Realtors are making more money as home prices rise

The net median income of US Realtors increased by 5% between 2017 and 2018 as home prices boosted income.

The 2019 National Association of Realtors Member Profile released Wednesday also revealed that women made up a greater share of the profession, 67% in 2018 compared to 63% in 2017.

“The median brokerage sales volume increased to $1.9 million in 2018 from $1.8 million in 2017," said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist.

Median gross income of Realtors was $41,800 in 2018, an increase from $39,800 in 2017; although those with 16 years or more experience had a median gross income of $71,000—down from $78,800 in 2017.

Those with experience of two years or below had a median gross income of $9,300, a slight increase from $8,330.

But while income generally gained, deal volume was flat.

"As the real estate industry continues to feel the impact of limited inventory, the typical number of transactions Realtors make in a year remained at 11 in 2018, the same as in the previous report,” added Yun.

The report shows that there were 1.32 million members of the NAR in 2018 but that the median tenure in real estate slipped from 10 years to 8 years; with the median time spent at a real estate firm holding steady at 4 years.

The typical Realtor
The profile of a typical Realtor is a 54 year old white female who attended college and was a homeowner.

Just 4% of Realtors said that real estate was their first career with many coming from management, business, and finance (16%); or sales/retail (15%).

Sixty-eight percent of Realtors were licensed sales agents, 20% held broker licenses and 14% held broker associate licenses.

More than half of Realtors were affiliated with an independent company; and almost 9 in 10 were independent contractors at their firms.