The views expressed in this column are solely those of the author.

 

Roughly one in four Canadians have no trust in real estate agents to follow the rules governing their profession. That was the finding of a November 2024 Angus Reid Institute survey, and it should give all of us pause.

Two recent articles in REM raised important questions about ethics in our profession. One examined the need for stronger professional standards and accountability. The other questioned whether ethical judgment can genuinely be developed through courses and examinations. Perhaps there is good reason for these questions.

Across the border, a December 2025 Gallup survey found that only 17 per cent of Americans rated real estate agents’ honesty and ethical standards as high or very high, compared with 57 per cent for medical doctors and 35 per cent for accountants.

These numbers do not mean real estate agents are less ethical than other professionals. They reflect public perceptions, not proven misconduct. But perceptions matter in a profession built on trust. And here is what I find interesting.

Within our industry, we celebrate top producers, sales volumes, transaction counts and annual rankings. Yet the public does not necessarily associate commercial success with professional integrity. Could there be a disconnect between what we celebrate internally and what consumers value most?

I believe there is another dimension to the ethics discussion worth examining: the environment in which real estate professionals operate and, more specifically, how our industry defines and rewards success.

This raises a fundamental question: Can a profession genuinely put its clients’ interests first when its business model financially rewards completing transactions?

 

This is not just a real estate problem

 

The tension between commercial interests and professional responsibilities is hardly unique to real estate. Financial advisers may receive compensation connected to the investments they recommend. Mortgage brokers are often compensated when financing is arranged. Insurance professionals may earn commissions on the policies they sell. Even lawyers and health-care professionals can encounter situations where compensation arrangements create potential conflicts with the interests of those they serve.

This does not make these professionals unethical. It simply acknowledges that financial incentives can influence professional decisions, sometimes without the individual recognizing it.

 

How do we define success?

 

Consider how we celebrate achievement. Top producer. Highest sales volume. Most transactions. Million-dollar club. No. 1 salesperson. There is nothing wrong with recognizing commercial success. Building a productive real estate business requires dedication, persistence and considerable skill. It would also be unfair to dismiss sales performance as merely a commercial measure. Consistently strong production, particularly over many years, can reflect the trust an agent has earned in the marketplace. Repeat clients, referrals and sustained business may indicate competence, reliability and client satisfaction. After all, clients have choices, and continued success in a competitive market is not necessarily accidental.

But sales numbers do not tell the entire story. High production can also reflect effective marketing, substantial advertising budgets, strong lead generation or the resources of a large team. An agent completing 50 transactions annually may be an outstanding professional. Another completing 15 may demonstrate equally strong judgment and integrity. Sales performance can be a meaningful indicator of market confidence, but it is not, by itself, proof of professional competence or ethical conduct.

And this raises another question: How do we recognize the agent who advises a client against an unsuitable purchase, recommends rejecting an offer or provides an honest valuation even when it costs them the listing?

Some of the most valuable professional advice results in transactions that never happen. And those transactions never appear in sales statistics.

 

When sales rankings become a competition

 

Recognizing top producers is a long-standing tradition in real estate. But when sales rankings become a measure of professional standing, recognition can turn into a competition to maintain or improve those numbers year after year.

Imagine an agent who has consistently ranked among the top producers in their brokerage. As the year draws to a close, they are falling behind their previous performance. Could the pressure to maintain that ranking influence how they advise a client who is uncertain about proceeding with a purchase? Could it affect their willingness to recommend rejecting an offer or waiting for a better opportunity? This does not mean successful agents routinely compromise their ethics to protect their rankings. But the pressure is worth acknowledging, particularly when professional recognition, marketing credibility and future business opportunities are tied to sales figures.

There is another ethical dimension to this competition: how those numbers are presented to the public.

Many consumers may not realize that an agent advertised as a top producer does not necessarily handle every transaction associated with their name. Some agents lead teams of other registrants or licensees working under a shared brand. The team leader may generate business, oversee operations and provide support, while team members work directly with buyers and sellers. Depending on how production is attributed, transactions completed by team members may contribute to sales figures associated with the team leader.

For example, a team of 10 agents may collectively complete 150 transactions in a year. If the team leader is publicly recognized for those 150 sales without clearly identifying them as team production, consumers could reasonably assume that the individual personally handled that volume of business.

Building a successful team is a legitimate achievement. But leadership success and individual transaction experience are not the same thing.

This brings us back to the question of ethics. If sales figures have become such an important measure of professional success, shouldn’t we be equally concerned about the pressures they create and the accuracy with which they are presented?

 

Are all agents equally equipped to exercise ethical judgment?

 

We sometimes speak about real estate professionals as though holding the same registration means possessing comparable skills, judgment and values. Clearly, that is not the case.

Agents enter the industry with different educational backgrounds, experiences, motivations and levels of professional maturity. Some possess strong financial, technical or analytical knowledge. Others excel at negotiation, marketing or relationship-building. Their ability to recognize and navigate ethical dilemmas also differs.

An honest agent may lack the competence to identify a serious problem. A highly knowledgeable agent may understand an ethical obligation perfectly well and still disregard it. Competence and integrity are related, but they are not interchangeable.

Registration establishes a minimum threshold for entering the profession. It does not make every registrant equally competent or ethically mature.

 

When the pressure comes from the client

 

Ethical challenges do not always begin with an agent trying to close a deal. Sometimes the pressure comes from the client. A seller may want to conceal a known property issue. A buyer may ask their representative to misrepresent information to strengthen an offer. The agent then faces a different dilemma: challenge the client and potentially lose the business, or accommodate the request and compromise professional obligations. Putting a client’s interests first does not mean complying with every instruction.

Professional representation requires independent judgment and sometimes the willingness to lose the client altogether.

 

Where does our ethical responsibility end?

 

Another difficult question arises when our responsibilities may extend beyond the immediate interests of our clients. While visiting or inspecting properties, real estate professionals may encounter questionable electrical modifications, improvised gas connections, unsafe structures or renovations that appear to compromise structural integrity. These conditions may endanger not only buyers and sellers but also future occupants and the public. What should a representative do?

Is advising the client and recommending further inspection sufficient? Should potentially dangerous electrical work be reported to the Electrical Safety Authority? Should questionable gas installations be brought to the attention of the appropriate safety authority? And when does taking the initiative become an assumption of responsibility for matters outside our professional expertise?

Recognizing a possible hazard does not necessarily qualify someone to assess it, and an ethical concern does not automatically create a legal obligation to report it. Yet dismissing a serious and foreseeable danger as something outside our job description may not be ethically sufficient either.

Professional ethics requires knowing when to act, how far to go and when to involve someone with the appropriate expertise or authority.

 

What does our industry actually encourage?

 

We can introduce more ethics courses, strengthen professional standards and impose greater penalties for misconduct. These measures have their place. But ethical behaviour is also influenced by professional culture.

Consider a brokerage where meetings, awards and recognition revolve primarily around sales targets, transaction counts and commissions. The brokerage may also have an excellent compliance manual and regular ethics training. But what message does it communicate through what it chooses to celebrate?

When an agent advises a client to walk away from a questionable transaction, does the brokerage recognize the quality of that judgment, or focus on the commission that was lost? Commercial achievement is essential to any business, but it should not be confused with professional excellence.

And ethical conduct should not become visible only when someone violates the rules.

 

Perhaps we need to rethink what success means

 

I do not believe the solution is to introduce another mandatory ethics course or create a Most Ethical Agent award. Ethics is difficult to measure, and the absence of complaints does not necessarily demonstrate integrity. But we can begin by making clearer distinctions.

Sales excellence deserves recognition for sales performance. Team leadership deserves recognition for building successful teams. Professional competence deserves recognition for demonstrated knowledge, judgment and expertise. Production statistics should also accurately describe what was achieved and by whom.

More importantly, brokerages and industry organizations should consider whether their recognition systems reflect the professional values they expect their members to uphold. We should encourage an environment where questioning a transaction, identifying a conflict or advising a client not to proceed is recognized as responsible professional conduct rather than a failure to close a sale.

Our clients do not hire us simply to complete transactions. They hire us to help them make informed decisions, protect their interests and navigate significant financial commitments.

Perhaps the question is not whether real estate professionals can be ethical in a sales-driven industry. Many already are. The more important question is whether our industry recognizes, encourages and rewards the professional qualities it expects its members to demonstrate.

Before asking whether our agents are ethical, perhaps we should ask what kind of behaviour our industry teaches them to consider successful.