Land agents seek doctors' help

Real estate agents are really "house doctors".

So New Zealand's 16,600 agents would have you believe.


The agents are on a marketing drive to promote their professional image and are comparing themselves with the country's most trusted professionals - doctors.

A series of three print advertisements designed to promote agents' work features a smiling white-coated man with a stethoscope and highlights the words "ask the house doctor".

Public confidence surveys usually rank journalists, psychics, real estate agents, car salesmen and politicians last. Ambulance officers, firefighters, mothers, nurses, pilots and doctors often rank highest.

The Real Estate Institute is out to change the public's perception of its members and wants its campaign widely distributed - in some cases without the agents having to pay a fee.

"Some publications are willing to use them as free filler ads when they have unused advertising space," the institute told its members.

One advertisement is headlined, "If I want to sell my house privately, where do I start?", and outlines a long process of staging open homes, negotiating a price, collecting a deposit, arranging a settlement date and completing the paperwork, "all the while keeping your buyer relaxed and willing!"

Another is headlined, "If I want to sell my house, how do I know the price will be right?", and says licensed real estate professionals have access to more resources and databases to enable them to set prices.

The campaign comes as agents are being sidelined by websites and growth in private sales. The real estate industry is also under pressure from the Government to better police itself and to take action against rogue agents

However, one REINZ member said some members objected to the campaign's negative slant and the marketing was being reviewed.