Jun 3, 2026
The real estate market’s most lucrative season of the year is upon us, yet instead of preparing spring listing materials and booking showings, tens of thousands of realtors are fleeing the market completely.
Don’t let the steadily ascending price of the average home in America fool you; sales volumes have been dropping off as unsold inventory quietly grows.
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April brought a statistically insignificant 0.2% bump in existing home sales month-over-month, while the year-over-year figure was flat — far from a booming spring market. Meanwhile, the new construction segment is seeing the worst of the protracted slump, with a disheartening 6.8% fewer people coast-to-coast moving into new homes in April compared to the month prior. Compared to the same time last year, the decline was a more substantial 11.3%.
As some worry whether the multi-year downturn might be the new normal after three years of mostly dismal numbers, those who make their living in the industry are increasingly seeking alternative career options.
National Association of Realtors hemorrhaging hundreds of thousands
The National Association of Realtors has seen membership shrink by approximately 150,000 since 2024, and lost another 50,000 members in the two years before that.
To be fair, the early 2020s marked peak enthusiasm in the sector, with so many people turning to professional real estate that some considered it over-saturated.
While viral claims that only 28.9% of agents closed on one or more homes last year have been disproven — NAR data states that only 5% of agents on the residential side of the market saw 0 sales — 21% of all NAR members made less than a meagre $10,000 in 2025, suggesting other income streams. This does, however, take into account commercial agents, who represent 30% of NAR’s membership, and 66% of whom failed to close on a single property over the course of the year.
Seventy-one percent of NAR members surveyed say real estate is still their sole vocation as of 2025, which is less than in recent years and the lowest proportion since 2005, according to the Wall Street Journal.
One agent who spoke to the news outlet on the topic said she had to shut down her brokerage this spring, less than three years after opening, because it “just became a bleeding artery” as high mortgage rates, home prices and costs of living, combined with economic fears, have brought the market to its knees.
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New commission fee structures introduced in 2024 haven’t exactly been good for agent retention, either, nor has the shift in public perception — and thus, use of — realtors after the watershed antitrust case that brought about those changes.
(In 2024, a federal jury in Burnett v. National Association of Realtors, a class-action lawsuit, found the National Association of Realtors and some brokerages violated antitrust law by working together to charge home sellers inflated commissions).
Then there’s the increasing popularity of real estate guidance from AI, which has given some people what they feel is enough information to go it alone while buying or selling a home.
NAR numbers aside, anecdotally, many licensed realtors are pivoting rather than leaving the profession entirely. One consultant told WSJ that the present state of the market has “hollowed out the real-estate professional middle class” and forced many to “get a secondary source of income to pay the bills.”
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This is especially the case for inexperienced agents (with two years or less in the industry) who, on average, performed a mere three transactions in 2024, earning just $8,100 before taxes.
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A global economic problem showing up in the US
Americans only have to look to their Northern neighbors to see that the problem could always get worse.
In late 2024, the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board reported a year-over-year drop in membership numbers for the first time since such monthly data became available (at least as far back as 2016), as Canada’s largest city’s real estate slowdown started to settle in. Agents continued to depart throughout 2025.
In that market, sales volumes are back on the rise for some housing types after a 2025 that served as the worst year for property transactions in a quarter century, but they still remain at historic lows for condos. While the average price of a home of any type in the region is a monumental $1,051,969 CAD (over $760,000 USD), this is 24% less than the 2022 peak and represents a loss for many sellers, who are growing desperate as properties sit on the market for substantially longer than typical periods.
What to consider as a buyer or seller
Getting an agent with proven strategy and experience across years of high and low markets is crucial — and it could be easier now than ever, and potentially cheaper, too.
As one real estate professor told the Washington Post, while experts predicted a market exodus over commission amendments in 2024, the shift presents a positive for consumers “because agents, on average, will be better at their job and will charge more competitive commissions.”
What’s also easier now than ever is conducting your own research. You can use online resources to learn about price points and comparable properties, mortgages, steps of a sale, things to look out for during an inspection, the role of real estate lawyers and escrow services, negotiation tactics, and more. All of this information is essential if you choose to forego an agent, but helpful to know even if working with a professional — and, it’s all at your fingertips.
Since the 2024 NAR ruling, greater transparency surrounding fees should bring more trust to deals, and allow buyers and sellers to shop around for someone with the expertise, track record and approach best suited to their goals, even if there are fewer agents to choose from. But the simple fact that there are fewer to choose from is an indication on how the market is performing, meaning consumers should adjust expectations accordingly.
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Becky Robertson is a senior staff reporter with Moneywise and a lifelong writer. Along with years in the journalism industry at outlets such as blogTO and Quill & Quire, she's participated in writing residencies at the Banff Centre and Writing Workshops Paris. With 33 countries visited, she finds travel to be one of her greatest inspirations.
