That’s according to the newly-elected NSW president of the Real Estate Institute, who is calling for an overhaul of education standards in the industry.
“The entry level training is so low it has been abused,” said Balgowlah agent John Cunningham, who was this week was elected president of the industry body for the next two years.
“We are talking about consumer protection. If you are selling your most valuable asset you want to have confidence that the agent is well trained. You want to deal with a trusted adviser in what is often a complex journey.”
He vowed to lift the bar on agent training, saying unless standards improve agents may not survive.
“There are stories of agents being trained in a matter of hours online,” Mr Cunningham told the Manly Daily.
“You have to do more training to become a barista than you do a real estate agent.”
He called for entry-level training to be increased from four to 11 subjects before people can begin work in the profession, and a two-year certificate IV course with 13 additional subjects to qualify as a real estate agent.
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