During the worst years of the recession, Cape Fear Community College offered one section, or time, to students interested in a real estate license.

But these days, steady improvements in the region’s economy have coincided with an increase in the number of people attracted to the real estate industry, with residential Realtors continuing to make up the bulk of the sector.

“It’s definitely picked up in the past several semesters. In fact, we’re back to running two sections [morning and evening] to accommodate more students,” said Laurel Pettys, lead instructor of the real estate program at CFCC. “Thankfully, the real estate classes have picked up with the activity in the marketplace.”

Another number shows how much the profession, especially with regard to those who focus on residential sales, has grown locally in the past several months: At least 136 Realtors have become new members of the Wilmington Regional Association of Realtors since January, said Sherri Pickard, WRAR president and managing sales broker for Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage.

But are there too many licensed real estate professionals for one market to handle, even as more homes are in the works throughout New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties?

Pettys says no.

“There are so many facets of the industry that licensees can decide what they enjoy doing, whether its property management, whether it is commercial real estate, residential real estate and even within those areas,” she said. “Some people like to be on-site real estate agents in new subdivisions, and other people like to run around and always be some place different, listing and selling. There’s never a dull moment.”

A factor in the increase in those entering the profession is the continuing improvement in the local residential market. In 2014, 6,553 homes were sold in the area covered by the Wilmington MLS, which includes parts of New Hanover, northern Brunswick County and Pender County. That’s 2,000 more single-family units than 2009, the statistics show.

Pickard said when it comes to real estate, it’s the quality, rather than the quantity, of agents that remains important.

“More Realtors is not necessarily better,” she said. “More good Realtors is better.”

That’s because the role of Realtors has changed over time, Pickard explained.

“We’re not the gatekeeper of the data anymore because the data is readily available online,” she said.

Not all of the information provided online is reliable, though, Pickard said. As a result, what a “good” Realtor does now is interpret the data for his or her clients, to be the trusted adviser in real estate matters by aggregating important research that might not be evident to a potential buyer.

“As an example, it would be very easy for a consumer to buy in the pathway of the Military Cutoff [extension project], but any Realtor who does this as a profession, who does this day in and day out, is very aware of the dangers of that type of purchase,” Pickard said. “It might look like a good deal on the surface, but underneath, it’s not.”
 

A hard job to Tackle

The average pass rate for real estate schools in North Carolina is about 60 percent, according to state figures. Between July 1 and Dec. 31, 2014, CFCC real estate students earned a 100 percent pass rate on the exam, and CFCC was also recognized by the N.C. Real Estate Commission’s Educators Conference for being one of only 10 real estate schools where passing rates exceeded 75 percent during the 2013-14 academic year.

But simply passing the exam doesn’t guarantee a prosperous career, Realtors say.

Aimee Freeman of Keller Williams Realty, a top producer who was licensed 16 years ago, credits hard work for her high number of transactions.

“I’ve always had a really strong work ethic. I had a job the day I turned 15, so I’m a really hard worker,” she said.

Freeman said there are some facts about the industry that agent hopefuls need to know.

“People don’t realize, especially in the beginning, that you have fees and websites to pay for. A lot of money goes out before it starts coming in,” she said. “Even in a best-case scenario, the day you get licensed and you take a client out and sell a house, that house is not going to close for 30 to 60 days. You’re not going to make any money for a month or two.”

So far, for Freeman, experience seems to have paid off. Earlier this year, she formed a team that works under the Keller Williams umbrella, hiring a real estate coach, a part-time assistant and a buyer’s agent for Aimee and Co. Freeman said she’s completed 24 home sales since January, and her sales volume is right at $6 million.

Her numbers are uncommon for the region and the U.S.

A typical National Association of Realtors member had 11 transactions last year versus 12 in 2013, said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors in a June 3 news release. Yun said the reason for those numbers, which were based on responses to the NAR’s 2015 Member Profile survey, is that existing-home sales did not surpass year-over-year levels until October 2014.

“Despite the modest setback, median gross income last year was still the second highest since the downturn and up over 5 percent from 2012 [$43,500]. Furthermore, NAR membership at the end of 2014 stood at 1.1 million, up 5.5 percent from 2013,” Yun said in the release.
 

Roofs and Realtors

In New Hanover County, the real estate industry showed the largest absolute employment gains from 2008 to the third quarter of 2013, according to an economic analysis completed for the county by Atlanta-based Garner Economics. The report said the industry added 1,169 jobs in that time period, but the industry’s average pay in a comparison of third-quarter 2013 numbers fell more than $18,000 below the county average.

Some jobs that fall in the real estate category pay more than others, and incomes can depend largely on productivity. Many residential agents are contract workers, basically working for themselves under the name of larger firms, including Freeman. Among the advantages that Keller Williams offers her are training, support and events, but in the end, Freeman works for herself, she said.

“Whether I work or don’t work, that falls on me. Nobody’s chasing after me saying I have to do anything. If I fail or succeed, it’s because of myself,” she said.

The same goes for coping with competition, said Freeman.

“I think if you’re committed to your business and you put in the hours that you would put into a 9-to-5 job, you’ll have the business you want, whatever that means. Some people just want to pay their bills, and some people want to be a top agent,” she said.

Even as New Hanover County’s supply of home lots diminishes, Realtors say the industry will likely continue to be a major player in the region’s economy.

As the cost of land goes up in New Hanover, more construction will continue to take place in Brunswick and Pender counties, and real estate agencies are expected to continue expanding their reach into those areas, Pickard said.

“It always fundamentally goes back to supply and demand,” Pickard said.