The overview of the top real estate developments of the decade continues with the fourth-ranked item on our list:

#4: The Practitioner Explosion

Most of you are well aware of how crowded this industry has gotten over the past few years. The boom in real estate at the beginning of the 21^st century was perceived as something like the Gold Rush of the late 1840s—an ostensibly free-for-all environment that held out the promise of prosperity to anyone who pursued a career in this area.

One incredible indicator of how much the industry grew was NAR’s own membership. Around the start of the ‘00s, NAR had nearly 800,000 members; at its peak during this decade, it had approximately 1.3 million, an increase of well over 50 percent. (It currently has around 1.1 million members, which is still significantly higher than its membership at the start of the decade.)

Observers offered several explanations as to why this was the case. A couple of these revolved around demographics: Some said professionals switched to real estate mid-career because of a lack of fulfillment or job security in their previous roles. Others explained that Generations X and Y were attracted to real estate because of the apparent freedom and flexibility it offered. While these may be partially correct, I’m more inclined to think that they were following the money (and there’s certainly nothing wrong with that).

Rather than offer my own opinion as to whether this trend is ultimately beneficial or detrimental to the industry—because, frankly, I’m not entirely sure—I’d like to get your perspectives on this. Have you seen a significant increase in colleagues and competitors? Do you think this has helped or hurt real estate?

Other Major Real Estate Developments of the Decade

1. Housing Goes Boom and Bust

2. The Fall of Fannie and Freddie

3. Government-Led Recovery

5. Commercial Crash

6. HVCC

7. Record Lows in Mortgage Rates

8. RE.net

9. Real Estate on TV

10. Going Green

There was a lot of ground covered during the Board of Directors meeting Monday at the 2009 REALTORS® Conference & Expo. Here are some of the highlights:

• The REALTOR® Property Resource (RPR): Attendees got a guided tour of this impressive new site, which ultimately aims to cover pretty much every property in the United States. RPR will be a massive database that will allow NAR members (and only NAR members) to search properties across numerous criteria, from school districts to tax info. Users will also be able to gauge the value of a property based on home improvement projects, site conditions, and comparables. Call it contemporary. Call it cutting edge. Just don’t call it an MLS.

• HouseLogic.com: This new consumer-oriented site will help consumers become responsible home owners. Through HouseLogic, they can get information about high-value improvement projects and interact with other “alpha” home owners. For REALTORS®, it’s way to connect with and serve as a resource for current and potential clients, and get consumers behind certain legislative calls to action.

• REALTOR.com: Errol Samuelson, president of REALTOR.com®, emphasized the company’s dominance of the market. He offered some interesting stats to make his point: REALTOR.com currently holds 63 percent of the market, and the nearest competitor only has 10 percent. Moreover, approximately five billion properties were viewed on REALTOR.com last month. Samuelson also discussed some important new features, such as predictive search and social media elements, and pointed attendees to two sites: beta.realtor.com, a test site for improved search and Freetrainingatrealtor.com, which offers programs to familiarize users with the site and its functionality.

NAR CEO Dale Stinton summed it all up nicely after the RPR demo.

“This is a very big day for us,” he said. “We’re redefining and redeveloping the entire value proposition for our members. It’s not about technology. It’s not about money. It’s not about NAR politics. It’s not about the business of NAR. It’s about core competencies: We’re oriented toward service, we have scale, and we have leadership, and we’re trying to take advantage of these qualities on your behalf. We’re laser-focused on providing services to our member agents and brokers now.”

For complete Board of Directors meeting coverage, go here.

It pays to be a REALTOR®. That was the message from NAR CEO Dale Stinton at the Board of Directors meeting Saturday at the 2009 Midyear Legislative Meetings in Washington D.C.

Addressing the board during the 2010 budget proposal presentation, Stinton said any REALTOR® who had maintained continuous membership between 1991-2010 would have paid $1,282 in total national dues.

“What have the last 20 years been like for you?” he asked the audience. “You’ve probably had your ups and downs, but you’ve probably had a good 20 years. What would you have paid for all the services you got [from NAR]?”

Stinton also explained how NAR stacked up against other national professional associations. While REALTORS® pay $80 in annual dues, auto workers pay $377, attorneys pay $399, and plumbers pay $449 each year for their respective associations.

And what do REALTORS® get in return for this investment? Stinton offered a by-the-numbers breakdown:

• Legislative/Regulatory/Advocacy: $30
• Economic and Tech Research: $6
• Publications (REALTOR® magazine and Realtor.org): $6
• Consumer/Member relationship building: $15
• Code of Ethics/Legal Policy Enforcement: $4
• Commercial/International Alliance Partnerships: $5
• State and Local Association Services and Support: $10
• Customer Service and Product Suite: $4
• Realtor.com: free
• Sentrilock: free
• The REALTOR® Federal Credit Union: free
• ePD (ePropertyData): free
• REFormsnet: free
• The REALTOR® Information Network (RIN): free
• The Real Estate Buyer’s Agent Council (REBAC): free
• Second-Century Initiatives (new technology ventures, consumer Web site): free

Stinton added that even in tough times, NAR would continue to invest in resources that would serve its members at a reasonable cost to them. To do this, he said the association would run a budget deficit (based on dues coming from a projected $1,060,000 members) over the next few years, making up the gap with its financial reserves.

“We’re focused on things that don’t cost you money but give you value,” he explained. “We’ve been saving for a rainy day, and now it’s raining pretty hard and we’re opening the umbrella.”