The real estate market is heating up in Texas if the amount of real estate license holders is any indicator. There are now 140,000 license holders, of which 100,000 are active, in the state and the applications for license holders are being submitted with much greater regularity in the state.
The number of active real estate licensees provides a measure of the relative size of the real estate brokerage industry through the years and across state boundaries,” Gilliland said.
Gilliland reports that with 100,000 active real estate licensees, Texas still falls well behind the other populous states.
California has four times that number, Florida has twice as many and New York has 50 percent more, he says.
And compared to California which has a real estate agent for every 52 people, to be a real estate agent in Texas it will cost you. After the last boom years in the late 80’s Texas instituted a tax on real estate agents to keep the dabblers out.
The number of active Texas real estate licensees peaked at nearly 155,000 in 1986.
Then came “the real estate bust” and by 1997 the total had dropped to fewer than 81,200, Gilliland said.
“In the 1990s, school finance reform imposed a substantial new tax on real estate license renewals.
“That tax and increased educational requirements combined to further erode the number of active agents,” he said. via the Odessa American Online
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One would assume that the combination of more real estate agents and falling sales volumes shoudl lead to lower commission levels – which would be welcome news for investors and home owners alike.
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