It was always the case that a large percentage of RE agents do few or sometimes no sales over a year. That is why nobody pays them a salary! It was always a field with superstar brokers and agents doing the lion's share and some competent mid-level agents, and then a bunch of non-performers who like seeing houses, socializing and handing out cards. They are usually married to a bread-winning spouse- those who are not quiet after a few years are replaced by others. It only takes a short time to take the classes, take the test, and get a license as a RE agent. The RE sales part is very hands-on and low-tech - even if they list their property on Zillow or use a cloud service to handle the closing $.