In recent years, the Valley has seen a steady rise in real estate agents. Can the market sustain them all?
By Madison Rutherford | Phoenix Magazine
In Arizona, there are only three requirements to become a real estate agent: be at least 18 years old, complete 90 hours of pre-licensing education and pass the Arizona Department of Real Estate examination.
“Literally, when you pass the state test and you get your license, you can walk into a brokerage the next day, register, hang your license and go to work,” says Shelly Lane, who founded Shelly & Ronda Real Estate Group in Phoenix.
The ease of obtaining a real estate license might be the reason everyone seems to be getting one. According to Arizona Association of Realtors president Patrick Lewis, there are 36,000 active real estate agents in Maricopa County, with 500 new licensees added every month. “There’s definitely been a bit of an increase,” he says. The biggest spike in the past 10 years was in 2014, when the Valley saw a 6 percent increase.
