Nevada No. 1 in adding real estate agents, study says
Nevada is adding more real estate agents to its ranks than anywhere else in the United States, according to a new study.
The Silver State added approximately 1,140 real estate agents from 2022 to 2023, according to a new study from Flatworld Mortgage Solutions. Tennessee was second with 850, followed by Missouri with 770. The states that lost the most real estate agents were California (8,160), North Carolina (5,870), Texas (3,190) and Florida (1,350).
Flatworld Mortgage Solutions used data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in the study.
Las Vegas Realtors President Merri Perry said Nevada’s ranking is a sign of the valley’s growth in a variety of areas, including population and commercial investment.
“Studies like this one suggesting that the number of Realtor jobs in Nevada increased through 2023 reinforce our state’s reputation for being a strong real estate market with a growing economy,” she said. “While the housing market may have slowed a bit in the past two years, LVR and its members still appreciate the fact that Southern Nevada has a range of advantages over other parts of the country.”
According to LVR, Southern Nevada had 16,967 licensed members of the trade association in 2022, but that number dropped to 16,332 last year and currently stands at 15,920. A LVR spokesperson said the number of agents usually is a gauge of the health of the overall residential market, and based on the numbers, more agents are being added outside of Southern Nevada.
Rajeev Kumar, an executive vice president at Flatworld, said a number of things could be contributing to the real estate industry locally.
“Nevada’s leadership in real estate agent job growth could be attributed to its thriving economy, rapid population growth, and strong demand for housing,” he said. “The state’s favorable climate and relatively affordable living options may also make it an attractive destination, potentially driving increased investment and creating numerous opportunities for real estate professionals.”
Nationally, the profession has seen declining numbers since 2022, and interest in the career has dropped to a low not seen since 2016.
Las Vegas finds itself in the middle of a housing crisis as LVR data has the median sale price for a single-family house close to record highs that were set in May 2022. The median price of an existing single-family home sold in Southern Nevada last month was $479,900, a 6.6 percent increase from September of last year and close to the all-time record of $482,000.
Supply continues to outpace demand in Southern Nevada as homes are sitting on the market without offers longer and sales continue to drop, according to the latest statistics from Las Vegas Realtors.
The number of homes sold in September dropped 16.2 percent from the previous month and 1.6 percent from September of last year, according to LVR.
Last year Las Vegas’ housing market had its worst year of sales since the Great Recession in 2008.
Contact Patrick Blennerhassett at pblennerhassett@reviewjournal.com.