Survey: Practitioners Plan to Stick with Real Estate

With the real estate market improving, three-quarters of REALTORS® are very certain they will remain active in the market for two more years, according to the 2010 National Association of REALTORS® Member Profile. Only 8 percent were uncertain about their future.

The study’s results are representative of the nation’s 1.1 million REALTORS®, who account for 60 percent of the 1.85 million active real estate licensees in the U.S. The typical NAR member has 10 years of experience, and many have increased their training, Web presence and use of social media over the past year. More than half use social networking sites, up from 35 percent in 2009.

Analysis of data from the Association of Real Estate License Law Officials shows the number of active real estate licensees in the U.S. fell 7.5 percent last year from 2.0 million in 2008. The number of licensees who are not REALTORS® was 750,000 in 2009, down 14.8 percent from 880,000 in 2008. At the same time, NAR membership fell only 0.7 percent.

NAR President Vicki Cox Golder said these comparisons mark a sharp contrast. “REALTORS® are much more likely to remain active in the business than real estate agents or brokers who are not NAR members. REALTORS® are helped by the support and benefits they receive from NAR, as well as their local and state REALTOR® associations. Many members take advantage of down time to improve their skills and training to better serve future clients, but there also are intangible benefits that come from networking and membership in the nation’s largest trade association,” she said.

“In addition, many are diversified in their business practices – they don’t put all their eggs in the residential sales basket,” Golder said. “While eight in 10 members specialize in residential sales, almost all REALTORS® also have secondary areas of focus – only 3 percent don’t.”

Twenty-two percent of respondents also offer commercial brokerage, 21 percent are in relocation, 18 percent residential property management, 15 percent counseling and 13 percent land development. Smaller percentages were also in commercial property management, residential appraisal, international, auction, and commercial appraisal.

Residential brokerage was cited as a secondary business for 11 percent of respondents who had other primary specialties.

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