Photo by Josh Meltzer | The Roanoke Times

Long & Foster Realtors agent Kelly Shingleton (right) talks with her client and mother-in-law Jane Hale concerning the sale of Hale's Raleigh Court home while Hale's cat Andre relaxes on a seat in the living room. Shingleton is just starting her career as a real estate agent.

Photo by Josh Meltzer | The Roanoke Times

MKB Realtors agents Gwen Thomas (left), Paula Bumgarner (red jacket) and Joe Meredith (far right) wait to tour a newly built house Thursday in Roanoke County.

Robert Gibb wanted to earn extra money and have more flexible work hours.

Kelly Shingleton bought her first house at 20 years old and wanted to reach out to young adults looking to buy a place of their own.

Shingleton and Gibb are two of the newest faces in local real estate.

They're go-getters, primed to make a splash in this new job, but they are among a declining number nationally and in the Roanoke Valley who are looking to real estate as a career. Often characterized by agents driving sleek, expensive vehicles, the real estate profession appears to be losing some of its glamour.

As real estate sales slow nationally and in the Roanoke Valley, the number of people who are becoming real estate agents in Virginia is declining. The number of applicants for the real estate exam fell 45 percent during the first six months of 2007, compared with the first six months of 2006. That's according to the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation.

Across the country, a growing number of real estate salespeople are getting out of the business. Real estate associations in California and Florida, some of the hardest-hit states, are reporting the loss of substantial portions of their membership.

From 2003 through 2006, sales of homes soared nationwide during a period that most real estate professionals have described as one like no other. It was a time when sales set records, such as in 2005 when existing home sales rose 4.2 percent from 2004, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Interest rates stayed low. Homes received offers from multiple buyers at a time. The pace at real estate offices was frenzied and hectic.

This sales-driven environment lured fresh talent quickly.

Now, home-buying activity has slowed, consumer debt is rising and some houses are sitting on the market longer.

August home sales fell 15 percent from a year ago to 496 units sold in the Roanoke Valley and nearby communities.

This marked the fifth consecutive month that fewer homes changed hands than during the same month of 2006, according to the Roanoke Valley Association of Realtors.

Kit Hale, general manager for MKB Realtors in Roanoke, called the decline in sales agent applicants "significant." But he said fewer applicants and local drops in home sales were "more of a normalization" than a sign of permanent weakness in the market.

"We're really just getting back to where we were in 2003," he said.

Still there isn't as much new blood in the real estate sales pipeline as last year.

"In the good years, I'd go in a restaurant and a waiter would see my real estate pin [a small gold R logo] and say, 'I'm getting my real estate license.' You don't hear that now," Hale said.

Bill Gearhart, principal broker at Coldwell Banker Townside, Realtors in Roanoke, agreed that some agents are getting out of the business because of the market slowdown.

"We've had the best market we've ever had in 2004, 2005 and 2006, and that attracted a lot of people," he said. "A few of those [agents] made it, and most of those didn't."

Still, there hasn't been a major exodus of real estate agents at Gearhart's office. The turnover rate is about 5 percent for Coldwell Banker's locations in Roanoke, Blacksburg and Radford. Each year, the office generally loses 5 percent of its agents. But it also gains 5 percent, Gearhart said.

To be sure, some Roanoke area real estate offices have had an increase in sales agents. The number of real estate agents working for Long & Foster's Southwest Virginia region, which includes the Roanoke Valley, jumped 5 percent this August, compared to August 2006.

The reason? Elaine Mercer, manager of career development for Long & Foster's Southwest region, said home sales in the Roanoke Valley are more steady than in other parts of the state, such as in Northern Virginia, where the sales environment has been more volatile. Also, she said, people are attracted to real estate because it allows them to plan their own work schedules.

She said media reports of foreclosures and the fall of some lending institutions are causing some people to reconsider selling real estate for a living.

"It fuels this negative perception of real estate as a career," she said. "But this is a good time. ... Interest rates are down. It's all in if you see the glass half full or half empty."

Membership in the Roanoke Valley Association of Realtors is steady. The association, whose members are established professionals, had 1,701 members in September 2006. In mid-September, there were 1,706 members, according to the RVAR.

Nationally, Realtors earned a median income of $47,700 in 2006, down from $49,300 in 2004, according to a report by the NAR.

To hold the title of Realtor, sales agents must pay annual dues for a membership in the NAR and in local and state organizations, such as the RVAR and the Virginia Association of Realtors. Roanoke area Realtors, who join the RVAR and the national and state associations, pay about $364 in annual dues, said Laura Benjamin, executive director of the RVAR.

Realtors also agree to a standard code of ethics for their work. In the Roanoke Valley, a sales agent must be a Realtor to access the Multiple Listing Services, a database that lists homes for sale. They also must pay $31 monthly to have MLS access, Benjamin said.

In Virginia, only half of all sales agents are Realtors, according to the VAR.

Licensed brokers earned a median income of $73,700 in 2006, and sales agents earned $34,600, according to the NAR. Brokers are a step up from real estate agents.

To be a broker, real estate sales agents must have been in the business for at least three years. They must take courses and pass an exam that covers in-depth sales topics, such as management issues, appraisals and investments. Licensed brokers operate real estate firms, and some may sell real estate as well.

Historically, real estate agents, on average, charged a 6 percent commission for their work. Now increasingly more negotiate their commission rate lower to win a sale. There are some real estate firms in the Roanoke Valley that routinely charge lower fees.

There's other competition for real estate agents. Some homeowners decide to sell their home without the help of a real estate agent, though it's generally a small number. Nationally, in 2006, 12 percent of sellers sold their home themselves, according to the NAR.

As for those agents who are new to real estate, they are learning to make their way in a career that is ultra competitive. Standing out among the rest is key to winning sales.

"I make sure I am adamant about trying to return calls," said Gwen Thomas, who became a full-time sales agent at MKB Realtors this spring. "I try to call people back in an hour."

Thomas is a former employee of The Roanoke Times' circulation department.

Shingleton, 30, who hasn't yet sold a home, has centered much of her time on working open houses in an effort to win face-time with clients who may not yet be working with a real estate agent.

She has noticed that the slower home sales market has deterred some people from becoming real estate agents. Not Shingleton.

"It's something that I'm going to be doing the rest of my life, so I'm willing to put up with the ups and downs of it," she said. She formerly worked as a manager at Katie's Ice Cream & Chocolates locally.

Two months ago, Gibb, 29, started selling real estate part time for Coldwell Banker Townside, Realtors in Roanoke. He's recently decided to make it a full-time career. Gibb said his ability to speak Spanish hopefully will allow him to reach out to a Hispanic clientele.

Before he jumps into sales full time, he's finishing up a monthlong substitute teaching stint at Blacksburg Middle School. But already Gibb is working with a client to close on a home sale, he said during a phone interview from the classroom, the sound of other students in the background.

"If you can make it over that initial hump ... I should be able to be successful in real estate," he said.