The Ranks Of Realtors Grows By Leaps And Bounds
by Al Heavens
Does it look as if there are more real estate agents around these days? The answer is yes. Membership in the National Association of Realtors is closing in on a million, compared with about 600,000 at the tail end of the recession in 1994. Much of the growth has occurred in the last four years, as dot coms went bust and as the rest of the economy slowed. Housing has remained strong, and for people in search of jobs, real estate looked like a good choice for a career. For all but six percent of today's agents, real estate is a second career, according to data collected by the Realtors' group for its 2003 Realtors Member Profile. As some industry experts see it, this is not a good thing. According to one expert, at parties, you'll hear someone say he or she is a real estate agent, "but I used to be a teacher." The person seems to be apologizing for being in real estate because it is incongruous with his or her self-image. Mentioning present and former careers in the same breath seems to say that these newcomers are just killing time until a real job comes along. For those few for whom selling houses has been their only career, this revolving-door attitude robs real estate of professionalism. "It doesn't send a great message to consumers," said Christopher J. Artur, a Philadelphia broker with 28 years in the field. A lot of people in other fields believe they can moonlight as real estate agents to supplement their incomes. But it has to be more than a part-time occupation, especially when you deal with first-time buyers who need face-to-face contact and have you accessible all the time. Having people going in and out of that revolving door doesn't result in professionalism by any stretch of the imagination. More women than men tend to be part-time agents, the survey showed. Despite the recent influx, the typical Realtor has 13 years of experience, while almost 24 percent have 16 to 25 years in the business. Some experts believe the newcomers are misreading the signs. They see all the sold signs, multiply the number by six percent and think it would be easy to make a living, one said. What they don't realize is that they should divide that number by four, because that is about what they will earn after expenses, if they are lucky. In other words, 1.5 percent goes to the agent. Others in the business believe that the industry has benefited to some extent from the influx of newcomers. Corporate mergers have brought some top-notch professionals into the business that is giving us a nice mix of backgrounds. Also, more immigrants and minorities are being attracted to the ranks. Since these two groups are the source of a growing number of buyers, it makes perfect sense. Ninety percent of Realtors are white, compared with 92 percent in the Realtor group's 2001 survey. African American, Hispanic and Asian Realtors now make up 10 percent of the group. Groups such as the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals encourage non-Hispanic agents and brokers to work with Spanish-speaking buyers and sellers to increase homeownership rates. The Hispanic agents' group has created a curriculum -- including a recommendation that real estate agents be bilingual -- to help all agents get a foot in the door in the Latino market. The Realtors survey showed that only 15 percent of its members were fluent in a language other than English, and that 8 percent were born in a country other than the United States. Although the percentage of women Realtors has not changed from the 55 percent recorded in the 2001 survey, the roles of men and women within the industry have continued to change. In the late 1970s, men accounted for nearly 80 percent of all brokers. As of 2003, 52 percent of brokers were women. For the first time since 1984, the median age of real estate agents declined in 2003, to 49 years from 50 years in 2001. However, more than one-third of all agents are 55 years or older, compared with 21 percent in 1978. The median age of brokers also has declined since 2001 to 52 from 54 -- which reflects the growth in the number of brokers below age 40, considered by the Realtors' group to be a trend. | 
