There is an old adage that says that in tough real estate markets the agents that survive are the best agents. I first heard this in one of my first real estate training classes. And, I absolutely, positively believed it.  It made perfect sense to me. In tough times, the best shine, right?

Except that now that we're well into a very tough real estate market, as I look around, I'm entirely unsure that this widely believed wisdom is at all true. Yes, there are lots of good real estate agents who are doing just fine. (Although I don't know that I've talked to anyone in the last six months who hasn't complained about slower business.) But I've also seen a large number of excellent agents leave to pursue other careers or return to previous careers.

So maybe the question is, what constitutes the best real estate agent?

If you define the best agent, by those who do the most business, then the old adage is perhaps true. If you've done high volumes of business during the boom times, if you were smart, you put away a fair amount of cash for a rainy day (or year!)

But, if by best, you mean those who are best able to serve the needs of their clients, I'm not sure that they are always the survivors. Some of those excellent agents are just too new to have built up the client base or the financial wherewithal to survive this market.

The ability to attract new business is a prerequisite for surviving as a self-employed real estate agent. But it's not a prerequisite for doing a good job taking care of your clients. Those are different skill sets.

Lawrence Yun, the chief economist for NAR has just released a blog post talking about the current surplus of real estate agents. Unfortunately, that number is not adjusting downward nearly as fast as home sales and home prices! But it surely will.

And, I suspect that some of those who survive will be the cream of the crop. And, some will simply survive because of a fat bank account and lots of time in the business.