Thanks, Slate.com for such a great analysis and simplification/insult to the careers of millions of people (I say millions because Realtors + Real Estate Agents + assistants + hr + web staff + marketing team, etc).
Did you know that (most) brokers also know how to do long division, turn on their laptops, walk with their right foot then left foot consequentially AND open tricky tubes of hygienic products like toothpaste, all without assistance?
No, you probably think brokers are robotic retards. Your insight is unparalleled.
************
h/t to Riccelli
Lani is the COO and News Director at The American Genius, has co-authored a book, co-founded BASHH, Austin Digital Jobs, Remote Digital Jobs, and is a seasoned business writer and editorialist with a penchant for the irreverent.

Mariana
December 11, 2007 at 1:12 pm
OMG! I spit out my rice the 1st time I read this and then spit out my soda the 2nd time I read it. SCORE! 1 point for the Robotic-Retard-Realtors!
Now off to my ever-perfect, non-shifting, happy-happy, la-la-la business of real estate after a word from our sponsors …
Chris Johnson
December 11, 2007 at 1:55 pm
Well, look, lawrence yun is not often right. Why wuld he predict he would be?
I think that Realtors are so grossly conditioned to sell appreciation that they don’t understand the benefits of home ownership as a non investment vehicle: quality of life, community, willinnes to be included, transparency, autonomy over one’s environment.
No, they are not learning to sell that fast enough, so they have to sell against renting against, other things.
Lani Anglin
December 11, 2007 at 3:42 pm
wrong.
Athol Kay
December 11, 2007 at 6:32 pm
Personally I thought that was a great article Lani and don’t really see an attempted smear on agents.
Numerous RE bloggers have been saying for a solid year that Lereah and now Yun are spouting pollyanna gibberish at every possible opportunity to do so. Slate hasn’t said anything new that we haven’t said over and over.
I think the general public view NAR reports on housing with the same level of distrust as a Big Tobacco companies research on the effects of smoking.
Lani Anglin
December 11, 2007 at 7:05 pm
Athol, you’re right- it’s nothing new. We put our required quarter (NAR dues) into the slot and move on so we can do business, nothing more.
NAR has no bearing on how we do locally and rarely does anyone we talk to on the ground know who Yun is, nor do they keep up with NAR reports (that could be because appreciation here is in line with forecasting and people only care that THEIR pocketbook is doing well).
But regardless of the entire Slate article, the comment I quoted above is condescending, irritatingly insulting, ignorant, rude, and implies some secret code that brokers follow regardless of logic.
Daniel Rothamel
December 11, 2007 at 7:40 pm
Lani,
While the quote might not apply to you or me (or the contributors or readers of AgentGenius), is it perhaps closer to the truth than we might like to admit?
Teresa Boardman
December 12, 2007 at 9:21 am
Lani – I see you just had a well “duh” moment. 🙂
Athol Kay
December 12, 2007 at 5:46 pm
I think you’re offended because you want to be offended Lani.
Every week I feel like the black sheep in the office meeting for thinking that any kind of media report of any amount of bad housing news is allowable.
Lani Anglin
December 13, 2007 at 12:35 am
…and that’s what you get for thinking. 🙂