The number of real estate agents in Nevada has outpaced demand for their services, and the profession will see a dwindling in its ranks over the next two years, according to the report compiled by the Las Vegas consulting firm Applied Analysis.

As of January, there were 36,691 licensed real estate practitioners in Nevada, 21.3 percent of whom were inactive, according to the Nevada Real Estate Division.

Whether there are price escalations or declines, the report suggests that it's highly unlikely that the volume of transactions reported between 2003 and 2005 will be repeated during the next 24 months and "it will be difficult if not impossible to sustain this level of employment."

The movement out of the industry was visible in the number of brokers and agents who didn't renew their licenses. Through the end of January, the statewide number was 3,004, up 12 percent from 2,678 for the 12 months ending in June. That number, however, doesn't account for someone who upgraded a license, said Gail Anderson, administrator of the real estate division.

The profession saw its ranks double statewide from 18,359 brokers and agents in 2001 to 36,691 at the end of January. Of those, 7,827 had inactive licenses, the real estate division reported. In Clark County, 4,518 out of 22,872 license holders, or 19.8 percent, had inactive licenses.

The Association of Realtors report said the number of inactive licenses, however, doesn't tell the story of the industry or whether a structural employment shift is afoot. The share of inactive licensed agents was 31.8 percent in 1996, 29 percent in 2000 and 20.6 percent in 2004.

What is troubling, however, is the number of licensed real estate professionals per 1,000 residents, the report said. That statistic stood at 19.8 percent per 1,000 residents in October, the highest on record. That's 32.5 percent higher than the 14.9 licensed professionals per 1,000 population reported a decade ago or the 12.7 per 1,000 reported in 2000, the report said.

It's a profession that attracted everyone from strippers and school teachers to waiters and blackjack dealers with the lure of easy money by simply listing a house, only to have a buyer later that day.

That's changed with the slowdown in the housing industry that has seen some agents' incomes go from more than $100,000 a year to $1,000 a month.

Not everyone, however, will follow the trend predicted by the Association of Realtors.

The slowdown hasn't deterred Mike Denley, a barber who owns Mr. Clippers in Henderson. He said he still plans to get out of the barber business in the next year or two to concentrate on the real estate business full time.

Denley, who got his license in January 2006, said he's even more invigorated after he closed his first sale two weeks ago.

"I can't believe it," Denley said. "It was exhilarating."

Denley said friends of his in the real estate industry have had to turn to other jobs to support their income until the housing market rebounds. He said he's confident that will happen soon, and he'll be ready.

"There are opportunities for those who will do the business," Denley said. "Before, you could put a sign in a yard and could have made it. Now, you have to work."

Meanwhile, the real estate profession continues to be important to the state's economy, the report said.

The industry and its direct employees generate $138.3 million annual in major state and local revenues, including $50.4 million in retail sales and use taxes, $83.4 million in property taxes and $4.5 million in gaming percentage fees.

Those employed in real estate sales, leasing and related positions account for 3.8 percent of the state's workforce. Real estate professionals and their employees account for 48,000 jobs in Nevada, the report said.

Total personal incomes of real estate professionals and their employees are estimated at $1.9 billion annually or 4.7 percent of the total wage and salary payments statewide.

The average income for these workers is just under $40,000 annually, about five percentage points higher than the statewide average, the report said.