Winners and losers: Firms try to adapt to changing scene: Real estate brokers have hot but busy year as sales frenzy continues.

Winners

The number of homes and condominium units sold in 2004 dipped slightly versus 2003 but the relentless increases in sale prices more than made up for the decline as far as real estate brokers and agents doing the selling are concerned.

Although brokers complained that housing stock was in short supply, anyone with a listing saw an average 27 percent increase in the median price of a single family home in the San Fernando Valley through October, according to data from the Southland Regional Association of Realtors.

Despite about a 5 percent drop in the number of homes sold through October, compared with the same period last year, most homes that came on the market sold within 30 days.

But it wasn't all gravy.

With many homes on the market less than 10 days in the early part of the year, 2004 was a very difficult year for a broker trying to find a home for a client. And the competition among home buyers meant some who rushed into an agreement later pulled out, increasing the stress levels for brokers along with their seller clients.

As the year wore on, the market cooled, and brokers now are seeing a 90-day supply of inventory compared to the 30-day supply and less that characterized much of the year.

But for brokers at least, the good outweighed the bad in 2004.

"The year was an incredible market," said Lynn Rinker, president of the Southland Regional Association of Realtors and a realtor with Coldwell Banker. "It was extremely hot through most of the year, and for most of us there was an unprecedented level of activity and a shortage of homes available for sale."