Realestate
Comparison of sales licensees and brokers licensees. Chart courtesy of Calculatedriskblog.com

The number of real estate agent licensees in California rose in August for the first time since early 2007, but the number of licensees is down 3.3 percent year-over-year from August 2012.

The number of license-carrying salespeople peaked toward the end of 2007 and has fallen 32.4 percent since then. Housing activity peaked in 2005, and home prices peaked in 2006, according to a post on Calculated Risk.

Brokers’ licenses are down 8.4 percent from their peak, which held steady from January 2008 to January 2010. They are still inching downward at 1.1 percent year-over-year and just slightly month-to-month.