Hartford Business Journal

18 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | AUGUST 24, 2026 Market Reset Connecticut's Realtor ranks thin after pandemic-era surge By Andrew Larson alarson@hartfordbusiness.com W hen the pandemic upended the housing market and moved real estate licensing classes online, Connecticut saw a surge in people entering the industry. "During the pandemic, we had a huge influx of Realtors, because there were so many professional people staying home," said Gena R. Lockery, broker/owner of GRL & Realtors LLC in New Haven and president of the New Haven Middlesex Association of Realtors. Her association moved its pre-li- censing course online, she said, and enrollment jumped. The wave, however, didn't last. Connecticut's pandemic-era spike in Realtors has been largely erased amid a broader industry shakeout. The number of Realtors in Connecticut jumped 10%, from 17,633 in 2020 to 19,387 in 2021, before falling to 19,248 in 2022 and 18,983 in 2023, according to the National Association of Realtors. Connecticut Realtors, the statewide trade group, now counts roughly 17,000 members, about 3% fewer than at the end of 2019. The shrinking ranks reflect a housing market with plenty of buyer demand but too few homes for sale, industry officials say. The inventory shortage has left fewer deals for agents to compete over, making it particularly difficult for newer entrants to build a sustainable business, even as rising home prices help established agents earn more on each sale. "Now that the inventory is low, seasoned agents are fighting for transactions," said David Sartirana, president of the Greater Hartford Association of Realtors and broker/ owner of Northwest CT Realty in Litchfield County. "So, the newer agents probably don't see as many." Interest in entering the industry also appears to have cooled. According to the state Department of Consumer Protection's 2025 annual report, applications for real estate broker and salesperson licenses fell 30% since 2020. As of Aug. 11, DCP tallied 16,341 active salespeople and 2,853 active brokers with Connecticut addresses — 19,194 in total. DCP's figure is higher than Connecticut Realtors' because not every licensed salesperson or broker is a Realtor association member. Thousands also maintain licenses without actively practicing. Little to sell A major reason so few homes are hitting the market is the so-called lock-in effect: Homeowners who secured mortgages at 3% or 3.5% are reluctant to give them up for rates hovering around 7%, Sartirana said. "They're going to get more for their house, but they're going to pay more for their next house, and then pay a higher interest rate on top of it," he said. "That hurts." Greater Hartford home sale numbers show the squeeze. In July, single-family inventory fell 6.6% from a year earlier, to 750 homes, even as closed sales rose 12% to 580 and the median sale price climbed 8.6% to $475,000, GHAR reported. New listings dropped 3.6%. Year to date, closed sales are down 1.5%, while the median price is up 7.1%, to $442,000. Houses listed in Litchfield County at $300,000 to $325,000 routinely sell for $40,000 to $60,000 over asking, Sartirana said. For agents, that math cuts both ways. "You're gaining more per trans- action but doing fewer transac- tions," Sartirana said. "It all kind of evens out." But that equation is tougher for newer agents who have yet to build a steady pipeline of clients. A new agent may sell a house or two to rela- tives and friends before running out of prospects, Sartirana said. Mean- while, license and multiple listing service fees, board dues and the cost of buying leads online add up. "If they're only doing one or two transactions, it's probably going to deter them and make them say, 'Well, this probably isn't worth it right now,'" Sartirana said. "And then they leave." There is no salary to fall back on. Agents work on commission splits negotiated with their brokers, which is why Sartirana gives every prospective hire the same advice: Don't give up your day job. By his rough estimate, part-timers outnumber full-timers about 3-to-1. Health insurance compounds the problem, said Kristi Olds, commu- nications director for Connecticut Realtors. Agents are indepen- dent contractors who buy their own coverage, and a job with benefits can look more attrac- tive after a slow year. 'Back to normal' Lockery said she doesn't see the shrinking Realtor ranks as a sign of a weak market. She said her overall business has grown 7% to 11% every year since 2020. Her firm is closing fewer sales than it used to, she said, but collecting more on each one. "So yes, that means we're selling fewer units, but our volume is higher, and that's because of the price increase," Lockery said. She credits an influx of buyers from New York, drawn by the shoreline and lower cost of living in New Haven and Middlesex counties, as well as economic anchors including Yale University, Yale New Haven Hospital and pharmaceutical companies in the region. The size of the agent pool, she said, rises and falls with the market. Her firm dropped to five agents in 2010, rose to 26 by 2020 and has more than 20 today. Her association's membership has dipped slightly, to about 3,000 — roughly where it stood in 2020. About 100 new Realtors still come through each class. "I think that the number of Realtors is back to normalizing," she said. "And when I say back to normal, I mean pre-pandemic." The contraction may not be over. Sartirana said National Association of Realtors economists told association leaders at a June meeting to expect membership to keep slipping. Connecticut Realtors says boosting the supply of homes for sale could help the industry, and the group is backing federal legislation that would double the current capital gains tax exclusion on primary-home sales to $500,000 for single filers and $1 million for married couples filing jointly. "Should that be approved, it would have an immediate impact on Connecticut homeowners as well," said Joanne Breen, Connecticut Realtors' legislative committee chair and a past president. "The ability for sellers to retain more of their earned equity would help the market overall, the economy and our industry because it will free up properties for buyers looking to purchase in Connecticut." While the inventory crunch remains a problem, Lockery sees the loss of some agents as a welcome change. "There were too many, and there was a lack of professionalism when there were too many," she said. "This is the largest investment that anyone makes. You want someone that's knowledgeable, that's expe- rienced, that knows the market, that's available." NUMBER OF REALTORS IN CT 2020 — 17,633 2021 — 19,387 2022 — 19,248 2023 — 18,983 2026 — 17,000 Source: National Association of Realtors/CT Realtors Joanne Breen Kristi Olds David Sartirana Gena R. Lockery, broker/owner of GRL & Realtors LLC in New Haven, says the thinning ranks of Connecticut Realtors reflect a return to more typical, pre-pandemic levels. HBJ Photo | Steve Laschever

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