Yesterday, I noticed two vacant spaces where real estate offices used to be. The National Association of Realtors stopped publishing numbers, so we don’t know how many Realtors there are. We don’t know how many real estate licensees there are either. There isn’t a shortage, I know that for sure. are more Realtors in the area than there are homes for sale. Home sales have been in a slump for a couple of years due to high interest rates. The houses sell fast enough, but many homeowners have chosen to stay put, which has resulted in fewer homes for sale.
The picture is of the Keller Williams office on West 7th Street. It was there for about five years and was one of many Keller Williams franchisees in the metro area, but the only one in St. Paul. There was also a real estate office across the street, but that one only lasted a couple of years. It could just be that West 7th Street near downtown isn’t a good place for a real estate office.
One thing that really surprised me when I started in real estate was how much real estate agents like to work in offices. As independent contractors, I would have thought they would be more independent.
There is a Coldwell Banker Burnet office on Grand Avenue with a for-sale sign in front of it.
