Michigan real estate agents, who left the profession in droves as the housing market tanked, are returning to the industry as home prices and sales in the Great Lakes State continue to rise.
Real estate firms are hiring new agents as well as former ones who want to sell houses again. And, in another barometer of the resurging market, enrollment at some real estate license classes has doubled in recent months.
Business at Coldwell Banker Weir Manuel in Troy is so brisk the company recently hired 14 new agents to staff offices from Birmingham and Clarkston to Northville and Grosse Pointe. The company has more than 400 real estate sales associates.
“Business is rebounding,” said John North, COO of Troy-based Coldwell Banker Weir Manuel. “People are looking at this as a good way to make a living.”
The number of real estate licenses issued by Michigan has spiked about 10 percent already this year, to 49,146 from 44,566 in all of 2012. Other real estate organizations also have reported upticks in services or membership.
While the increases are more of a steady stream than a flood, Michigan contrasts the rest of the nation, where agent numbers continue to fall. That’s because Michigan is at the leading edge of the housing revival, experts said.
“We were the first to experience the negatives, so it’s nice to watch us be the first to climb out of it,” North said.
Just a few years ago, as home values began to plunge, real estate agents left the profession by the thousands. The number of Michigan real estate agents fell by more than 14,000 within a single year, according to state data.
“Instead of making three good sales a year, you had to make 10 sales a year to make the same living,” North recalled. “Sadly, we would hear things like: ‘I have to go get a real job.’ ”
And Michigan was hit harder than other parts of the nation, analysts said.
Paul Bishop, vice president of research for the National Association of Realtors, said the impact is reflected in the number of its members who left the profession.
“Michigan saw a decline in Realtors of about 35 percent from 2005 to the end of 2012,” he said. “The national decline over that same period was 21 percent.”
But now, as the domestic auto industry has recovered, helping the regional economy, the Michigan market has turned a corner.
In Metro Detroit, the median sales price of homes jumped 40 percent over last year, and the region’s housing inventory plunged 23.6 percent from the same time a year ago, Realcomp said.
Existing home sales rose for the second-straight year in 2012 and are on the same upward trek this year. May home sales were up 1 percent over the same month last year.
And permits to build new homes hit a six-year high in 2012, according to Realcomp.
“The (market’s) really booming,” said Bob Jakowinicz, a Realtor with Livonia-based National Realty Centers. “There are a lot of people looking to purchase and there’s very little inventory. It’s the exact opposite of what we had in 2009.”
As result, the number of agents at Jakowinicz’s company has doubled over the past few years, he said.
“For newer people, it’s a much better time to be a real estate agent,” he said.
In addition to the positive numbers, North thinks the real estate profession appeals to the young career-minded who are seeking something other than an average 9-to-5 job.
“The industry’s kind of evolved over the past few years and has gotten a little more tech savvy and social media oriented,” he said. “There’s a little bit of a more unstructured environment. I think Generation X and Generation Y are attracted to it and are good at it.”
Among them is Courtney Dunford, 25, who started with Coldwell Banker Weir Manuel in March.
A 2011 graduate of Wayne State University, Dunford decided to change careers after realizing she did not like working in an office every day. After taking a 40-hour class and passing the state license exam, she became a real estate agent.
“The industry is coming back,” Dunford said. “Home values are beginning to rise and inventory is extremely low.”
Tracy Slintak, 47, also decided to change careers after seeing an increased demand for homes.
She became a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Weir Manuel’s Commerce Township office in March, and hopes to have 10-12 sales by the end of the year.
“I figured now’s a good time to get into real estate,” she said.
