Best real estate agents get severe haircuts

It’s tough at the top of the hierarchy of local real estate agents.

You may have noticed in this weekend’s IBJ list of All-Star Agents that only 45 teams made the list, down from 58 last year. The seven individuals included on the list were about half the 13 who made it last year.

To make the list, the team or individual must rack up total sales of at least $20 million in 2008 and 2009.

Here’s additional perspective on the conditions.

The top 45 teams sold about the same number of houses in 2009 as in 2008, just over 1,000, but the total value of the sales plummeted a whopping 27 percent, to $200 million.

The individuals saw their sale numbers fall 10 percent and the total value of the sales slide 18 percent, to $81 million.

Lots of people would like to be able to say they sold $15 million of anything last year. That’s what the top solo agent, Carl Vargas of F.C. Tucker Co., pulled off. Still, even Vargas was down about $1 million.

Any thoughts?