Recruiting young talent is the top business challenge for major brokerages around the country, according to a new survey from marketing center Imprev.
Recruiting in general was a top concern for 40 percent of the real estate industry executives surveyed, but the push for young blood was a primary issue for 38 percent of the respondents. The numbers reflect the dwindling numbers of young real estate agents working today, at least across the U.S.
A mere 6 percent of the National Association of Realtors’ membership is under the age of 34, according to data cited by Imprev, and the percentage of members in their 40s has dropped by one-third over the last 15 years. Currently, over 40 percent of all NAR members are over the age of 60.
“The real estate business is aging out,” Renwick Congdon, CEO of Imprev, said in a release. “Broker-owners and other top real estate executives are under pressure to find new talent.”
In New York City, however, real estate brokerage has recently attained a new glamor that has attracted 20-somethings and 30-somethings to the field.
Other key concerns cited by respondents included maintaining an edge over competitors, finding quality leads and staying on top of new technology.
Approximately 70 percent of respondents to Imprev’s survey were executives at brokerages with more than 100 agents, 26 percent with more than 500 and 12 percent at firms with more than 1,000 agents. — Julie Strickland