Slowing Real Estate Market Dampening Agent Recruiting

The softening residential real estate market is tightening recruiting plans for the nation's realtors.
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After the number of real estate agents in the country nearly doubled between 2000 and 2005, the National Association of Realtors expects the number of agents to stay flat in this year compared to last.
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With unit sales of existing homes predicted to be down 6.5% this year, Walter Molony, a spokesman for the group, said the number of realtors is expected to be close to the nearly 1.3 million sales agents working in 2005. 5 i8 r# @6 T1 e6 f; p
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That 1.3 million compares to just 767,000 as recently as 2000.& @3 p0 B+ D, T% X) ?0 T! Y

' f5 _' B6 ]6 t9 Z" c4 NMolony said the drop in home sales is the most severe in California, Florida, and the Mid-Atlantic with some upturn in the less-pricey areas in the nation's midsection.