Paul,

It happens every time, and like my esteemedd friend Michael Jacobs said, what will happen 6 months from now.  Will they still be here, will they be able to weather changes, when the Fed raises rates, and when some markets start feeling a bubble burst (as is predicted).  A

Hi Paul -- ever since I entered real estate(20+ years) I've seen an ebb and flow of agents.   Unless I have a reason, I wait for about six months to see if they're still around.   

Yep.  It happens every time.

Yes and like Michael Jacobs and Ron and Alexandra Seigel I wait and see who is still around after a year or two. at our brokerage we've already seen several come and go since 2014.

On our side (lending) I've seen a TON of people re-enter the market or jump into it.  I am confident they will all be out of the industry within a couple of years as well, because so many of these people that enter in times of high volume and rising prices are taught to be 'transactional' and are never taught how to really run their business.

Oh absolutely.  We're up past 5,000 now.  People think it's a great way to get some real cash fast.

yes- but they go out as quickly as they come in

Paul - Of course, that always seems to be the case. When the real estate market is good, everyone wants to be an agent, and then when it takes a turn for the worse, they all go away, many back to what they were doing before.

There have been more agents lately, but not sure.  Many are new faces, probably new agent. Many of the older agents have other jobs and will probably not return.

I have noticed several returning agents and wondered what that was all about. I guess they want to give it another shot. The new agents coming in are about the same.

I am seeing mostly new agents, not so many old agents coming back in.

Yes I'm seeing both in my area. 

It has always been a business which draws out fair weather friends. Much easier to make it your hobby than a livelihood when conditions are right. 

Let's hope future agents are trained before they are blended into the fold.... ugh

I'm seeing a growing number of new agents, though I don't think I'm seeing those agents that gave up coming back in the business.  I think they learned they aren't meant for this business.

We are in a very large market and there is always a surplus of new agents.

I dont know, i only been an agent a bit over 5 years now, what i do know is if they come in thinking that they are not going to have to work to get client they will fail.this job is like any other you have to put the time to actually see fruits.have a great day Paul

New agetns.  Real estate schools are at full capacity in Texas.

Not to the degree of 2000-2005 era, but yes. The good news is it's no longer the "fog a mirror" approach to hiring by brokers in San Diego. It's more of a "what are you going to contribute to our office culture?" hiring process. My broker interviews up to 15 agents per week, she hires maybe one and not every week.

Not really

Yes! It is crazy how many new agents have gotten into the game.