This should be a great time to be selling real estate, which may be why there are more than 10,000 realtors in Southwest Florida. That doesn't mean, however, that each one of those card-carrying agents is making it big. Far from it.

No data exist that gauge the individual prosperity of local realtors. But at John R. Wood Realtors, based in Naples, the anecdotal evidence shows that agents are hopping. "The market's been strong and everyone has been achieving success," says Phil Wood, company president. In 2004, the firm sold $2 billion worth of real estate and this year it expects to hit up to $2.7 billion.

That success often boils down to experience, according to a recent survey by the National Association of Realtors. Across the country, those who have been at it six to 10 years in 2004 earned a median of $58,700, while those with two years or fewer on the job made a median of $12,850. Realtors who have at least 26 years of experience earned $92,600 and above, the survey says.

So the realtors with contacts, talent and a strong work ethic are doing well. Those who dabble-and there are many-may be in for disappointment, says Gary Atkinson, president of the 5,200-member Realtor Association of Greater Fort Myers and the Beach. "Real estate is not a part-time job," he says.

Whether it's a slow market or a hot one, "20 percent of the realtors do 80 percent of the business," says Atkinson.

Atkinson, a 16-year veteran now with

Re/Max Realty Group of Fort Myers, says the region has added 100 new agents a month for the past 18 months.

"It's like the old joke," Atkinson says. "When the police pull you over for speeding down here, they don't ask for a driver's license; they ask for a realtor's license because so many more people have them."

-Phil Borchmann