The Fairweather Realtor
In 1994 there were 3200 licensed Realtors in the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board. Then the market took a downturn. By the year 2000 we had only 1700 Realtors members. 47% of licensed Realtors left the business during that period.
In 2001 the market became active again. As of this month there are 2400 member Realtors in the Valley Board. Our membership is up 41% in 4 years.
I wonder if any other industry has such wild population swings? Each Realtor’s success is entirely dependent upon themselves. In truth only about 50% of new licensees last 3 years in the business. Income is erratic, hours are demanding, clients can be fickle and expenses can be significant especially at the outset.
The BC Real Estate Association recently released a survey results on the percent of Realtors with various years in the business. Notice on the graph below how the market value growth is matched by the rate of new licencees. New Realtors are attracted to the business of an easier market and stay away from a negative market. The hard market is actually the best one to learn from.
21.7% of Realtors are more than 20 years licensed, myself included. There are a number of these experienced Realtors here in Langley who have seen all the aspects of real estate markets, worked through the good times and the tough times and know how best to work for their client. I know that experience is a good thing for the customer to have.