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The real-estate market is among one of the most heavily affected by an economic recession. As people begin to get laid off of their jobs and lose sources of income, they are unable to make their hefty mortgage payments. Unfortunately, a recession hits with such force that people are caught off guard and unprepared to sustain long after losing a source of income. This has resulted in a drastic increase of foreclosures as well as corresponding decreases in home values across the board. This direct pattern has made life difficult not only for homeowners, but real-estate agents. Real-estate agents obviously thrive when people are looking to purchase homes. However, when an economic recession causes people to halt spending, large ticket items such as vehicles and homes are among some of the items that are dropped to the bottom of the list in terms of affordability. As a result of this, the amount of people looking to purchase homes plummeted when the recession hit and the housing market suffered along with it; dropping the clientele of Realtors sharply over a short period of time. In addition to a large reduction in clientele, real-estate agents also see smaller commissions during a time when the housing market is suffering. The main reason for this is due to the fact that housing prices tend to drop when nobody is buying. When homeowners looking to sell become desperate to find a buyer, they lower the price to entice them to buy. In some states, housing prices have dropped by 50%; decreasing Realtor commissions by just as much.
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