The Sacramento County Association of Realtors membership has declined 12 percent to about 5,600, compared to 6,340 a year ago. The association expected an 18 percent drop, but local real estate officials say that the number of foreclosures may actually help keep more Realtors from leaving the profession. The state currently has about 172,000 Realtors, about 17 percent less than a year ago, according to the California Association of Realtors. The Department of Real Estate, the state agency that licenses real estate professionals, says the number of people applying for the real estate salesperson test declined to 1,300 in January, down from about 11,000 eight months earlier.