. . . that there are now approximately 60,000 licensed North Carolina real estate brokers, salesmen, and corporations-one agent for every 100 citizens of our State. By comparison, our neighbor to the north, Virginia, has I agent for every I 10 residents, Georgia I agent for every 130 residents, South Carolina I agent for every 154 residents, and Tennessee has I agent for every 177 residents. At the extremes, in Florida there are only 38 residents for every licensed real estate agent, but in North Dakota there are 290 residents per agent.*
But what does this all mean? Is North Carolina, in fact, becoming inundated with real estate brokers and salesmen? Probably not. Although the number of persons who have obtained real estate licenses in our state has increased dramatically over the past several years, nevertheless our best estimates tend to indicate that probably not more 25% of all persons holding real estate licenses are actually engaged in the real estate business on a full time basis. Still, as the number of agents grows it has become more important than ever before for real estate brokers and salesmen to provide even higher levels of professional service to their clients and customers in order to separate and elevate themselves above their competitors.
*Source, 1984 NARELLO Interstate Cooperation Committee Report.