S.E.C. Real Estate Observer

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Editor’s Note: This article first appeared in the February 1972 issue of The Real Estate News Observer.

As the years go by more and more states are attempting through legislation to “professionalize” the real estate industry. As many practitioners now realize the real estate industry has grown like a weed in the economic garden. It is true that more and more colleges are including majors in real estate in their curriculum but statistics show that about .05% of students in college have indicated that they expect to go into the real estate business after graduation. It would appear, therefore, that something is lacking or there would he a larger percentage of those in college expressing a desire to be active real estate practitioners.

What is happening to offset the failure of theoretical college courses not getting the job done? For the most part the real estate instructors in our universities and colleges are expounding theory and giving material that is in many cases antiquated, trite, and the same old story by repeating and repeating, not taking into consideration the great changes in our economy. At no time, in the writer’s opinion, has the overall economic structure in the United States been more illogical than now. This means, therefore, that business is not as successfully done by old methods of logic and most certainly to be successful and be professional in an industry not considered a profession, the education must be modernized and from actual experience we find that the most successful, meaningful, result-getting education must come from within the industry itself and the learning for accomplishment and success is coming from those who are successful “doers” in the “now” world and not from those who are teaching from theory or from outlines and books written many years ago.

In other words the “doers” who are successful are now leading others by explaining success in actual practice without any theory being involved. This, for the most part, involves education being given to groups of practitioners in Seminars involving 100 or less people. It has been found by experiment and testing, over many years, that because of the great complications of modern life, tensions, tax riddles, etc. that teaching based on today’s success seems to be the only answer. It is a slow process even though very effective, and because of the complications involved it is difficult to portray modern success to the masses. This is because there has to be a sort of brainwashing to get across the point that the real estate business is really not a property business but is a people business, and if a survey was made across the country today one would find that those practitioners who are people oriented and who are interested in helping people get better benefits from ownership of real estate are the ones who are making the most head-way, accomplishing the most, hence making the largest incomes. This is done through education and then following that by doing for people what people need to have done for them. One who follows this philosophy in actual practice is simply attempting to help his fellow man.