topping out : realtors membership / wsj

topping out.......? well, i think this this is quite an understatement. this number has to go at least back to the pre bubble era. looks more like a 50% haircut.

topping out scheint mir die untertreibung des jahres zu sein. es gibt nicht einen grund warum die anzahl der makler nicht mindestens auf das niveau vor der blase zurückfallen sollte. wahrscheinlich sogar noch mehr. also mindestens 50%!

The industry probably has 20% to 25% more agents than it needs, says Ronald Peltier

An NAR survey found that the median income in 2004 was $37,600 for agents and $52,800 for brokers, who have more training. .....

Mr. Logue, a 34-year-old former golf pro, became an agent for the Assist-2-Sell franchise chain in the Fort Myers area about three years ago. He says his commission income was nearly $100,000 in his first year and $180,000 in his second. Then it plunged to $40,000 last year. "Nothing was selling," he says.

Cloude Porteus, 35, left his job at an Internet start-up in 2001 to start a career in real estate in Mill Valley, Calif. He says he had income of $170,000 as a real-estate agent in 2004, but last year was a bust. "I didn't make a penny in 2006, even though I had three listings," Mr. Porteus says