I heard from an acquaintance that a full-time real estate agent in Montreal, who's been several years in the trade, has not closed a single deal this year, which is a generally booming year for the housing market in Montreal. It's already the beginning of September right now.

Think about how much pressure he feels when he gets up everyday and drives around and goes about his work of selling houses.

Being a real estate agent is a high-cost and high-maintenance occupation.