The Role Of A Manukau Real Estate Agent
While the majority of people consider the real estate agent and real estate salesperson to have similar, 
if not identical roles; this is not altogether true. In fact, to truly understand the role of each of these professional’s it is necessary to have a deeper understanding of the real estate industry itself. Why? Surely, one would not need that extent of knowledge when merely defining simple real estate industry roles. The fact is that over the past year, the industry has undergone several significant changes and it is necessary to clarify the structure to define any professional roles. One of the most significant changes in the real estate world is the implementation of the 2008 Real Estate Agents Act replacing the 1976 Real Estate Agents Act. This new Act is a long-awaited movement for all people within the real estate industry as it provides legal guidance for the majority of professionals with the exception of residential property managers handling rental properties.
The Act is an essential legislative item for all individuals in the real estate industry and underlies the structure of this area as it defines the legal principles and processes for all real estate professionals. According to this Act, all Manukau real estate professionals must be paid by means of fees or commission for their services and must be licensed by the Real Estate Agents Authority. While the term agent is used widely in real estate, it should be noted that a real estate professional is only an agent once they hold a license under the new NZ Act. Currently, there are less than 2,000 licensed real estate agents in NZ as compared to the 9,000+ salespersons. The salesperson is a real estate profession met when in the process of purchasing and selling the property. While this individual may be referred to as an agent, they are more likely to hold the title of real estate salesperson.
According to the new Act, there are three different classes of licence
1. Agent
The agent is allowed to conduct real estate agency work independently on his or her own portfolio. This individual can operate in a partnership or privately.
2. Branch Manage
The branch manager is allowed to conduct real estate work for or on behalf of the agent.
3. Salesperson
The salesperson is allowed to conduct real estate work for or on behalf of the agent. This individual must be supervised by either an agent or a branch manager when completing real estate work. The Real Estate Agents Authority presents with a comprehensive website which is a strong resource for gaining knowledge of the real estate industry. This website holds a register of all individuals who have licenses, irrespective of which profession they hold, which is available to the public. To locate the license holder’s status, it is possible to use the search facility on the website. The most efficient means of using this facility is to enter the surname of the individual in the search box followed by the CAPTCHA security word.