HOUSTON REALTORS® INVITE CONSUMERS TO RATE THEIR EXPERIENCE

More than 1,000 REALTORS®quickly embrace the new Client Experience Rating program and find themselves earning high marks

HOUSTON — (April 20, 2009) — Restaurants, hotels and retailers do it.  And now, so do REALTORS®.   The Houston Association of REALTORS® (HAR) has introduced the Client Experience Rating, a program that empowers home buyers and sellers throughout the greater Houston area to evaluate their REALTORS® following a transaction.  HAR is the first real estate trade association in the U.S. to provide this service.

Within one month of the program’s launch, more than 1,000 HAR members chose to participate.  On a five-point rating system, the average rating is 4.93. 

Consumers will find the ratings on the property listings of all participating REALTORS® who opt to display them, as well as on their pages throughout HAR.com, including the Find a REALTOR® and Home Value Finder sections.

 “HAR is determined to raise the bar for services that REALTORS® provide the consumer by creating an open and transparent rating environment, ” said HAR Chair Vicki Fullerton.  “Asking clients to evaluate their REALTORS® in a number of areas enables our members to easily gauge what they’re doing well and identify areas of improvement.”

The service rating categories include competency in handling the real estate transaction process, knowledge of the real estate market, communication with the client and the client’s overall experience.

In a recent HAR consumer survey, 81 percent of sellers and 75 percent of buyers said they would find it “beneficial” or “very beneficial” to be able to view ratings from previous clients of a REALTOR®.  The survey also found that 62 percent of sellers chose their REALTOR® on the basis of reputation, honesty and trustworthiness as well as by referral from friends/family/coworkers.

Founded in 1918, the Houston Association of Realtors® (HAR) is a 23,000-member organization of real estate professionals engaged in every aspect of the industry, including residential and commercial sales and leasing, appraisal, property management and counseling. It is the largest individual membership trade association in Houston, as well as the second largest local association/board of Realtors® in the United States.