Southern Nevada home prices might not be rising as fast as they used to, but the number of real estate agents looking to sell those houses is booming.
Nearly 2,400 people will join the ranks of licensed real estate agents in Clark County by the time the fiscal year ends June 30, pushing the total above 12,000 for the first time in six years. During the boom a decade ago that number neared 16,000.
Existing home prices are up about 4 percent for the last 12 months, according to the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors. That is off the more robust gains posted coming out of the recession.
While the jump in the number of real estate agents might speak of a start of another bubble, Ed Coulson, the director of the Lied Institute of Real Estate Studies, is not concerned that another bubble is forming.
"Real estate prices are up about 40 percent almost since 2012," he said, "Higher prices mean higher commission - higher payoffs for agent effort and so you'd expect the higher prices to be a good signal of better times to come for the real estate industry."
He said the number of real estate transactions are still low and so is the amount of homeownership. But he believes there are more people becoming owner-occupiers again and more new homes are being built.
Mike Federwitz is the chief operating office for Key Reality School. He told KNPR's State of Nevada that the way real estate agents are educated is the same now as it was before the housing crisis.
He also said getting a license can take between four weeks and six months depending on the course you take. He said on average a new agent who sells about one property a month will make between $50,000 and $60,000 a year.
Amber Corby, real estate agent; Heather Corby, real estate agent; Ed Coulson, director, Lied Institute of Real Estate Studies; Mike Federwitz, chief operating officer, Key Reality School