The National Association of Realtors is not a fountain of youth -- the median age of the trade group's members is 54.

Flickr image by Jiaren Lau.Flickr image by Jiaren Lau.

The National Association of Realtors is not a fountain of youth -- the median age of the trade group's members is 54.

The housing downturn has weeded out some of the less-experienced folks, but even during the boom -- when the group was flooded with newly minted real estate licensees -- the median age only dropped to 51.

At Realtor associations across the country, however, the young have been making themselves known -- and their elders are taking notice.

The Young Professionals Network launched in 2006 as the brainchild of NAR's Realtor Magazine. The idea for the network sprang from the magazine's annual "30 Under 30" feature that honors the association's youngest rising stars.

"We realized when we attended the national conferences that there really weren't many young people attending or in leadership at the national or local level," said Shannon King, one of 2005's "30 Under 30" honorees and a current member of YPN's national advisory board. She was asked to participate in YPN at its inception


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