Real Estate Jobs are Hot, too
The Baltimore Sun, January 5, 2003

Record sales stir interest of people laid off in slump

Classes for licenses are full

Profession may look easy but is quite demanding

By Trif Alatzas
Sun Real Estate Editor

A growing number of job seekers are turning to real estate sales in Maryland and across the country as layoffs and slowdowns in other industries have pushed some to take advantage of the hot housing market. 

Maryland and Baltimore industry groups said their memberships have grown during the past few years. Real estate school teachers said classes are full. And members of the Maryland Real Estate Commission said a growing number of people are taking the state’s licensing test. 

Experts said it’s a combination of a hot market, job losses in other fields and the allure of the flexible hours and the independence of selling real estate. 

“We’ve sort of known this was happening,” said Steven VanGrack, chairman of the Maryland Real Estate Commission, who pointed out that sales of new and existing homes are expected to break records in 2002 after achieving all-time highs one year earlier. Final figures for last year are expected this month. “It has turned out to be one of the few financially successful areas in any industry.” 

But most agents point out that few newcomers make a steady salary right away. Fixed salaries, annual raises and steady office hours are rare. And while new agents said the money is there to be made, it takes years to establish the network of contacts and earn a consistent salary.

The National Association of Realtors said the average Realtor earned $47,700 a year in 2000. But the group also found that an agnet with 11 to 15 years of experience earns about $41,000 more a year than a colleague with one to five years in the profession. 

“Real estate is one of those professions that looks a lot easier on the outside than it really is,” said Jody Landers, executive vice president of the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors. 

Members of the Maryland Real Estate Commission said the business is cyclical, and they noticed a drastic decline in the number of agents beginning in the late 1980s and early ‘90s when the housing market began to weaken and more stringent licensing requirements were put in place.

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