Latest figures showed that there has been a recent surge in the number of licensed agents in Vancouver, participating in a gold rush of rising real estate prices.
In its annual report, the Real Estate Council of B.C. UBC’s Sauder School of Business said that there has been a 34 per cent increase in the number of students enrolled in pre-agent courses – including rental, trading, and strata licensing curriculums – this year, bringing the total number of enrollees to 4,619.
The report said that this growth in the number of agents corresponds to the expansion and continued health of the real estate market. The report added that this option represents one of the ways that young professionals in Vancouver deal with home prices, which have risen by 75 per cent over the last decade.
“The numbers of individuals licensed to deliver real estate services in BC are currently at their highest levels ever: there are 22,005 licenced real estate professionals in the province. Since 2005, the number of licensees has increased by nearly 40%,” the report stated, as quoted by Vancity Buzz.
The report warned, however, that there seems to be trend towards job market saturation in this sector. Even though there were far fewer agents in 2005 (around 40 per cent less), there were 40,500 home sales in that year. 2015 is expected to see the same number of sales, but with nearly double the number of active agents.
