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USA Today has a long article on the problems real estate agents are facing in the slow market. It goes into great detail on how some real estate agents are struggling.

Of course, the same article could be written on how some agents are doing amazing well through the downturn. But struggling agents makes better copy, we know that. And struggling agents probably are more likely to be reading USA Today.

Obviously, real estate agents are not going to be doing as well as they did in the hyperactive market that characterized 2000–2005. Looking back on it, that was the aberration of cheap money, cheap gas, and investors flocking to housing after 9/11.

But looking ahead, homes will still sell, the true professionals will still earn a living albeit not as lavishly, and the marketplace will not implode. Sorry Chicken Little.

One thing I would love USA Today to do as a follow up article is find some successful agents who are succeeding in this market and show what they are doing. That could be inspiring for other agents as opposed to the drumbeat in the media of failure.

The real estate slump that hit in 2006 eventually stifled home sales, shrank prices and unleashed a wave of foreclosures. And as it did, the hardest-hit victims included a group of people, such as Jentzen, who never imagined they had anything to fear: real estate agents themselves.

Tens of thousands of Realtors have been forced to quit the industry in the past couple of years. Some are enduring their own agonizing foreclosures. Agents who had staked their fortunes on galloping home sales now struggle to afford health care, utilities and other basics.

Some, like Jentzen, are trying to build new careers. Others are pursuing drastic and aggressive tactics to tough out the housing slump, from embracing new marketing plans to spending thousands to earn advanced designations they hope will help them stand out from the competition. Some say the housing collapse is undermining their professional self-esteem. via  USATODAY.com

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1. Selling To Gen Y Takes New Skills For Realtors
2. Outstanding Editorial on Maintaining the Status Quo For Realtors
3. As Condo Market Slows in Bubble Regions, Properties are Reverting to Rentals
4. Over 50% of Realtors Have Less Than 4 Years Experience
5. Fed Chief Evans Says Federal Reserve Should Protect Economy Against Housing Woes