If you live in California you should have no trouble finding a real estate agent. A new report from the California Department of Real Estate says there is a real estate agent for every 52 adults in the state. This is a 57 percent increase over the last 5 years.
This sounds like many people taking the test and then doing nothing with the license. But if you think about it, with this many people running around with a license, how do you find the good ones? And after all these new real estate agents start screwing up, and it is perfectly natural for new people in a job to make errors as they learn, it will cast an even darker pall on the reputation of the real estate agents in the state.
Ask any top producing real estate agent and they will tell you that a closing can turn into a mess with new agents which hurts the reputation of everyone associated with the closing. And this in turn will push people to the new technology of the web and end up lowering commissions across the board.
As of April, the trend continued with the number of licensees climbing to 495,000.
To accommodate the demand for real estate licenses, the DRE conducted numerous “mega-exams” in which thousands of applicants took the real estate license examination. The department also increased the services available through its online licensing system, which has issued licenses to more than 70,000 people since March 1, 2005.
“The level of interest in real estate licensure is unprecedented,” Commissioner Jeff Davi said. “With so many new licensees, the DRE has also increased its consumer protection efforts.” via the Sacramento Business Journal:
Update: The Next Bracket has an interesting point on the comparison of real estate agents and doctors in the country.
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Wow that is a big amount per person I would be interested to see if that is active agents or both active and inactive.
That’s interesting. That’s more real estate agents than doctors per person!
That is allot of agents. But the rate at which agents quit the business is extremely high as well. I’m not sure, but I think that 75% of all agents who get licenced today quit within 18 months because they can’t make enough money with all of the competition around. They end up getting ‘real jobs’. And don’t forget that they are moving forward with the rule that requires a potential agent to take all 3 exams first, before they can get a licence. No more ‘conditional’ licences. I think you’ll see a drop in the number of licences being issued in the year after that takes effect.
This why we as Realtors can not sit on our laurels and must provide a higher level of service to earn the respect and business of the clients we serve.
I’m conducting a study of what new agents find most appealing when choosing a broker, as well as other trends related to new agents leaving the business. If anyone has any input, I would love to hear it.
Senate Bill 1461
As a result of SB 1461 all California real estate agents will be required to display their DRE number on their marketing materials. This includes business cards, stationary, flyers postcards and websites created for introductory purposes and it begins in 2009. http://www.cuttlefishdesigns.com is available to help agents make this transition. ei. $76. for 1000 full color front and back, glossy 14 pt. business cards. Have us design them or design your own online at http://www.cuttlefishdesigns.com/idesign
Where are you getting statistics for the number of licensed real estate agents? I couldn’t find anything on the DRE website which I would expect to have the most accurate info.
Mary
The post was from 2006. If I had to guess, the ratio has gone up since then.
Are there any new stats for the number of california real estate agents? How many new agents in the last 2 years? How many left the business? Can’t find them anywhere!
I had no idea the ratio was so high. No wonder it is so competitive. You gotta give props to all those agents struggling out there in this market.
$100 Million in probates through my MLS (253 deals) and my competition highest count had 4 probates. I have been enjoying this niche for 23 years. Now I’m teaching it…..
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