Realtors, Realtors everywhere

To counter media reports about a decline in the population of Realtors, the National Association of Realtors trade group today announced that Realtor ranks have actually grown since the end of 2006. Membership in the trade group has increased from 1.358 million at the end of 2006 to 1.363 million at the end of July 2007, a gain of 0.42 percent.

NAR had earlier projected a 4.3 percent membership drop this year, to 1.3 million, and a 10 percent decline from that level to 1.17 million in 2008 (see Inman News story). And the California Association of Realtors had projected a 7.1 percent drop in membership compared to 2006.

NAR's membership has generally risen over time but has experienced declines during real estate down-cycles.

"While the media has been focused on a decline in national sales for the past year, all real estate is local. We expect 2007 to be the fifth highest year on record for existing-home sales. That historically strong level is supporting our membership base," the group's spokesman said in a statement.

There are fewer sales to go around these days for NAR's growing membership base. An NAR forecast released this month projects a 6.8 percent drop in existing-home sales and an 18.9 percent drop in new single-family home sales this year compared to 2006.

In California, which has the largest number of Realtors among all states, the California Department of Real Estate reported that the total number of real estate licensees in the state (which includes Realtors and non-Realtors) grew to 538,598 in July, up 5.98 percent compared to July 2006 and up 0.29 percent compared to June 2007.

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