Do the terms Agent, Licensee, and REALTOR all refer to the same real estate professional?

Although real estate is similar from state to state because it is predicated upon many of the same principles derived from hundreds of years of real estate transactions, it is regulated from state to state with state specific statutes.  In Alaska, a real estate professional is no longer called an Agent because agency law was dropped on December 31, 2004.  A real estate professional in Alaska is referred to as a Licensee.

A Licensee can be either a Broker, an Associate Broker, or a Salesperson.  Brokers and Associate Brokers have additional education and experience than Salespersons.  Brokers are responsible for Brokerages and all the Associate Brokers and Licensees working in the Brokerage.

A REALTOR is a member of the National Association of REALTORS through their local Board of REALTORS.  A Licensee does not have to be a REALTOR, but a REALTOR must be a Licensee.  In addition to the statutes to which a Licensee must adhere, a REALTOR must adhere to a Code of Ethics to which they take an oath when they become a REALTOR.

For more information about the National Association of REALTORS and their Code of Ethics, see their website at www.REALTOR.org.

In my next entry I plan to answer the question, "So how's the market?".