Where Have All the Agents Gone?

If Pete Seeger were to write his song, "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" today, it might be focused on the changing real estate climate and the economy. I've noticed that there are a lot less real estate agents in the business these days, and many of them have had to look for new jobs, instead, due to the sluggish market.

Quite a few of these agents are the same ones who jumped into real estate during the last few years when they thought this was easy money, with little more invested in their business than a few weeks of real estate classes. Instead of getting rich quick, some of these "newbies" helped perpetuate the escalating prices, often willing to list properties at any amount just to beat out the competition for the listing. And many sellers chose those inflated numbers over realistic pricing and the experience of more seasoned agents...in hopes of hitting the jackpot.

Soon, neighbors also wanted a piece of the action and put their homes on the market at prices even higher - justifying those values with the rationale that their property was much better than the one down the street for sale at 25% over value. It became a crazy time, where pricing was set by prices on properties for sale, rather than by properties that had actually sold. Although, there were still enough buyers in the market so that a property here and there would actually sell at those false prices, and lenders could find enough comparables to support loaning money on them.

But because a lot of these newer agents didn't have as much to lose, they could jump out of the business just about as easily as they jumped into it. And many did.

And now, due to an increasing array of factors, many of the experienced agents - with vast knowledge of home values and strong representation abilities - are also having to look for other jobs to survive the slowdown. Because of this, there will almost definitely be some dramatic changes in the industry going forward, and other concepts may emerge.

Sellers will still sell, and buyers will still buy, but many of the agents who put all of their effort and expertise into helping these two types of clients - with no upfront fees - may have a harder time committing those long hours of playing tour guide without some assurances of income. Besides that, some will have to juggle their time with other employment, and will not be available on the 24/7 schedules that they have advertised in the past. So we'll have to see where this all shakes out.

But those other jobs are getting hard to come by, as we see on the news every day. And it's not just the agents who want them; everyone seems to be looking! So Pete's song may now go something like this:

Where have all the agents gone, long time selling.
Where have all the agents gone, who sold those homes.
Where have all the agents gone, gone to good jobs...every one.
Oh when will they ever learn, oh when will they ever learn?

Where have all the good jobs gone, long time supporting.
Where have all the good jobs gone, that paid the bills.
Where have all the good jobs gone, employers cut them...every one.
Oh when will they ever learn, oh when will they ever learn?

Where have the employers gone, long time hiring.
Where have the employers gone, who we counted on.
Where have the employers gone, the banks have closed them...every one.
Oh when will they ever learn, oh when will they ever learn?

Where have all the bankers gone, long time lending.
Where have all the bankers gone, who financed homes.
Where have all the bankers gone, to get a bailout...everyone.
Oh when will we ever learn, oh when will we ever learn.