I have been looking at the differences between the UK and US property markets and the contrast that struck me is the role of the realtor against the estate agent over here.   Our agents do not do half as much as a realtor in the US, whose role is to work on behalf of buyers and sellers and search for suitable properties.  As a result they are more respected and they score 94% customer satisfaction.  Most UK agents would score far lower than their counterparts in America.