{"id":38176,"date":"2024-07-25T02:09:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-25T09:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/?p=38176"},"modified":"2024-07-15T10:12:21","modified_gmt":"2024-07-15T17:12:21","slug":"realtor-reality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/realtor-reality\/","title":{"rendered":"Realtor Reality"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When reading about real estate in publications or online platforms, have you ever wondered why the word \u201crealtor\u201d is often in capitalized letters or marked with a registered trademark symbol? Or what the difference is between \u201cREALTOR\u201d and \u201creal estate agent?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"When<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Second question first. While the terms are often used interchangeably, there are significant differences. The rule of thumb holds that all REALTORS are real estate agents but not every real estate agent is a REALTOR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through coursework and exams, real estate agents have earned a license to help people buy, sell or rent property. Their job includes evaluating property values, advertising properties, negotiating deals, and guiding clients through mortgages, legal agreements and other elements of a real estate sale or purchase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A REALTOR, on the other hand, is a real estate agent who has undertaken additional training and commitments. The first step toward becoming a REALTOR is joining the National Association of REALTORS\u00ae (NAR), which, with more than 1.5 million members, is the U.S.\u2019s largest trade association. Prospective REALTORS must join an NAR-affiliated local real estate board or association as well. They also agree to abide by NAR\u2019s Code of Ethics, whose strict standards of business conduct are reinforced through regular ethics training throughout a REALTOR\u2019S career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Brokers are another example of real estate professionals who have completed additional education and licensing requirements. Working independently or with other brokers, they can hire real estate agents; manage marketing, hiring, training and other business operations; and help execute complex transactions, among other things. Here again, a REALTOR can be a broker, but a broker isn\u2019t necessarily a REALTOR.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benefits of NAR membership and REALTOR status include additional opportunities for networking, training, mentorship, potential clients and political advocacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now back to the use of the word \u201crealtor.\u201d NAR requires its members to use \u201cREALTOR\u00ae\u201d when identifying themselves and requests this designation apply exclusively to the REALTOR echelon of the real estate industry. While the association prefers REALTOR\u00ae, it recognizes that browser software limitations and media outlet style guides may disallow reproduction of registration marks and\/or all caps, so \u201cRealtor\u201d is acceptable \u2013 but only with the capital letter, just like Yahoo!, Apple and other copyrighted brands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe biggest benefit of being a REALTOR is the fact that I can set myself apart from a large pool of my competitors who are not members. Once I explain that REALTORS are held to a higher standard of ethics than [real estate] salespeople, and that we have an additional layer of oversight, it gives people an extra peace of mind, especially when they have preconceived skepticism about working with a real estate agent,\u201d a REALTOR declared in a Reddit real estate forum.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When reading about real estate in publications or online platforms, have you ever wondered why the word \u201crealtor\u201d is often in capitalized letters or marked with a registered trademark symbol? Or what the difference is between \u201cREALTOR\u201d and \u201creal estate agent?\u201d Second question first. While the terms are often used interchangeably, there are significant differences. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":610,"featured_media":38177,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_s2mail":"yes","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[134],"class_list":["post-38176","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-real-estate"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nYardi Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When reading about real estate in publications or online platforms, have you ever wondered why the word \u201crealtor\u201d is often in capitalized letters or\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/realtor-reality\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Realtor Reality\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When reading about real estate in publications or online platforms, have you ever wondered why the word \u201crealtor\u201d is often in capitalized letters or\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/realtor-reality\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Yardi Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-07-25T09:09:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2024\/07\/rsz_adobestock_320546260.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"854\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Joel Nelson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Joel Nelson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/realtor-reality\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/realtor-reality\/\",\"name\":\"Realtor Reality - Yardi Corporate Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/realtor-reality\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/realtor-reality\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2024\/07\/rsz_adobestock_320546260.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-07-25T09:09:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/04eb5f3b4bd7f02475913d5982a422c8\"},\"description\":\"When reading about real estate in publications or online platforms, have you ever wondered why the word \u201crealtor\u201d is often in capitalized letters or\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/realtor-reality\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/realtor-reality\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/realtor-reality\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2024\/07\/rsz_adobestock_320546260.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2024\/07\/rsz_adobestock_320546260.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":854,\"caption\":\"When reading about real estate in publications or online platforms, have you ever wondered why the word \u201crealtor\u201d is often in capitalized letters or marked with a registered trademark symbol?\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/realtor-reality\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Realtor Reality\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Yardi Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/04eb5f3b4bd7f02475913d5982a422c8\",\"name\":\"Joel Nelson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/02\/JoelNelsonHeadshot.jpg?w=69\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/02\/JoelNelsonHeadshot.jpg?w=69\",\"caption\":\"Joel Nelson\"},\"description\":\"Joel Nelson, senior marketing writer, joined Yardi in 2007. His byline has appeared in New York Real Estate Journal, Canadian Property Management and Los Angeles Lawyer, among others. He has won multiple awards from major professional organizations including the International Association of Business Communicators and Public Communicators of Los Angeles. Joel earned a bachelor\u2019s degree from Pomona College.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/joel-nelson-aa363113\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/author\/joel-nelson\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Yardi Blog","description":"When reading about real estate in publications or online platforms, have you ever wondered why the word \u201crealtor\u201d is often in capitalized letters or","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/realtor-reality\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Realtor Reality","og_description":"When reading about real estate in publications or online platforms, have you ever wondered why the word \u201crealtor\u201d is often in capitalized letters or","og_url":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/realtor-reality\/","og_site_name":"Yardi Blog","article_published_time":"2024-07-25T09:09:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":854,"url":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2024\/07\/rsz_adobestock_320546260.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Joel Nelson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Joel Nelson","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/realtor-reality\/","url":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/realtor-reality\/","name":"Realtor Reality - Yardi Corporate Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/realtor-reality\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/realtor-reality\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2024\/07\/rsz_adobestock_320546260.jpg","datePublished":"2024-07-25T09:09:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/04eb5f3b4bd7f02475913d5982a422c8"},"description":"When reading about real estate in publications or online platforms, have you ever wondered why the word \u201crealtor\u201d is often in capitalized letters or","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/realtor-reality\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/realtor-reality\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/realtor-reality\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2024\/07\/rsz_adobestock_320546260.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2024\/07\/rsz_adobestock_320546260.jpg","width":1280,"height":854,"caption":"When reading about real estate in publications or online platforms, have you ever wondered why the word \u201crealtor\u201d is often in capitalized letters or marked with a registered trademark symbol?"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/realtor-reality\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Realtor Reality"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/","name":"Yardi Blog","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/04eb5f3b4bd7f02475913d5982a422c8","name":"Joel Nelson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/02\/JoelNelsonHeadshot.jpg?w=69","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/02\/JoelNelsonHeadshot.jpg?w=69","caption":"Joel Nelson"},"description":"Joel Nelson, senior marketing writer, joined Yardi in 2007. His byline has appeared in New York Real Estate Journal, Canadian Property Management and Los Angeles Lawyer, among others. He has won multiple awards from major professional organizations including the International Association of Business Communicators and Public Communicators of Los Angeles. Joel earned a bachelor\u2019s degree from Pomona College.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/joel-nelson-aa363113\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/author\/joel-nelson\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2024\/07\/rsz_adobestock_320546260.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/610"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38176"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38176\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38178,"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38176\/revisions\/38178"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}