California Real Estate Licensees Decline

Recent information released by the California real estate department showed a huge drop in the number of people taking the state examination.

In January 2000, the total licensee population stood at 303,000.  In the next seven years, the licensee population grew every single month before peaking in December 2007 at 548,959.  In 2005, the DRE was administering thousands of licensee examinations a month, setting a record in April 2005 by testing more than 22,000 would-be brokers and salespersons. 

To put things in perspective, less than 2,500 persons have sat for the real estate examination during the first quarter of 2008.  Moreover, January 2008 marked the first time in 84 months that the licensee population declined, a trend that continues through today.  These numbers reveal something else: Nearly half of the licensees obtained their real estate license in the past seven years.  San Diego California real estate agents