A Chicago Agent magazine survey found that agents’ average income increased 8.5 percent. The average income in 2009 was $64k, and in 2010, this survey shows the average income was $70k.
This information, among other statistics, was drawn from the results of Chicago Agent’s recent survey for second annual “The Truth about Agents” issue, which came out on Aug. 29. The survey was created to find the answers to questions rarely discussed by agents, such as commissions, office satisfaction and income.
The anonymous survey received an overwhelming response, as agents want to see how their answers compare to others in the same profession—and how they compare to last year’s survey results.
Pre-recession, the average income was $111,000, which decreased to $64,000 in 2009. But in 2010, the average income increased to $70,000. According to the survey respondents, in 2008, 72 percent made more than $50,000, while only 44 percent made this much in 2009, and 46 percent made this much in 2010. Fifty-eight percent made more than $75,000 in 2008, while only 28.5 percent made this much in 2009, and 30 percent did in 2010. While 38 percent made over $100,000 in 2008, just 12.75 percent made this amount in 2009, but 16.5 percent made this much in 2010. These increases might be slight, but there are increases in all average income categories.
Another surprising discovery was that the average split was 78-22 percent in 2010, compared with 74-26 percent in 2009. Even more interesting, in 2009, 11 percent of agents had 100 percent commissions, but in 2010, this number increased to 23 percent. In addition, 15 percent of agents had a 50-50 percent commission in 2009, but this decreased to 7 percent in 2010.
When it comes to negotiating commissions with clients, 60 percent of agents did this in 2010, a 20 percent decrease from 2009, where 80 percent of agents negotiated commissions.
The survey also revealed that office satisfaction could be on the rise, even though 27 percent of agents are dissatisfied with their split, compared to 19 percent in 2009. Compared to 20 percent of agents who planned to change offices in 2009, 10 percent planned to in 2010. However, 27 percent of dissatisfied agents plan to change offices, up from 20 percent in 2009. It seems that n 2009, dissatisfaction was not the driving force behind changing offices, but now, it very well may be.
To see more information on agents, commissions, company satisfaction and more, visit http://chicagoagentmagazine.com/2011-agent-commissions/ .
