What am I referring to?



Well, the thinning out of real estate agents that was bound to occur as a result of the stalling housing market, of course!

Many real estate agents joined into the profession during the housing boom from about 2000-2005, when houses were flying off the shelves and even the most inexperienced sales people were making loads of commissions.

But my how have times changed.

Now, as we are in the midst of a housing slowdown throughout the nation, many agents are calling it quits because competition has increased and times are tough.

Only the most experienced and loyal agents will be able to make it through this real estate cycle.

A February 7, 2007 article written by James R. Hagerty and Anjali Athavaley of The Wall Street Journal, and published in The Arizona Republic, “Real-estate agents hang up blazers amid slump," looks at how the number of real estate agents has began to dwindle as times get tougher when compared to years past.

“The long-awaited shakeout among real-estate agents is finally happening - much to the relief of those who are sticking with the business and prefer a bit less competition."

“When David Lereah, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors, addressed the group's convention in New Orleans in November, he got one of the biggest bursts of applause by predicting there would be fewer Realtors around in a year. Lereah said in an interview that he expects membership in the trade group to decrease by about 6 percent to 8 percent from the record of nearly 1.4 million reached in 2006."

Most veteran agents had been expecting this to happen for some time now, and now that the slowdown is in full force, with prices dropping and a tremendous surplus of homes just sitting for sale on the market, we finally see it becoming reality.

It is just too much for some to handle.

“Even before sales slowed, people in the industry said far too many agents were chasing too few deals. If hordes of inexperienced agents are scrapping for business, says Christopher Galler, a senior vice president of the Minnesota Association of Realtors, that can only lead to ‘a race to the bottom in fees.’"

“More competition on commissions could strike many consumers as a good idea. Galler argues the result would be poor service. He says more productive agents, who complete 20 or more transactions per year, are better at solving problems than those who do only a few deals annually."

It seems as though some agents will not be able to stand the decreased commissions that may come this year and will be forced to look for work elsewhere.

But those who built up a solid clientele and list of referrals should be able to make it through this rough patch and come out on top when the market picks back up again in no time.