Given that probably 80% of real estate commissions have beenearned by 20% for more years than I can count (and I'm feeling that maybe that ratio is more like 90/10 these days), I'm thinking that this is not "new" news. The media just had no reason to write about before.

Lot of stuff will be written about this changing market. Some will be negative and pessimistic and some will be optimistic. Take what you will from what you read and hear and EXPERIENCE. 

Not a good measure at all! Probably the same percentage as when the market is hot!

Snore.......

TYPICAL of the 'bust after the boom' 

this happened big time in the mid 2000s as well

Esp. newbies get sucked into the 'bigger better' mindset instead of making sound financial decisions for the future . . .

ALSO a lot of new agents get broker licenses and immediately open a shop, some before they know how to operate one.

I had bricks and mortar for 2 years early-mid 2000s and didn't have a problem paying for it as much as the continual interruptions by tire kickers and solicitors - the decision to work from a home office was the best ever! 

They also buy expensive new cars on credit . . . 

and that's where the rent money went. LOL

What "Office"?

     Most real estate agents work from home; they don't have brick and mortar offices.   

     Their Broker may have a brick and mortar central location... is that what YooHoo News is talking about?

I think in any market you can find these stats.    

HA! It's not news, it's cycle-typical; that's because 80% of REALTORS® do not make a living or create a career in this business. This is not a bad omen, it's a normal rinse cycle in the washing machine we call recession and hard work. See, even a turkey can fly in a hurricane, but now is the season when only eagles can fly.

That should read mortgage payments not rent; shame on them for renting while selling (exceptions being agents in transition). By the way, any agent balking at this, is out of touch with our industry numbers. The % may vary, but the issue is very real given NAR reports nearly  80% of licensed agents earned less than $35,000 in 2022. That is a very trackable stat given our income is basically public knowledge.

Wonder how many agents were polled to come up with that 31%. I doubt if it's accurate.

I would rather watch paint dry than click that link and read fake news! 🤣

I would like to see the data on the number of lenders that could afford their rent this month.  It must be really hard on them right now.  I believe that interest rates will continue lower over the next few months and business will pick up again. 

Fred Griffin makes a Great point about agent's offices. Most real estate agents in the Phoenix metro work from their home offices, and when they need to meet clients, they have an option to use conference rooms in their Broker's offices around the valley.

How the hell did they come up with that figure? Who did the survey?

Total trash.

This is called selective reporting.

Sad to know that so many real estate agents rent instead of owning a home.

It's just the media looking for any data point to push their narrative.  Fact is, this is not uncommon.  As Nina Hollander, Broker said, real estate is an 80/20 or more likely a 90/10 business these days.  Fact is, it's been this way for 40+ years that some agents don't have the drive and can't make their payments.  That's why one agent I know went to Redfin, so they could have a salary.

We are top heavy with agents in most markets .I believe we will see 30% leaving the business 

That's heartbreaking news only followed by the fact that this many agents are renting their homes.

What, they realized it takes "work" to make money in this business? Can't go by that measure at all.

I suspect that it is more than 31 percent.

We bought a new office bldg in December, hopefully the agents who will be renting offices from us can afford the rent.

it doesn't surprise me because everybody and his cousin got a license when it went wild in 2020.  Not the first time I've seen this cycle and probably won't be the last.

Well, what percentage are active? That's a shivering stat.

The title is catchy, but is disjointed from the rest of the article. Like every year, people enter real estate because they watch HGTV and think it looks easy. With COVID keeping people inside and rethinking their current jobs paired with low interest rates and a hot market lots of new agents did well but were lucky. As the market continues to normalize from the past 2 years, the cream rises to the top, the motivated work harder and do well, and others rethink the dues, fees, and expenses required to keep a license. This is not new, and not even an indication of the real estate market, in my opinion.

Humm, I don't think the fact that 31% of agents not being able to pay their rent is a bad omen considering a larger percentage of agents make below their towns average income.

Not sure how they came up with the figures.  Yes once maybe these figures were correct but not sure about now.