Are Sequim Realtors leaving the business?  This real estate recession has taken a serious toll on many people.  Millions of homeowners are being foreclosed on around the country.  Homeowners who want to sell their homes find themselves competing with a large inventory of homes that have been discounted by as much as 70% in some cities like Las Vegas.  Home builders have seen their business almost completely disappear in this housing glut.  Mortgage companies, title companies, and escrow companies have seen their sources of revenue shrink to a fraction of what it was in 2005.  And all the subcontractors and suppliers have been hit hard.  Many businesses have gone out of business or downscaled dramatically.

Sequim Realtors Gone?

The answer to the question is yes.  Sequim Realtors have been leaving the business, and according to the Sequim Association of Realtors about 50% have left the business since 2006.  That’s huge.  Today there are only 124 Sequim Realtors compared to 210 in 2006.  No one knows for sure how many are part-timers and how many are full time professionals, but the percentage could be as high as 40% or 50%  This could mean Sequim only has 50 to 62 full time Realtors.

I recently talked to an agent standing at the Windermere kiosk in the Silverdale Mall, which is a one hour drive from Sequim.  He was sitting on a stool playing with his cell phone while hundreds of teenage girls walked past and around his nice display of homes for sale.  In a friendly and joking way I ask him, “Sold any houses to any teenage girls lately?”  He was quite defensive, and proceeded to adamantly insist that the traditional bricks-and-mortar, and presumably his kiosk, are the greatest and the way of the future.  Hmm.  Maybe he doesn’t know about the Internet.  He did admit in our conversation that Kitsap County has lost 50% of their Realtors since 2006.

Sequim Realtors Mostly Traditional

Sequim Realtors are fairly traditional.  But the market has hit traditional brokerages hard.  Expensive bricks-and-mortar, massive overhead, prohibitive print advertising, and other traditional marketing approaches to generating leads have hit Sequim Realtors too, and this recession is the straw that may just break that big business model.

Sequim Realtors Quitting

The truth is many Sequim Realtors are quitting because they can.  Most are married to spouses who have a retirement pension, and being a Realtor was a way to earn some extra money.  In this real estate recession where it is much harder to make a living, many have just called it quits.  For those among the Sequim Realtors who make their living as full time Realtors, this is not all bad.  In the end, the real winners are consumers who get better Internet tools and information and the most experienced professionals in the business.

Sequim Realtors are leaving the business as in many areas of the country.

Last Updated on September 4, 2011 by Chuck Marunde