Fewer real estate agents in the future?

During the most recent housing boom — which ran on and off from the late 1990s through the mid-2000s — the National Association of Realtors set a membership record. The country had more real estate agents than ever.

Today, though, that’s no longer the case. Membership in the association is still above 1 million, but its numbers are shrinking slightly. And the operators of real estate schools — which help train future real estate agents — are seeing attendance at their facilities dropping.

J. Craig Anderson, in the Arizona Republic newspaper, covered this trend in a recent news story, which you can read here. As an example, he cites the Real Estate Learning Center in Mesa, where the number of students in each class has dropped from about 70 at the height of the real estate boom to 25 or so now.

Many other real estate schools across the country have shut down.

It’s just another example of how far-reaching the housing slump is, and how it impacts so many other businesses. Consider that home builders, mortgage lenders, real estate agents, landscapers, developers, commercial real estate brokerages and so many other industries rely on the housing market in large part for their own success.

This is why the current slump seems so painful. It’s not only hurting people who need to sell a house.