Saskatoon Real Estate News April 17, 2014

A move towards Realtor® transparency

The Association of Saskatchewan Realtors® (ASR) has decided to move forward with a new Rate-your-Realtor® system. The site, Realsatisfied.ca, is controversial and was not successful at a national level but in the months following the defeat of the project, members of the Saskatchewan real estate industry expressed a desire to look into it further. A task force made up of experienced Realtors®, both on the ASR board and within the general membership, were tasked to investigate the system and evaluate it’s advantages and disadvantages.

The ASR recently gave it’s approval to the company based out of Australia. Real Satisfied allows members to decide themselves if they wish to participate and also allows control of other aspects of their profile such as making comments public and connecting to other social media sites.

The ASR believes that the most significant aspect of this site is the validity of the comments. Ratings and comments received are guaranteed to come directly from actual clients and not just anyone out in the interwebs. This benefits the Realtor®, the public searching for a Realtor® in Saskatoon, and the real estate industry as a whole.

The ASR is planning on working out a few technical details before launching it to it’s members first, and then to the general public. The system is at no additional cost however a member may choose to upgrade their account to access more features.

I think transparency is necessary for our industry to survive. My business is based on word of mouth referrals and entrusting me with such a large financial transaction is wonderful. But then turning around and referring me to their friends and family to do the same, words can’t express. I’m grateful and appreciative for all of my clients and continually strive to ensure that client satisfaction is a top priority.

 

Kari Calder

Saskatoon real estate agent

Century 21 Fusion

Kari@saskatoonrealestate.net