COLLEGE STATION (recenter.tamu.edu) – Today, there are an estimated 140,000 Texas real estate licensees and of those 100,000 are active. But while the number of agents has been growing modestly in recent years, the number of Texans in need of real estate services has exploded.

 “The number of active real estate licensees provides a measure of the relative size of the real estate brokerage industry through the years and across state boundaries,” said Charles Gilliland, research economist with the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University. “Among the largest states, Texas lags California, Florida and New York in total active licensees.”

 Texas has 100,000 active real estate licensees. California has four times that number of active licensees. Florida has twice as many, and New York has 50 percent more.

 “The number of active agents per 1,000 Texans is about half what it was from 1984–88,” said Gilliland. “In 1985, the industry fielded 9.4 agents for every 1,000 state residents. That ratio hit bottom in 2000 at 4.1. Today it’s about 4.3 agents per 1,000 Texans.”

 To learn more, read “Lone Star Licensees” by Gilliland at http://recenter.tamu.edu/tgrande/vol13-2/1775.html. Or see Obtaining a Texas Real Estate License online at http://recenter.tamu.edu/pdf/1149.pdf. The 36-page book can be purchased online for $5 at http://recenter.tamu.edu/store/.