WASHINGTON (March 30, 2021) – Three in five Residential (62%) and Commercial (59%) Real Estate Agents® have chosen real estate careers on their own, and the majority of them demonstrate self-motivation, good people and problem-solving skills, according to one New National Association of Realtors® survey highlights key success factors.
NAR's Real Estate Career Choices: The Gender, Race, and Sexual Orientation report examined why members got into real estate, what skills are most important to success, how many transactions are typical, how much revenue they make, and how much money You deserve. The report analyzed differences by gender, race, sexual orientation, and property specialty – residential, commercial, or both.
"Realtors from all walks of life share the common purpose of making a positive difference in communities across the country and providing excellent service to their customers," said Charlie Oppler, president of NAR, a Franklin Lakes, New Jersey broker and CEO of Prominent Real Estate Sotheby & # 39; s International Realty. "As trusted consumer advocates, our members bring valuable insight and expertise into all aspects of residential and commercial property transactions."
Interest in real estate
Members who work exclusively in commercial real estate are more likely (26%) than resident members (16%) to have a professional connection that made it easier for them to enter the industry. However, residential members (26%) were twice as likely to be recommended by a friend by business members (13%). Commercial members are more attracted to real estate as it is an entrepreneurial field compared to private members (52% versus 47%). Three in four (76%) residents are attracted to flexible working hours, and three in five (59%) are attracted to working with people.
income
Among members who work exclusively in residential real estate, the median gross income was $ 35,700 for men and $ 33,500 for women. By race and ethnic group, White / Caucasian members had the highest median gross income of $ 49,400, followed by Asian / Pacific Islanders ($ 27,400), Hispanic / Latin American ($ 26,600), and Black / African American members ($ 16,700).
White / Caucasian members were both most likely (76%) to report that real estate is their only career and least likely to have any other source of income (24%). Conversely, Black / African American members made up the largest proportion of Realtors® who had another job outside of real estate (50%) and the smallest proportion of Realtors® who listed real estate as the sole source of income (51%).
"Understanding the income and transactional differences between races, sexes, and sexual orientation is the first step, but the next step is figuring out why there are differences," said Jessica Lautz, NAR vice president of Demographics and Behavioral Awareness. "For some, income may be lower because the typical home price is lower in a neighborhood, for others, they may only work part-time, and others may be new to the job and not own the company."
Commercial specialists had an average gross personal income from real estate of $ 150,300, compared to $ 34,100 for household specialists and $ 73,000 for dual specialists. However, the average income does not capture the distribution of income. As evidence of the company's entrepreneurial and competitive nature, 66% of Commercial Brokers® and 21% of Private Brokers® earned a gross personal income of more than $ 100,000 in 2020.
Race and ethnicity
At 10 years, the average tenure of White / Caucasian members in residential real estate was at least twice that of Asian / Pacific Islanders (five years), Black / African American (four years), and Hispanic / Latin American members (four years).
The average number of residential property transactions in 2020 for White / Caucasian members was seven, more than double the average number of residential property transactions for Hispanic / Latin American (three), Black / African American (two), and Asia-Pacific islanders (two ).
White / Caucasian members reported the highest median residential real estate sales at $ 1,998,000 in 2020, followed by Asian / Pacific Islanders ($ 1,017,000), Hispanic / Latin American ($ 766,500), and Black / African American members ($ 474,500).
Hispanic / Latin American and White / Caucasian members – 56% and 55%, respectively – are more likely to work in the suburbs. The largest proportion of members who work in small towns (18%) and rural areas (8%) are Asia-Pacific islanders. Black / African American members – 37% – are most likely to work in urban areas or towns.
In terms of difficulty in the first year of a career in residential real estate, Black / African American members were the most likely to report having another job as a challenge, at 41%. Members of the Asia Pacific Islander were most likely to report finding customers (77%) and getting proper education (27%) as barriers within their first year.
Nearly a quarter of Hispanic / Latin American members (24%) and one in five Asian / Pacific islanders (20%) began their careers in real estate. Black / African American members were most likely to cite real estate as a second career path (54%).
Sexual orientation
LGBTQ + members were more likely to work in an urban area or city (42%) than heterosexual / heterosexual members (27%), but less in suburbs (39% versus 50%) and small towns (9%, 14%). LGBTQ + members were also more likely to be attracted to real estate because of their interest in the area (69% versus 63%) and love of housing and home ownership (59% versus 52%). Larger proportions of LGBTQ + members than heterosexual / heterosexual members reported having problem-solving skills (81% versus 75%), superior communication skills (76% versus 66%), and sales and marketing acumen (54% versus 47%) are needed to be successful in residential real estate.
The median number of transactions and sales volumes in residential areas in 2020 were five and $ 1,622,200 for LGBTQ + members and four and $ 1,303,300 for straight members.
Among members who work exclusively in residential real estate, the median gross personal income was $ 38,800 for LGBTQ + members and $ 34,100 for straight members.
Survey methodology
In February 2021, NAR sent out a survey of 208,000 members. A sample of 18,209 members took part in the survey. It should be noted that in order to collect the sample of members, over-samples were collected for each area. Therefore, the total proportions of members are not representative of NAR membership as a whole. However, the experiences, business practices and business experiences of each individual group are representative of that group. The confidence interval at a 95 percent confidence level is +/- 0.72 percent for a population of 1.4 million members.
The report on NAR's career choice in real estate can be found at https://www.nar.realtor/research-and-statistics/research-reports/career-choices-in-real-estate-through-the-lens-of- gender-race-and-sexual-orientation.
The National Association of Realtors® is America's largest trade association and represents more than 1.4 million members who work in all areas of the residential and commercial real estate industries.
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