Current and former Bahamas Real Estate Association (BREA) presidents are at odds over the past president's proposal to put in place a moratorium on new real estate licenses as a means to address circumstances which he said have made it "very difficult" for realtors to make a living.
Patrick Strachan, a former two-time president of BREA and owner of Patrick Strachan Realty Sales, said yesterday that the association should implement a three-year moratorium on issuing licenses to practice the selling and appraisal of real estate - effective immediately.
He blamed a ruling by Chief Justice Sir Michael Barnett with reference to part time realtors as having "adversely affected the board's requirements to enter the real estate profession" at a time when the economic conditions have also made it particularly difficult to sell houses.
"It only makes sense that the board put in place a moratorium. Presently, the real estate market is bombarded with tight lending restrictions, a few qualified prospective buyers, a ton of listings and a stagnant economy. Right now the sole purpose of our president ought to be to ensure that policies are put in place to assist with the survival of its members.
"However, by adding 100 members a year, you are looking at one thousand new members over a 10-year period. By doing that you're tightening the noose around its members' necks. Now is the perfect opportune time to put a moratorium in place," said Strachan.
He added that BREA could make up for the revenue it would lose by not offering the entry-license course twice a year for new realtors through arranging sector-specific speaker events and training courses that could help realtors attain internationally-recognized certifications.
Franon Wilson, president of BREA and Arawak Homes, said that while he admires Strachan's "passion for the association" and "offering ideas as to the way forward" he does not see a moratorium as in the interest of members, the economy, or "in the spirit of the law".
"For that person in high school or university or considering making a career change to move into real estate, to tell that person 'Look this group needs to be making more money so you cannot come into this industry, it's closed,' is not in best interests of national development."
"Our members have to continue to find ways to be better at what we do and continue to offer a great service and be professional so people would want to use your services," said the BREA president.
Admitting that the real estate sector is not as buoyant as it once was, Wilson also suggested that this will change going forward and does not require the type of intervention suggested by Strachan.
Asked if he would agree that many realtors are struggling to make a living, Wilson said: "It's fair to say the reality is the real estate industry goes in cycles does go up and down, that's the nature of the business, so when it is down the reality is people will be more challenged to sell homes on the downside of the cycle than on the upside of the cycle.
"We are not on the high side, but we are not free falling like a few years ago. It's moving forward at a slow pace but in the right direction, although it is hard."
Contrary to Strachan's suggestion, Wilson added that since Sir Michael's ruling, he has not seen a great influx of new realtors coming into the sector. "There's been a good group of people coming but it's not to say that since the chief justice's ruling that it went from 600 to 700 to 1000 to 2000; the explosion hasn't happened."
Meanwhile, the BREA President suggested that full time realtors have little reason to feel threatened by their part-time counterparts, quipping that if a realtor thinks a part-timer is competition, "it may be time for some self-reflection."
"If I could do what you do in a couple of hours, then you have a problem," he said. Wilson said that the demand that realtors must live up to in today's economic environment is to try to match potential buyers with properties that they can realistically purchase - which may involve some adjustments of expectations.+
"The challenge for members of BREA is not the cycle, it has to come with the fact that we have to continue to find ways to help people to understand here what the market is now, where they are now (financially), what the bank's definition of income is and where they fall in that.
The bank may not count all the income they make so that effects all the options they have for home ownership. "The demand for home ownership is strong so we have to help people find what they can qualify for, and what banks deem them to be able to qualify for. That is a challenge."
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