Yesterday, we discussed the likelihood of those facing employment uncertainty to seek out opportunities in the real estate industry.

While some of my conclusions were based on patterns we saw during the last economic downturn, recent sourcing data is also suggesting recruiting prospects are seeking out real estate agent opportunities.

In March, the number of unique new visitors viewing real estate ads ticked up 2% from January.

Not a big jump, but January typically has the highest sourcing numbers of the year, so March demand was very strong.

The conversion rates from visitor to application were down slightly in March, but still within the range of normal (32% of views converted into applications).

Two other data points of interest:

-there was a 12% increase among those applying in younger age groups
-there was a 7% increase in the number of males applying

Many other industries saw the bottom fall out during March (ex. not many people are searching for restaurant jobs), but real estate sourcing remained resilient.

We expect interest in real estate careers to remain strong and perhaps grow in the months ahead as recruiting prospects accept the realities of the employment market.