Too many realtors, not enough houses

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - There are so few houses on the market, local real estate experts predict many realtors will be leaving the business.

“Because the variables are the way they are, inventory is so incredibly low, that the realtors themselves, the real estate professionals, are having a very hard time staying in business,” Louisville realtor Tre Pryor, the editor of Louisville Homes Blog, said. “I would wager a large group of realtors is going to go out of business this year.”

Greater Louisville Association of Realtors (GLAR) reports for the month of February that the average selling price of area homes was up compared to last February by 14.95%, but the number of houses selling was down 9.06%. This was attributed to “extremely low supply and rising interest rates.”

”This is historically low inventory rates. It really is absolutely unheard of in the past,” GLAR President Paula Barmore said.

Barmore predicts the problem of low inventory will take years to fix and part time realtors will have the most difficult time.

”They’re really not going to find, be able to have the wherewithal to continue to be a part time agent,” Barmore said. “I think it is going to shrink our numbers of agents.”

GLAR reports a membership of 5,340 active realtors, but there are not enough houses to go around.

“The MLS currently has 952 listings,” Pryor said. “That’s for the entire MLS. When you boil that down to just Jefferson County, you only have 578 listings to be shared out among that many realtors.”

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