Some even find themselves among those facing foreclosure as their business and income dry up.

They are partners, colleagues, friends and associates. They are agents, lenders, appraisers and builders. They are people used to the pattern of commission-based work, hustling in busy spring and summer months to prepare for slow winters, staying abreast of the shifting business landscape so they can be out in front of the newest products and latest trends.

Many have lived well in the booming real estate industry over the last ten years. However, loan companies started having trouble and started going out of business in the summer of 2007 leading to this current downturn. For professionals in the industry, income has fallen rapidly and many have struggled to pay their bills and keep there homes. Agents are no different from others in this struggling economy. Because their income has dried up, their bills are piling up and their houses are entering the foreclosure process. Among the many victims of the housing industry meltdown, the millions of people who work in the field are among the hardest hit.

Nearly a half-million construction jobs in the residential sector have evaporated since their highest level in September 2006. Between 1996 and 2006, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) nearly doubled its membership. The number is now declining rapidly. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that jobs in "housing-related industries" were consistently below prior-year levels throughout all of 2007 and thus far into 2008.

Like nearly everyone else in the industry, income levels for agent and brokers are also down sharply. NAR has reported that incomes for both agents and brokers have been down more than 10% since 2006.

Agents everywhere are seeking the stability of a regular salary to either supplement or replace their commission-based income. For some, the situation is dire. Some agents have scaled back their operation to have enough time to take on second jobs. Others have left the field all together. Some older agents who don't have any other extensive work experience are finding it extremely difficult to get another job. These now under-employed real estate professionals are trying to scrape by on low paying jobs that offer $10-an-hour or less. Many are not optimistic about their economic prospects, especially given how many peers are losing jobs and income during the market's contraction.

This downturn also is hitting newer agents especially hard. Even those who had strong starts are seeing business dry up and experiencing transactions take longer than normal, or even fall apart, due to the financial issues facing their clients.

Even in the slower market, there is still some business in the industry, but these days it's sporadic instead of steady and haphazard instead of reliable. Professionals who have spent the good times preparing for the bad will be the best equipped to survive in this contracting market.

Source MSNBC