EAST MANATEE, Fla. – Feb. 28, 2008 – Real estate agents in Manatee County are leaving at double the rate they did just one year ago.

Manatee Association of Realtors membership fell by nearly 19 percent when it came time to pay dues this year, according to Manatee Association of Realtors President Debbie Roth.

That is nearly double the 10 percent decrease the organization experienced last year. But longtime real estate agents like Chuck West aren’t running for the hills.

For more than a decade, West has sold homes in Manatee County, first with Michael Saunders & Co. He then founded All Broker’s Realty, West. Now, despite the housing slowdown, West is joining a new partnership and staying in the business.

Teaming up with Lynda Melnick, West has taken over as broker and president of Latitude 27 Realty Group at 5214 State Road 64 E.

In order to buy into Latitude 27, West sold his interest in All Broker’s Realty. He never even considered leaving real estate, even given the current market conditions.

“This is my career, this is Lynda’s career and we believe in the business,” West said.

Taking a proactive and positive approach to the real estate market may have been easier a few years ago but sluggish sales and lower prices haven’t deterred West and Melnick. As partners, they hope hard work and dedication will see them through the challenging times.

The market slowdown has seen many smaller real estate companies merging with larger ones to stay alive.

Already this year, RE/MAX Properties and RE/MAX Gulfstream merged to form the RE/MAX Alliance Group. The mergers allowed advertising dollars to reach further and benefit more agents, RE/MAX agent May Aston told the Herald last month.

Mergers started becoming more prevalent in 2006, the same year companies started losing numbers of agents due to dwindling sales. “Bear in mind, a lot of those people got into the industry in 2005 when things were booming,” Roth said.

Latitude 27 hopes its online marketing and concierge services will set the boutique agency apart.

With listings ranging from the mid $100,000s to more than $2 million, the company provides a list of services that include basic maintenance like vacuuming and dusting to staging.

“I myself have raked leaves out of swimming pools,” Melnick said.

Much like prices, Roth thinks the falling number of real estate professionals is just a return to normalcy. During the real estate boom, many people got their real estate licensing, hoping to cash in on the hot market.

West and Melnick acknowledge it can now take double the work to sell a home.

“We both have families so we have to make it work,” West said.