SARASOTA, FLORIDA, March 12th, 2014 – Prospective home buyers and sellers in Sarasota can expect a high degree of professionalism among real estate agents whose ranks have been rising significantly Florida-wide as a result of the dramatic improvement in the residential property market.
According to statistics from the Florida Division of Real Estate, over 42,000 aspirants took the state’s realtor exam this year, almost double the annual counts in 2009, 2010, or 2011. Of these test-takers, however, Sarasota Bay Real Estate notes that only 16,000 passed. This earned them the sales associate license that allows agents to earn commissions from customers buying and selling homes. More than 26,000 examinees failed to score at least 75 out of the 100 test criteria.
Nonetheless, Florida continues to hold the distinction of having the most number of realtors in the U.S. Based on the 2012 figures from the Labor Dept., there are 26,000 real estate agents in the Sunshine State, almost the same head count as those in California and New York combined.
Moreover, the sustained gains in the Florida home market can be expected to attract more to go into the real estate profession. Likewise adding to this impetus is the availability of superior local training facilities like the School of Real Estate run by the Sarasota Association of Realtors (SAR) at its new and well-equipped $2.5- million headquarters at Cattlemen Rd.
The school conducts pre-license classes under a program spread out over several weeknights and weekends for an enhanced learning experience. Its instructor, Michael W. Davenport, is not only a licensed real estate broker but also a multi-licensed real estate instructor in Florida. The programs which the school offers include a 63-hour sales associate pre-license course, a 45-hour post-license course, and the 72-hour broker pre-license course.
Additionally, SAR School of Real Estate offers a range of programs for post-license learning and continuing education of sales persons and brokers. These courses lead to nationally accredited Realtor titles like GRI (Graduate, Realtor Institute).
Professionalism of its members through opportunities for further learning is also one of the critical issues which SAR addressed in 2013. For the year, professional development initiatives totaled close to 200 sessions with aggregate attendance of over 6,000.
One of the highlights of these programs was the assistance extended to hundreds of local realtors for them to pass their required Code of Ethics training.Other areas covered by SAR professional development efforts include sharing of learning on new real estate trends and developments, including those on technological methods to increase SAR members’ productivity and further improve service to consumers.
Training on the system of the multiple listings service (MLS) turned out as the most well-attended of these professional development programs. Through the MLS database and software, brokers are able to orderly correlate and disseminate home sales listing information for better market coverage and service.
Notably, the MLS is one of the principal tools by which Sarasota Bay Real Estate serves its clients. The website of this full service realty company features all current MLS listings of residential properties for sale in Sarasota, Manatee, and Charlotte. With this facility, the realty company is able to capture hourly updates on single family homes and condo units within these three counties.
SARASOTA, FLORIDA, October 7, 2019 – Property values of communities in the Sarasota-Manatee region now face lesser threat from neighborhood eyesores brought about by abandoned, foreclosed homes. Known in the real estate trade as zombie foreclosures, these properties have shrunk significantly in the region. According to an August report of ATTOM Data Solutions, abandoned […] more>>