Brokers says he cannot arrange a direct 1031 exchange?

[Mark Hu]

We've been talking to some brokers about a 1031 exhange. They explained to us that it is almost impossible to arrange a direct property to property exchange, that we would have to sell and buy within the allotted time period only.
Also they said it is practically impossible to arrange a contingency sale. Needless to say I was greatly disappointed.
Is it true that 99% of 1031 exchanges are done indirectly, not through a direct exchange one property for another? That seems like a risky way to do things.