AG flash poll results: most valued real estate designation

AG Flash Poll

Real estate professionals have many opportunities for continued education, most notably in the form of earning designations that not only further educate but help agents to specialize in niches. Some argue that designations mean nothing to the consumer and call it meaningless alphabet soup for business cards, but many designations offer professionals a deeper understanding of the practice regardless of what a consumer thinks of their lapel’s shiny new pin.

Last month, we took a poll here at AG asking “which designation has most impacted your career?” In a declining economy, agents are seeking out ways to improve their careers and earning capacity, so we thought we would share with you which designations ranked most highly with our readers:

“Which designation most impacted your career?”

1. 35.5% said CCIM (Certified Commercial Investment Member)
2. 16.7% said CRS (Council of Residential Specialists)
3. 16.7% said ePRO (Technology certification program)
4. 4.8%% said ABR (Accredited Buyer’s Representative)
5. 4.8% said GRI (Graduate REALTOR Institute)
6. 2.4% said ESRES (Energy Smart Real Estate Specialists)
7. 2.4% said CRI (Certified Real Estate Inspector)

• Although we asked respondents not to respond that no designation has had an impact, 4.8% felt strongly enough to do so.
• 11.9% said “other” which included interesting responses ranging from CFA (chartered financial analyst) to some military designations like CPO USN, Ret.

Regarding designations, Greg Lyles of Conrad Lyles REALTORS in Atlanta, Georgia said, “Years ago, I took the first two classes of the CCIM designation while I was developing apartment communities and shopping centers. I recall the instructor saying that, “After these two courses, you’ll know more than 90% of the agents out there.” I thought to myself, if that can be accomplished after two courses, we as an industry are in trouble!”

Have you heard of all of these designations? If you didn’t take the poll or have additional thoughts, we’d like to hear about it in the comments. Which designations do you think are valuable and which are not? What is the best reason to seek a designation?