1 Agent to Every 14.5 Households!

As of June 2005, the number of real estate agents and brokers in the state of California hit 449,107! The number has been steadily rising for several years, and continues to climb. But at 449,107 it's the most ever. That's 26 percent more than just two years ago when there were 355,912.

The prior record, set during California's last real estate boom of the late 1980s/early 1990s, was 375,000 agents and brokers.

The latest total — 449,107 — equates to 1 real estate agent or broker for every 80 residents in the state of California. Or, perhaps a better comparison, it's 1 real estate agent or broker for every 14.5 owner-occupied housing units in the state of California, using 2000 U.S. Census figures. 1 for every 14.5 owner-occupied households!

Do you think maybe a few people got their real estate license thinking they were going to be able to sell a couple $800,000 houses at 6 percent commission and kick off for the rest of the year?

— The Boy in the Big Housing Bubble