The ability to make money—at least enough to support yourself, but hopefully also to reinvest in your business, build your independence and pursue your life goals—is going to be a foundational part of any career. While people choose real estate for many different reasons, everyone is looking to maximize their earning potential. Understanding what that means is especially difficult—and especially important—in this industry.
One other revelation from this year’s report is that despite the perception that agents and brokers are constantly jumping between companies—lured perhaps, by a signing bonus or a better split—most don’t. In fact, a clear majority (56%) either worked for the same company their entire career or only moved once. Considering that 81% of brokers and agents said culture was “very” or “somewhat important” to their career, this makes a lot of sense. Even those with significant experience (10 or more years in the industry) mostly stayed put, with 68% of these veterans having worked for three or fewer companies.
Maybe not surprisingly, the demographic most likely to switch brokerages was those who never come into an office, with 63% of those agents and brokers having worked for three or more companies in their career.
Of course, money is not the only thing influencing how and where agents and brokers choose to work. Close to seven-in-10 (69%) agents and brokers said tech was “very important” to their careers, and 64% said the same for marketing tools—significantly more than the proportion who called culture “very important” (55%). That would suggest that there are plenty of factors that influence where and how agents and brokers will work.
Another dynamic that was covered in last year’s report and has remained unchanged is the lack of communication between agents and the brokers or companies they work for. A significant proportion of agents and commission-earning brokers (39%) have never renegotiated their split. That holds mostly steady across regions, brokerage model and demographic (interestingly, younger agents are more likely to negotiate their splits compared to older agents—almost 70% of 18- to 34-year-olds have renegotiated, compared to only 55% of agents aged 35 to 54).
As you seek to solidify your bottom line in a shifting industry, it is vitally important to be armed with the best information possible—about your market, what others at your experience level are earning or achieving, and what brokerage model is right for you. Whether you are hoping to negotiate with your current employer or strike out toward something new, these insights can provide the foundation for a more financially fulfilling future.
Methodology
This survey was conducted by a national market research firm on behalf of RISMedia. Invitations were sent to respondents by RISMedia from a database of more than 100,000 real estate professionals and data was collected from a sample of 967 individuals between April 12 and May 17, 2023. Broker/owners and other real estate professionals who do not work on a commission structure were terminated from the survey.
