working entirely on commissions.

I can see it happening fairly soon. I've even thought about it for my own brokerage, since I use a lead generation model for onsite condos. It could work quite well for certain niche brokerages.