STERLING HEIGHTS -- Thousands of Michigan real estate agents -- some with decades of experience -- are getting squeezed out of the business, casualties of one of the worst housing slumps in state history.
Agents who prospered a few years ago, when consumers' appetite for real estate seemed insatiable, now are struggling or switching careers.
Michigan agents say a lack of home buyers for the glut of houses on the market is driving them from the business. Those who do manage to move a property are realizing lower commissions as a result of dampened real estate prices.
In the last year alone, the Michigan Association of Realtors has lost 10 percent of its membership, or about 3,500 agents. Membership now stands at about 30,000, the trade group said. An untold number of agents have taken second jobs to weather the slump or have put their licenses in "escrow," basically not using them until the market turns around.
Metro Detroit has been among the regions worst hit by the housing slowdown, which started in Michigan in late 2005 and hit the rest of the nation early this year. In September, Realtors sold 3,703 homes in Metro Detroit, down from 4,184 in September last year and 4,456 the year before that, according to multiple listing service Realcomp II Ltd.
Real estate agents across the country are leaving the business as the sales downturn worsens. The National Association of Realtors is predicting a 4 percent decline in its membership by the end of 2007, from a record high of 1.4 million members at the beginning of this year.
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