Insider Finance - Business - Realtors face a reckoning

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April 19, 2023

Hello, Insiders. This is Spriha Srivastava, Insider's London bureau chief. Are there too many real-estate agents in the US? We’re about to find out. As today’s big story explains, there are now two agents for every home for sale — and the housing crunch has triggered a brutal reckoning.

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— Spriha Srivastava

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THE BIG STORY

Realtor reckoning

Tyler Le/Insider

Real-estate agents are in for a brutal reckoning — and many won't survive the housing crunch.

A wave of hopeful dealmakers jumped headfirst into the real-estate-agent waters during the pandemic, betting that booming home prices would lead to hefty commission checks.

"We went through the same thing back in '06, '07,” Jessica Reinhardt of the Denver Metro Association of Realtors told Insider’s James Rodriguez. “There was just an unprecedented amount of Realtors coming in."

But just as the housing market goes through booms and busts, so do the ranks of real-estate agents. The recent slowdown in sales is forcing many agents — especially the newbies — to decide whether the shrinking returns are worth the thousands of dollars and countless hours they’re pouring into their businesses.

As the spring homebuying season approaches, the industry is bracing to find out who's in it for the long haul — and who is going to wash out.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

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This edition was curated by Spriha Srivastava, and edited by Hallam Bullock, Lisa Ryan, Nathan Rennolds, and Jack Robert Stacey. Get in touch: insidertoday@insider.com.

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Insider Finance - Business - Realtors face a reckoning

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