As more agents compete for fewer deals in cities such as Toronto and Vancouver, the real estate industry has already seen its numbers dwindle.
"In the last five years, we've had incredible numbers come in," says Beth Crosbie Alexander of Coldwell Banker ProCo in St. John's of the national tally, which reached more than 100,000 last year.
The Canadian Real Estate Association has seen its membership roll dip to about 97,000 this year, she says, and she expects the number to fall further.
Ms. Crosbie Alexander is chairing a task force set up by CREA to explore the trials of starting up.
Many of those who leave are part-time agents who were able to boost their income by selling one or two houses a year when listings were easy to come by. But the costs of running an office, printing business cards, advertising and putting together brochures are not worth the investment for some part-timers.
