Napa's Realtor ranks thinner - Napa Valley Register

Selling Real Estate since 1998, "those were my biggest years,"Sanchez said. Starting in 2002, during the real estate boom,Sanchez said he closed 10 to 12 deals per year. His full-time job was as ananimal control officer with the county. In 2007, he closed fourdeals in the first quarter, then nothing the rest of the year, hesaid. According to theNorth Bay Association of Realtors (NORBAR), the group's membershipdeclined 22 percent over the past five years, from 634 in August2006 to 496 in August 2011. Sixty-five percent of NORBAR members are over age 50,and 31 percent over age 60, she noted. In addition, "There's a lotof folks that maintain licenses but are not actively selling realestate," she said. Some are now into appraisals or mortgages, whileothers left the industry completely. Gularte noted that the membership numberdoesn't define full- or part-time real estate agents. They have other jobs they aredoing and they are doing this to supplement their other income orvice versa," he said. The market isvery competitive and all commission-driven. That makes it tough fora lot of people to hang in there. Sanchez said the Century 21 real estate office he works for usedto have more than 30 people. I've closed some escrows in 2011, and I've been doingall right. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. View all of our featured businesses #latest-biz-offers dt { float: left; padding-right: 10px; }#latest-biz-offers dd. Realtors