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The top 75 Realtors in the Steamboat Springs market accounted for 74 percent of the dollar volume in 2008. And at least 143 Realtors didn't close a single transaction last year.

An analysis of sales patterns by David Baldinger Jr., manager and owner broker at Steamboat Village Brokers, shows that the top 100 brokers produced all but 18 percent of the sale volume, a sign that more than 300 Realtors here shared a minority of the transactions.

However, all but about 10 percent of more than 400 Realtors licensed in Steamboat have paid their annual dues of about $500 with the Steamboat Springs Board of Realtors and remain active.

There weren't as many commissions to go around for Steamboat's rank and file Realtors in 2008, but the attrition rate hasn't proved to be as great as the 20 percent the board was anticipating in December 2008.

Lori Thompson, president of the Steamboat Springs Board of Realtors and a broker/owner with Colorado Group Realty, said Steamboat's 10 percent decline to 395 Realtors is typical for mountain markets this year.

"I just returned from a meeting of the Colorado Association of Realtors in Denver, and the Mountain District reported that Telluride is down the most, at 20 percent, with a lot of the others between 10 and 15 percent," Thompson said.

Most of the local Realtors face a challenge this year if they hope to prosper in the Steamboat market. Transaction volume last year was off 58 percent.

Based on 409 active Realtors - not counting affiliate members and listing service only members - Baldinger Jr. was able to determine that 267 of them, or 65.3 percent of the total, closed at least one transaction in 2008, meaning they either were the listing broker or selling broker on a sale that was consummated.

The other side of that statistic reveals that 35 percent of the brokers, or at least 142, did not have a single sale.

It is an oft-repeated saying in real estate that 20 percent of the brokers account for 80 percent of the sales. Baldinger said he's always had the sense that was close to the truth, but it wasn't until this month that he did the research to show how that truism compares to the Steamboat market.

Baldinger Jr.'s research, applied to the $459 million in dollar volume that went through the Steamboat Springs Multiple Listing Service last year, means the top 75 brokers handled $339.6 million, or 74 percent, of those transactions.

Real estate commissions always are negotiable - particularly listing commissions - but are typically a little less than 6 percent, with the listing broker taking a little less than 3 percent and the selling broker taking about the same. The split with the brokerage varies depending upon the brokerages involved and their business arrangement with individual brokers.

Listing brokers spend significant sums marketing their listed properties.

Baldinger Jr.'s research showed that the top 25 brokers accounted for 44.23 percent of dollar volume, and the top 50 accounted for 62.1 percent of the total. The top 100, or 24.44 percent of the total number of brokers, accounted for 82 percent of dollar volume.

Hoping for a rebound

Thompson said many local Realtors remain optimistic that clients they are working with will close on purchases in 2009; however, if that does not happen, the rate of attrition here could be higher.

"I think that next year, we may see even a bigger drop in Realtors," Thompson said.

Research by Bruce Carta, of Land Title Guarantee, shows that the number of transactions in 2008 was 1,077, down from a peak of 3,241 in 2005 and lower than the 1,943 recorded in 2003. However, the number of transaction handled by real estate brokers was likely lower, because Carta's figures include every sale recorded by Routt County. That figure includes a significant amount of dollar volume that wasn't handled by a Realtor.

Barkley Robinson, of Prudential Steamboat Realty, is in just his second year in real estate, but he said he didn't hesitate to pay $500 to remain active this year.

"I'm fortunate that I had a really good year (in 2008) for being new in the business," Robinson said. "There's plenty to do, and I'm working hard here."

He's proud to say that he ranked among the top 12 percent of all Prudential agents nationally.

Robinson, 35, worked for nine years in Steamboat as a structural engineer. He said the many contacts he made among young professionals in his previous career helped successfully launch his new career.

Thompson, who said she has had much better years in the past than 2008, acknowledged she only did "a couple of deals" last year, but said they were substantial deals that will carry her into 2009.

"Last year was a really tough year," Thompson said. "With all of the construction and new developments, I don't think many of us realized going into 2008, what it would be like."

David Lacey, of Steamboat Village Brokers, is a 35-year veteran in Steamboat and has seen the ups and downs before.

"We're in for a bit of a rough time, but I've seen it before," Lacey said.

Savings crucial

Lacey is getting through the economic downturn with the help of three rental properties, including one in Grand Junction. He said veteran Realtors are accustomed to living on less than their commissions because they've always had to file estimated taxes with the IRS and plan for business to be quiet during the winter months.

"It's the real pros that are going to hang in there and succeed," he added.