The Association of Saskatchewan Realtors (ASR) is moving forward with a Rate-Your-Realtor system.
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The recommendation to adopt the controversial system was presented by a task force put in place to study the feasibility of such a project in Saskatchewan, while evaluating its benefits and disadvantages to the membership. The task force included many experienced Realtors, both on the board of the ASR and from the general membership throughout the province, says the association.
“The task force’s work was particularly important to the Realtors, as a similar process happened at the national level in 2013 (and) was not successful,” says Bill Madder, CEO of the ASR. “However, in the months following the defeat of the project on the national scene, many members in Saskatchewan expressed a desire to look into it further. Both the Advisory Council and Board of Directors thought it prudent to allow a task force to investigate it further.”
The ASR has given its stamp of approval for a Real Satisfied system. The company is based in Australia with representatives in California.
“After several presentations and system evaluations, it was clear that this was a system that would suit our industry well,” says Lou Doderai, past-president of the ASR and chair of the task force. “Not only can our members decide themselves if they wish to participate or not, but if they do, they can chose to control various aspects of their profile, such as making comments public, to connecting to other social media sites.”
The ASR says one of the most significant aspects of an association-approved site is finding a system where comments and ratings received are guaranteed to come from clients and not just any person navigating the Internet who would like to comment.
“This adds a tremendous amount of validity and strength to such a system, which is a benefit to our members but also to the public and the industry,” says Doderai.
The ASR plans to work out the technical details and form a communications strategy before launching it to its members first, then to the public. The system is of no additional cost to members and those who wish to upgrade to a more robust account can do so at a minimal expense, says the association.
“We look forward to paving the way for other provinces,” says Madder. “This is a smart move for the industry and we hope Saskatchewan will be a positive example for the rest of the country.”
