U.S. NATIONAL REAL ESTATE DESIGNATIONS
of Importance to
 St. Louis Home Buyers and St. Louis Home Sellers

The designations a Realtor^® has been awarded can be a good clue for a home buyer or home seller about the individual real estate agent's competency and capabilities. A designation is an award for achievement in education and/or performance allowing the individual to display the designation.  While each designation has its own set of requirements for achievement, the general approach is similar to the use of college degrees, or the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designations.

Unfortunately, some St. Louis, MO real estate practitioners (and other areas), who have not demonstrated the required skills to achieve the recognized industry-wide designations, attempt to confuse the issue through the use of designations which are only recognized by a single local brokerage, or worse, through the use of non-existent designations. The following are fully recognized and industry accepted designations that merit your attention.

ABR
The Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR) designation is the benchmark of excellence in buyer representation. This coveted designation is awarded to real estate practitioners who meets the specified educational and practical experience criteria required by the Real Estate Buyer's Agent Council (REBAC) of the National Association of REALTORS^®.

CBU
The Graduate, Coldwell Banker University (CBU) is an elite designation awarded by Coldwell Banker upon the satisfactory completion of an extensive course of study and the achievement of required real estate sales transaction volume.  Less than 1% of all Coldwell Banker agents world-wide have achieved this designation.

CRS
The Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) is the highest Designation awarded to sales associates in the residential sales field. The CRS Designation recognizes professional accomplishments in both experience and education. The Council of Residential Specialists (the largest not-for-profit affiliate of the National Association of REALTORS^®) created the CRS designation, considered the "CPA" of residential real estate, to give home buyers and sellers an easy way to identify agents who have significant experience and demonstrate higher volume of real estate transactions or gross sales, as well as complete rigorous, advanced educational requirements. Approximately 35,000 Realtors^® have earned the CRS designation, equaling only 4 percent of all Realtors^® in the world.

GRI
The Graduate REALTOR^® Institute (GRI) is the mark of a real estate professional that has made the commitment to provide a high level of professional services by securing a strong educational foundation. REALTORS^® with the GRI designation are highly trained in many areas of real estate to better serve and protect their clients.

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In addition to the professional designations described above, which are among the highest held designations in the residential real estate industry, there are numerous other specialized designations, including:

ALC
Accredited Land Consultant
ABRM
Accredited Buyer Representative Manager
AMO
Accredited Management Organization
ARM^®
Accredited Resident Manager
CAPM
Certificate in Advanced Property Marketing
CCIM
The highest designation of commercial specialists is the CCIM, Certified Commercial Investment Member, conferred by the Commercial Investment Real Estate Institute of the National Association of REALTORS^®.
CGA
Certified General Appraiser
CIPS
Certified International Property Specialist
CPM
Certified Property Manager
CRB
The Certified Real Estate Brokerage Manager (CRB) Designation is recognized industry-wide as the symbol of excellence in brokerage management.
CRE
Counselor of Real Estate
CRP
The Certified Relocation Professional certification is conferred by the Employee Relocation Council (E-R-C). The designation denotes corporate relocation professionals who specialize in corporate relocation and who pass the requirements of E-R-C.
GAA
General Accredited Appraiser
LTG
The Leadership Training Graduate designation recognizes members of the Women's Council of REALTORS^® who have achieved a superior level of leadership expertise through education and experience.
RAA
Residential Accredited Appraiser
SIOR
Society of Industrial and Office REALTORS^®

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