House Broker Copes with the Downturn

Every house broker relying on income from home sales and other real estate services in the past years has had to make adjustments to cope with the downturn.

Now, a lot of brokers have taken up second jobs while others have left the profession and moved on to other careers.
During the peak years of the housing market in 2004, realtors and brokers were earning a median of $49,300. Last year, the median income dropped to $36,700. According to the National Association of Realtors, the income of brokers and realtors fell as home sales fell to only 4.9 million units in 2008, more than 13 percent below the total home sales of 7.1 million in the year 2005.

In September 2006, the number of NAR members was 1.35 million. Today, membership has fallen to 1.14 million.

In August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics posted a total of 310,100 real estate employees, a decline of 17 percent from the total in August 2007. Self-employed agents are not included in the count.

Among the realtors who have lost their once-lucrative real estate jobs is Andy Reisinger who managed sales at Coldwell Banker in one area of Florida until December 2007. Before he was laid off, he never thought that looking for another job was difficult. He was fortunate though because later he was able to work as deputy sheriff in his area in Florida.

Reisinger said that he is now enjoying his new job, aside from enjoying benefits that were not available in his previous job as a house broker. He said he now has pension and health insurance and has eliminated his previous expenses related to insurance, brokerage and licensing.

According to the Florida Association of Realtors, among the most affected realtors are those working in Florida, a state hammered badly by foreclosures. Membership in FAR has declined by 20 percent compared to 2006.

Eileen McVeigh, owner of a Florida real estate brokerage, said she now only has 19 independent agents, down from the 37 agents she managed in 2007. Some of her agents are moonlighting in construction and in retail to increase their income.

Some agents have turned to title insurance sales and home appraisal while others who are more adventurous have started small businesses.

Every house broker now realizes more the value of social and business networks because these have become the sources of job information for many realtors and brokers looking for additional income.