Are Real Estate Agents Sexist?

Ladies, how many times have you been to an open home just to be totally ignored by the Real Estate Agent ! 

I'm an avid investor (I have four IP's) - but it seems that if you are a lone female, then agents don't take you seriously.  If I bring my Dad along, the Agents just talk directly to my Dad and completely ignore me!....ggggrrrrrrrr

Hi Selina - and welcome to the forum. I think it is not that they are sexist, but ignorant .... Seriously, there are many girls/women right into property investing and construction in a big way nowadays, and it would be an idiot to overlook that.  I think you will find that it is natural people tend to focus there attention on the older person sometimes however. Maybe next time you are in earshot  of the re agent, with your dad try saying ' would you like me to buy this one for you dad?
IT's ironic that the average RE agent would have about 1/4 the properties you do too isnt it!
And I've just replied and notice you addressed your post to ladies - of which I am not - sorry!

Cheers

True!!!! I just think they assume that the man is the buyer. Everyone knows that the if the woman even slightly shakes her head the deal if off! I think it also depends on the area too. If you take kids to an open they automatically tag you as first home buyer, they also assume you have to 'ask your husband'. So far I have picked out all our properties, the other half has only seen 1 of those prior to signing on the contract. One he still hasn't seen.

I took my dad to an open once (no more) and the REA cornered him and asked him if he was buying it for me and if he was interested in putting in an offer! 

D

Work Smart, Not Hard.

Hey, my cousin had a similair experience in ballarat when looking at a property with her husband. my cousin is  the one who does all the buying and renovating, her husband has his own seperate business. As soon as the agent spoke to her husband he said, 'there's no point talking to me mate, she's the one who will be buying the property'.

having said that, I have bought all my properties  as a single woman or divorced woman and have found the agents to be very happy to talk to me. On the one occasion when I did have my now ex husband with me, the agent spoke with him which left me completely free to look at the property without the agent following me around, being annoying! LOl.

i think some agents are not proared for the woman to be the negotiator, I don't know whether this is an advantage or disadvantage.

personally, i think car salesman are more sexist than real estate agents!!

cheers

Sonya

Hey, my cousin had a similair experience in ballarat when looking at a property with her husband. my cousin is  the one who does all the buying and renovating, her husband has his own seperate business. As soon as the agent spoke to her husband he said, 'there's no point talking to me mate, she's the one who will be buying the property'.

having said that, I have bought all my properties  as a single woman or divorced woman and have found the agents to be very happy to talk to me. On the one occasion when I did have my now ex husband with me, the agent spoke with him which left me completely free to look at the property without the agent following me around, being annoying! LOl.

i think some agents are not proared for the woman to be the negotiator, I don't know whether this is an advantage or disadvantage.

personally, i think car salesman are more sexist than real estate agents!!

cheers

Sonya

sorry for the double post!!
cheers

Sonya

Yes this is just the way it is, I dont take any notice of it and it can work to my advantage sometimes and I can play the dumb blonde with no idea!!, take my time and put in ridiculous offers which sometimes get accepted - Im a natural blonde with long hair myself.

Many agents dont have much training and still 80% of the times the ladies say to the agent anyway Ive got to ask my husband, father, boyfriend, brother et c- it is still rare for women to make business/ real estate decisions quickly, sign up an offer, pay a deposit and make solid business decisions.

 I own an agency myself and also have been selling and buying for 20 yrs, so it is rare that I deal with women that say I want this, do this, do that, heres the offer, signature etc, or that can make up their mind - normally they say Im not sure, cant make a decision, not sure on the price, have to tell my dad, or husband etc etc, so I can also understand why the agents and male sales people do not take women very seriously, and not many act serious or as business people for solid business decisions. I can say this factually with no hard meaning, it is just true and I see it daily. So if women want to be taken serious in business decisions they must be armed, ready, and make clear non emotive decisions based on facts/ evidence and research.

Salina, maybe next time you need to play with their heads instead of letting them play with yours!! 

For all they know you could be a cashed up multi-milionaire and I'm sure a few choice words directed to them by your tag-along-Dad will have them falling over themselves to talk with you!!!!

Play with 'em and have some fun!! ;-) 

Vicky

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Vicky your comment reminded me of my flatmate from years ago. She is a lawyer and preferred to go shopping after work rather than in her lunch break because she would come home and get her tracky daks on before we hit the shops. the shop assistants would leave her alone to have a look because they wrongly assumed that she couldn't afford the clothes in the boutiques where she was looking, no hard sell or BS from sales assistants trying to make  a sale.

A bit like pretty woman 'Big mistake, HUGE'

cheers

Sonya

Hi Salina,

Yes, they seem to be. Whenever me and my wife go to a viewing, agents always talk to me and generally ignore my wife. The fact that she's small and asian also seems to reinforce this attitude.

This is great ! As people have already mentioned, you can use this to your advantage. Once we realised this, my wife would walk around taking notes on whatever she wanted, knowing that she wouldn't be bothered. My wife also does all the negotiations when we do property deals, this is what she does for a living and generally deals in figures far larger that the average property during the course of her work. To be honest, I think she enjoys playing with the estate agents.

I suggest you try and take advantage of this. My wife always says that she never actually says anything to reinforce this stereotype, she just let's people jump to their own conclusions based on the assumptions they make due to her physical appearance (small, petite, female, asian). She then knocks them out when negotiating. It's also fun for me, watching the estate agent having rings run around them.........

Andy Kirby,
Founder,
www.icsustainability.com.au

Really?   I'm surprised.   I'll use the "have to ask my husband" thing if I feel like backing out of a situation without further discussion,  but in reality I carry around a copy of the power of attorney form which he signed just so that I can do any negotiating quickly.

Funny Salina,

Yes but you need to play back ... I don't have a 44 but I do have a pair of 38s so I wear a nice tight shirt and my push up bra and get the attention I need.

There is one thing I have noticed, most male agents are very poor on the property knowledge while the girls learn every aspect back to front and guys don't get back to you because they are intimidated by "Intelligent" women.

My boss is a master practitioner in NLP and a wonderful teacher in real estate negotiations, using the correct language into another persons brain alters their bio rhythms ... take a look at a bloke when he sees a girl walk in the room with 6 inch heels and a sexy top ...

Salina learn to play the game to get what you want.

Yes Singer still very rare that I see business women making decisions, negotiating hard or having confidence in business- common in Sydney but not so common in Gold Coast or Brisbane.
Why do you need a power of attorney form? I assume maybe you are buying in both names but if in a company or trust either or director can sign and make decisions.

Bit of background on agents- they are not all the same

There are many differing types of agents and levels of training they have within the industry

There are sales Registrations- where the poor agent , or someone from any background wantin to give real estate a go- simply does only 2- 3 days training couse and then their boss throws them on open homes with no training, support etc and often pays them nil commissions for months only a basic wage or debit/ credit system so they often struggle for a few months, and then leave the industry fro a 9- 5 job that is easier and better paid.

or you have the highly trained Agents / Principals that have maybe a degree in Business, Commerce, Marketing, Valuation, and highly trained in negotiation, sales, building, project marketing- these agents do not work on open homes under 500k at all, or day to day opens, they ony focus on selling development sites, properties over 500k , large subdivisions, bulk sales for developers- eg 50- 100 homes/ blocks of land, commercial/ industrial and they are earning approx 150- 1- 2 million per annum, often they have 1- 2 P/As and have worked their way up very quickly. These agents will not work on open homes or deal with stock that does not sell in less than 4 weeks as they are highly sought after for their skills.

So you can't really put all agents in the same categories, and sometims I feel sorry for some of the agents at open homes as they have been through only a 2 day course and told by their boss get out there and bring me a contract asap, they are not given
any training, support, often do not even own their own car let alone 1 property- but they are good if you get on their side as they will try hard for a sale, and often you can say here is a list of questions, go find out for m and Ill call you tomorrow, and tell them you are a serious buyer and want to do a deal, as often they are eager to please their boss or get some commission- so you have to really understand where they are coming from also.

That was one of  the truth behind the attitude of real estate agent. You really have to be wise and play your part when you talk to them. Don't let them intimidate you.

Real Estate and property listings in Victoria and Melbourne Australia .
Property for sale

I have a Y chromosome, and  I have sometimes found the exact opposite.

 I get ignored while my wife is fussed over and shown the beautiful benches and the lovely shower or bath or the wall oven or bla bla bla which I think springs from the view held by some RE Agents  that if they can get the girl to fall in love with the property then she'll convince/nag/hound her hubby to come around to her viewpoint and buy it for her (and do the Agents work for them far better than they could).  Which is just another probably sometimes effective sales method I suppose. 

Anyway , on those occasions I can have a proper look at all the rotting timbers and crumbling gyprock and rusted out gutters in peace. Then pour cold water all over wifey's temporary little dream.

Not exactly the opposite.

Yes the REA is giving the "wifey" attention but only because they think she is only interested in shiny new things and will need her husbands approval.

Going by your response you also support this view. I feel sorry for your poor "wifey" who is too awestruck to see past the shiny bathroom. This is the view most women are trying to get away from.

Some of us are serious investors and wouldn't care if it had a shiny bathroom. A REA once showed me a house with a lovely bathroom but that's all it had going for it. "Nice house isn't i?t" she said. "Hell no" said I and pointed out the reasons.
Stereotypes!!!

Sydney- "People with goals succeed because they know where they are going... It's as simple as that."
- Earl Nightingale

I too have to say I felt a bit sorry for you "wifey". Gee with a husband like you who needs enemies.

I view my other half as the other half of my team. Most real estate agents just either see the woman as either the ball and chain who will say no, or the one to try and convince as the wife will convince the husband.

I have to say though, that our current agent who selling one of our properties has never really spoken to my other half and only generally rings me. They are not all the same, once they get to know you.

D

Work Smart, Not Hard.

tongue in cheek, ladies.  Tongue in cheek!

haha. After I posted I thought that may have been the case. Haven't had a chance to check back.
 You're forgiven then.

Sometimes agents ring my hubby. He just tells them to ring me. He knows how many houses we own but that's about it.
He'd die if he knew how much we owe the bank.

Sydney- "People with goals succeed because they know where they are going... It's as simple as that."
- Earl Nightingale

The way I look at it is Im there to look for money and a deal and profit, so I dont care about all the emotional or sexist stuff, or what the agents do or dont do. Property and Success is about crunching the numbers and deals and making it work so we can have more time, lifestyle, holidays, and retire or wind down and have more fun choices!!
Ive been a principal for 18 years and agent in NSW/ QLD and still I get treated like crap sometimes by guys in property- accountants, solicitors, valuers, but I take no notice and this is their issue and I cant be bothered to even think about it. Im there to do business, serious business, make and bank money and either they want to work together and achieve results or Ill find someone else to work with, or buy from. Harden Up Girls your in Business and not the social friendly happy coffee club.
I have great men around me - very smart, switched on, motivated, and you just need to know how to handle them and be a bit more direct and assertive and say this is what I want and need, and when and heres the deadline of you want to do business.