January 2022 there were 1.599,135 Realtors. This January there are 1,548,058. In Minnesota, there were 22,711 members in January 2022, this year there are 21,950. National membership fell by almost 3% from December 2022.
The number of Realtors in Minnesota peaked in 2005 at 25,325, which was an all-time high. . . at least so far.
Some of the Realtors that have left the industry have retired.
The NAR is predicting that there will be fewer home sales in 2023 than there were in 2022 which was down from 2021 and that there will be an uptick in 2024.
It is likely that there will be fewer Realtors before the year is over. At the same time, the low unemployment numbers indicate that there are plenty of jobs.
In Minnesota, the number of Realtors dropped to around 16,000 in 2012. That same year national membership dropped below a million and has been rising ever since. Florida has the largest number of Realtors at 218,906 up from 213,963 in 2022, followed by California at 202,970 which is down by about 9000 from a year ago.
Not all real estate agents are Realtors. Not all real estate licensees sell real estate nor do all Realtors, yet when we do the math there are more than enough Realtors, yet there is always room for more.
Locally home sales peaked and reached an all-time high in the summer of 2021.
Most real estate agents are independent contractors and work on a 100% commission basis with no benefits. Commissions are not guaranteed and are only paid after the successful closing of a home sale.
A person needs a real estate license to sell real estate for others for a fee but does not need to be a member of the National Association of Realtors.
Also see
How to get a Minnesota real estate sales license.
