Stephen Slivinski
Real estate agent industry representatives in Puerto Rico are worried these days. That’s a good thing.
Governor Jenniffer González Colón has the opportunity to sign into law a licensing reciprocity bill—almost identical to ones adopted by at least 26 states over roughly the past decade—that would allow anyone with a license in the continental US to apply for the same occupational license if they move to the island. That would allow them to skip duplicative training and avoid retaking the same exams they’ve already passed. This bill applies to over 30 occupations, covering the gamut from physicians and nurses to electricians and cosmetologists.
That list also includes real estate agents. But if you’re a real estate agent hoping to move to Puerto Rico and work in a field that you’re already licensed in within the US, the Board of Realtors, Salespeople, and Real Estate Companies certainly does not have your back.
That organization’s president, Miguel Mercado Ruiz, has urged the governor not to sign the bill because “Puerto Rico already has an excess of licenses. The current real estate market cannot support more professionals. This law would only add pressure to an already overburdened sector.”
Or, to put it another way: We really don’t want to have to compete with new arrivals to the island … and we want the government to continue to protect our cartel.
Maybe it does seem like there are more than enough real estate agents to meet the demand of home buyers and sellers on the island. But why should we trust the government to know that and make that decision? The market is much better at sorting these things out. If there are too many real estate agents, it will quickly become apparent to other real estate agents who are considering moving to Puerto Rico. And maybe they simply won’t move there as a result, or they will and do something else for a living.
Meanwhile, the torch-this-bill approach endorsed by Ruiz would be counterproductive. Vetoing the bill, as Ruiz recommends, would shut the door to dozens of other occupations, too. Puerto Rico has been suffering an amazingly high population loss—a nearly 12 percent reduction since 2010. For an island trying to right the ship after the debt-driven bankruptcy of the government and the devastation of Hurricane Maria, a start to lowering the licensing barriers is a small but important step toward future economic and population growth.