The number of licensed Realtors in Tooele County is declining for the first time in several years, according to data from the Tooele County Board of Realtors.

There were 179 full- and part-time Realtors working in Tooele County at the end of 2007, but that number stands at 160 presently -- a drop of 11 percent in two months. The decline is significant after several years of dramatically increasing agent counts.

The number of Realtors increased from 84 in 2005, to 154 by March 2007, to 179 as of the end of 2007, according to data from the Tooele County Board of Realtors.

Coldwell Banker Broker Brad Sutton said his 25-agent firm has lost a few agents, but the decline hasn't been precipitous.

"We probably lost five agents over 2007, but since the beginning of this year we gained one so far and possibly another one that hasn't committed yet," he said. "We're also not doing too bad right now with home sales, but we're not back to our previous levels of two years ago. I'd say as far as agents coming in there might be more who are hesitant because of the area's slower sales."

Long-time local real estate broker Jay Kirk said he has seen mostly part-time real estate agents leave because the housing market has been slumping. He said several of these agents were newcomers to the profession who jumped in when Tooele County's real estate market was still hot.

"A lot of people got their license and thought they would make a lot of money out here, but things didn't work out as the market declined," he said. "It's been mostly part-time Realtors leaving, and if they don't make enough money to pay their dues it would be crazy for them to stay anyway."

Lana McKean, branch broker for Davidson Realty, said she had also seen a few agents leave her company over time -- mostly people from Salt Lake City who wanted to sell in Tooele County when the market was at its high point.

"A lot of Realtors came out from Salt Lake because they saw a major opportunity in Tooele County, but they left when the market slowed down," she said. "However, most of our Realtors have stayed, and the market now is not as slow as it was a year ago."

Vicki Griffith of Prudential Real Estate said it was only her company's part-time agents who left over time, and for reasons unrelated to the housing market.

"We just saw part-time Realtors leave and none who were full-time, and they left for reasons such as retirement or because they were expecting," she said. "Some also didn't renew their dues, and some just wanted to get out of the business. It was also easier for the ones who were doing it part-time to leave because they weren't in it for their livelihood. All the ones who are in it full-time are still here."

Seana Westerman, president for the Tooele County Board of Realtors, said that in addition to a slowing market, rough winter weather are also to blame for the decrease in Realtors.

"The market conditions caused some Realtors to become inactive and others to leave the business altogether, but I also think the winter weather had a lot to do with it," Westerman said. "People don't want to move or look at houses during the winter if they don't have to."

Westerman is also optimistic the decline in agents won't continue.

"We also just had three new members join this past week and several more join this past month, and we don't anticipate losing any now that the Realtors have gone through the yearly dues billing system, where they have to pay county, state and national dues," she said. "We also have several future agents in training schools like Stringham's Real Estate and Mortgage School in Salt Lake. Realtors are being optimistic and saying the market won't get worse later on this year, and that it couldn't possibly get worse than it did last year."

Doug Radunich: dougrad@tooeletranscript.com