Social media verdicts harm real estate's credibility
By Relta Real Estate
2 min read
This is a necessary rebuke. Real estate professionals are conducting themselves like a mob on social media, pronouncing judgment on allegations without evidence or process, then wondering why the public distrusts them. The author is right: you cannot distinguish a fraud from a bookkeeping error from a Facebook comment section.
Sharp argument about reputation, regulation, and behavior that applies directly to how the industry treats its own.
RECO publishes a registrant's name when a matter is referred to discipline, before any hearing takes place.
This is overreach. Publishing accusations before evidence is tested amounts to reputational punishment by the regulator itself, not protection of the public. Real consumer protection means flagging active money-at-risk situations immediately, not naming alleged wrongdoers.
The author considered applying to RECO's industry advisory council but is reconsidering because any council seat means owning unpopular outcomes, and a mob cannot distinguish between advice and result.
This is the real cost. Thoughtful, experienced people are opting out of boards and committees because they know fair process no longer matters in this industry's court of public opinion. You lose the people who could actually improve things.
Trust account problems can be fraud or a bookkeeping error, timing issue, or late reconciliation. On day one you cannot tell the difference.
Exactly. This is why allegations and findings matter. Comment sections are not equipped to parse complexity, yet the industry treats them as verdict machines.
Real estate professionals ask to be treated like a profession while behaving like a mob over allegations.
This paradox is the article's strongest point. You cannot demand respect while tearing each other apart publicly. The public sees the pile-on and concludes the industry is exactly what it suspected.
“An allegation is not a verdict”
What this means in BC
BC's industry bodies and social media groups follow the same pattern. If you are buying or selling, you are relying on professionals whose reputations can be destroyed by allegation alone. This erodes trust in the actual regulatory process that should protect you. The author's point applies equally to BC: better process and discipline will restore credibility far faster than public executions.
- news
- commentary
- real-estate-magazine
