Are there too many real estate agents?

Just read an article  by Lew Sichelman

https://www.uexpress.com/home/housing-scene/2024/01/05

Frankly I have to agree.

It is really easy to get your real estate license, but very hard to know what you are doing.

It is not a business that you should be doing part time if you are working for other people.  It is okay to do your own transactions part time, but not fair to your clients.

In the multi space it is much worse.  Even agents who understand real estate have a lot of difficulty dealing with multis.  

First the tenants have NO INCENTIVE to let you show the house and have all the incentive to kill the deal.

Would it be better for the industry if agents had more training?  or the test was harder?  It would help, but not a game changer.  

The good agents work all the time and get better every day at transactions and negotiating because they make it their business to do so.

I think it might be more worthwhile to have an apprenticeship program where younger agents learn from more experienced agents.

Some brokers do a good job with this.  Others just tell agents to make phone calls.

Another way to weed out the poor agents would be to increase fees and insurance requirements.  If you are not mentored you would pay a much higher errors and omissions premium.

Either way, there are simply too many agents, and the good agents are the only ones making money.