{"id":1518,"date":"2007-06-08T08:49:12","date_gmt":"2007-06-08T15:49:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/?p=1518"},"modified":"2007-06-08T08:51:13","modified_gmt":"2007-06-08T15:51:13","slug":"consumer-is-the-loser-with-real-estate-licensing-broker-argues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/1518\/consumer-is-the-loser-with-real-estate-licensing-broker-argues\/","title":{"rendered":"Consumer is the loser with real estate licensing, broker argues"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is me in today’s Arizona Republic<\/i><\/a> (permanent link<\/a>):<\/p>\n

 
Consumer is the loser with real estate licensing, broker argues<\/b><\/p>\n

We’ve been talking about real estate licensing laws, admittedly an exercise in futility. Whatever arguments I might make for repeal, it remains that the Arizona Department of Real Estate is not going to dry up and blow away like tumbleweed.<\/p>\n

But here’s an important question: Who do real estate licensing laws benefit?<\/p>\n

If you thought of consumers, that would be incorrect. The model legislation for real estate licensing laws in every state was written by the National Association of Realtors. The purpose of these laws is to artificially limit entry into the real estate business, with the objective being to artificially raise the prices paid by consumers.<\/p>\n

The fact of the matter is that virtually all government regulation of commerce exists to limit supply, thereby raising prices. This is not an unavoidable consequence, but since regulations are either written by or heavily-influenced by the regulated industries, the alignment of government and business in one conspiracy after another against the consumer is a nearly-universal outcome.<\/p>\n

As we discussed last week, another key beneficiary of real estate licensing laws is the real estate broker. Real estate salespeople must be licensed, but in order to work, they must also “hang” their licenses with a real estate broker, another category of license.<\/p>\n

The broker will take a bite out of every dollar his salespeople bring in. It is not an exaggeration to say that a broker’s license is a license to steal.<\/p>\n

It gets better. Real estate brokers have managed to get themselves exempted from IRS income reporting and withholding regulations. In any other business, the boss has to withhold taxes. Taxes are vile, but the reporting and withholding requirement discourages careless hiring practices. There is a significant cost to adding employees, so employers will not take a chance on just anyone.<\/p>\n

Not so real estate brokers. Adding a new Realtor costs virtually nothing, so many brokerages are packed wall-to-wall with thoroughly incompetent agents — haphazardly trained but licensed by the state to wreck your financial life forever.<\/p>\n

If you think these laws and regulations benefit Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is me in today’s Arizona Republic (permanent link):  Consumer is the loser with real estate licensing, broker argues We’ve been talking about real estate licensing laws, admittedly an exercise in futility. Whatever arguments I might make for repeal, it remains that the Arizona Department of Real Estate is not going to dry up and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1518","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"hentry","6":"category-disintermediation","7":"category-marketing","8":"category-real-estate","10":"no-featured-image"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":228,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/228\/want-innovation-in-real-estate-get-rid-of-the-brokers\/","url_meta":{"origin":1518,"position":0},"title":"Want innovation in real estate? Get rid of the Brokers . . .","author":"Greg Swann","date":"August 21, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"The trouble with cops is that they make you feel safe when you're not. Instead of attending to your own security on your own dime, you expect Officer Vengeance to swoop in and save you, like Batman with a beer-belly. Never happens, but we never stop insisting that it can,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogging"","block_context":{"text":"Blogging","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/blogging\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1521,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/1521\/real-estate-licensing-laws-are-a-criminal-conspiracy-against-the-consumer-created-by-and-for-the-benefit-of-a-cartel\/","url_meta":{"origin":1518,"position":1},"title":"Real estate licensing laws are a criminal conspiracy against the consumer created by and for the benefit of a cartel","author":"Greg Swann","date":"June 10, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"When I walk into a supermarket, the first thing I look at are the floors. If they aren't buffed to a blinding glow, I walk right back out. Why? Because if the manager isn't staying on top of the floor maintenance, he isn't staying on top of anything else, either.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Disintermediation"","block_context":{"text":"Disintermediation","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/disintermediation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15243,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/15243\/real-estate-licensing-laws-are-a-criminal-conspiracy-against-the-consumer-created-by-and-for-the-benefit-of-a-cartel-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":1518,"position":2},"title":"Real estate licensing laws are a criminal conspiracy against the consumer created by and for the benefit of a cartel.","author":"Greg Swann","date":"October 26, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"This is me writing in June of 2007. Someone linked to it from Twitter yesterday, and I read it for the first time in years. The argument holds up -- there has never been any attempt at rigorous refutation -- but it's even more interesting now that America has discovered\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Egoism in Action"","block_context":{"text":"Egoism in Action","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/egoism-in-action\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1546,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/1546\/questions-answer-why-real-estate-license-laws-should-be-repealed\/","url_meta":{"origin":1518,"position":3},"title":"Questions answer why real estate license laws should be repealed","author":"Greg Swann","date":"June 15, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"This is me in today's Arizona Republic (permanent link). This is familiar turf to readers here, but I'm wondering if consumers might invest more effort in contemplating the issue. \u00a0Questions answer why real estate license laws should be repealed The idea of repealing real estate licensing laws continues to percolate\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Disintermediation"","block_context":{"text":"Disintermediation","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/disintermediation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2179,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/2179\/a-consumers-guide-to-the-divorced-real-estate-commission-why-buyers-and-sellers-each-paying-for-their-own-representation-is-the-most-significant-reform-that-can-be-made-today-in-residential-real-estat\/","url_meta":{"origin":1518,"position":4},"title":"A consumer’s guide to the divorced real estate commission: Why buyers and sellers each paying for their own representation is the most significant reform that can be made today in residential real estate","author":"Greg Swann","date":"November 7, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Part I: How we got into this mess in the first place Can we be straight with each other? I'm not a soft and subtle kind of guy, and my working assumption is that you are sick to death of being hustled -- handled -- lied to. We yammer all\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Marketing"","block_context":{"text":"Marketing","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/marketing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1490,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/1490\/arizona-real-estate-licensing-fuels-debate\/","url_meta":{"origin":1518,"position":5},"title":"Arizona real estate licensing fuels debate","author":"Greg Swann","date":"June 1, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"This is me in today's Arizona Republic (permanent link). I don't write the headlines. The implication of this one, I think, is that I am debating with myself -- always possible -- since no one else talks about these things. Arizona real estate licensing fuels debate I wrote a couple\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Marketing"","block_context":{"text":"Marketing","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/marketing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1518"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1518\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}