SA's housing slump has caused the number of registered estate agents to plummet, but that's not stopping new players from entering the market SA's prolonged housing slump has caused the number of registered estate agents to plummet from 80000 at the peak of the market in 2006/2007 to 38000, the latest Estate Agency Affairs Board figures show.But that's not stopping new players from entering the market. US giant Keller Williams Realty, which opened its first SA franchise in January last year, is quietly but steadily making inroads into the local real estate industry.In fact, SA is now the fastest-growing region globally for Keller Williams, which has bucked the trend by embarking on an aggressive growth trail since the 2008 crisis, when most other real estate groups were bleeding agents and turnover.Over the past two years, the group has expanded its 96000-strong agent base in the US and Canada to around a dozen other countries.Local property veterans Niël Cronje, former CEO of Engel...
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