Quote:
Originally Posted by Slava
Who are these financial advisors you speak of? As one on the site I just thought that there are a few things you should know. Firstly I don't make a dime in real estate, am not licensed there in any capacity. I have no idea how the real estate market not crashing is of special benefit to me (other than the economy just not crashing, which is of benefit to most people in Calgary).
Second, I have no idea what you mean by the "longing for the good 'ol days" comment as far as financial advisors. I assume that the industry is just an easy target for you and we get lumped in here with the usual attitude towards real estate agents? (That attitude being that they come and put a sign on your lawn, sell the house and make a lot of money to do nothing).
In any case, its rich that a guy who works in investment banking is going to take shots at these other professions and say that we are the ones longing for the past years of high commissions! How'd 2008 turnout for you guys again?
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You could lump in real estate lawyers as well. Let's not kid ourselves that a few years back a realtor could list a house at last sales price for the area and in a few days get multiple offers at well over listing price. They were getting double commision for less work as house prices doubled and commision rates (7/3) remained the same. It's only natural that being paid on commision one would be resistent to having to go back to doing more work for less commmision. The people in this industry aren't bad people but their pay structure bring up serious conflicts of interest.
The last comment above you are 100% correct. Financial advsiors might be better groups under my profession than with real estate. In my industry receptionists (bottom of the totem pole) were getting $100K bonuses at the peak. Being a few notches up the pole, I miss those days to a certain degree (conflict of interest!) but even at the time was suspect of the short term thinking and greed tied behind it. The facts and my gut told me that it was unsustainable and the correction happened quicker and was more severe than I even imagined. Smart, educated people let greed cloud their thinking creating a mess that spread not just within the industry but the entire world. Everyone got hit in some form. I am happy that things now appear more normal and are better regulated but that cloud still hangs over my head. It`s best for everyone and obviously much more sustainable.
(Reminds me of Ralph Bucks in a way.......nice at the time but short-sighted as now that money would come in handy with record deficits.)
The real estate market to me doesn't sound much different but just on a more local scale. If anything it could hit people harder because homes are more personal than something like stocks. People can only own homes that are 4-11% their median incomes for so long before something has to give. The job market is improving but no where enough to cover the gap. Real estate is not sustainable at current prices.