There wasn't just a boom in real estate over the past decade - there was also a big boom in real estate agents.Floods of people across the country applied for real estate licenses, attracted by record sales volumes and seemingly non-stop price gains.
During the boom's peak from 2002 to 2004, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) saw memberships soar 26 percent. Today, over 1.2 million Americans call themselves Realtors.
But the exuberance couldn't last forever: the NAR forecasts existing home sales to fall 7.6 percent in 2006. Agents, who work on commission, are already beginning to feel the bite.
