What agents must know for continued prosperity

Don't let the first few boring chapters of this excellent book fool you. They were probably put there to discourage real estate agents who aren't serious about their business. After those dull chapters about generalities, the pace picks up in the fifth chapter, where the subject switches to the realities of today's residential real estate sales business.

Once the reader gets into the meat of this well-researched book, it's hard to put down. The theme is, where is the residential real estate sales business headed? Although the authors don't completely answer the question, because even they probably don't know, they show what trends are becoming evident.

The authors focus on the increasing demands of real estate customers, sellers and buyers, and how realty brokers and salespeople are meeting or not meeting those expectations. Probably the best chapter, discussing profitability, reveals that 54 percent of real estate brokerages are unprofitable.

Chapter topics include: Even Change is Changing, Chaos: The Effect of Change, Dealing with Change, The Changing Social and Economic Environment, The New Realities of American Business, Today's King -- The Consumer, Understanding Shifting Liability, Listing Business to Selling Business, Restructuring the Real Estate Industry, Achieving Profitability, and Your Keys to Future Success.

If you are a career real estate broker or sales agent, this book is must reading so you can anticipate and participate in the future of the realty brokerage business. Since the number of realty salespeople is heading down, only the most successful agents will survive. This new book points the reader in the right direction. On my scale of one to 10, this outstanding book rates a 10.

Robert J. Bruss is a lawyer, licensed real estate broker and syndicated columnist. Write to: Robert J. Bruss, The Herald, 1 Herald Plaza, Miami, Fla. 33132.