In the real estate industry, there is a direct link between a real estate agent’s salary and his or her experience.
According to a recent survey by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), new real estate agents made $40,000 less than agents with more than 15 years of experience, averaging around $30,000 per year.
Moreover, if you are earning less money on fewer transactions than a more seasoned competitor, you might be toiling with fewer extras and benefits that other real estate agents enjoy. The same NAR survey noted that just 5 percent of real estate agents receive health coverage from their brokerage and only 33 percent are provided with errors and omissions insurance.
While it can take several years to become a top earner, there are a few tips that agents can follow to boost their salaries in the formative years of their careers.
The first key is to increase your earning sources. For example, as of Sept. 27, 2017, the median annual real estate agent salary is $40,333, with a range that usually falls between $39,402 and $51,303, according to Salary.com.
A recent NAR Member Profile noted that agents with 15 years of experience average substantially more, at $70,000 per year. If you have money in the bank it is much easier to get through those first few years.
Until you get to that point, saving money is key. You also can augment your income with other real estate-related sources, including appraisals, inspections, providing BPOs, writing contracts and performing market evaluations.
While earning extra income, you also can build on your experience.
And broadening your experience is another key, with more than 70 percent of real estate agents polled by the NAR had a specialty in a secondary real estate market. The majority of those specialists were brokers in residential real estate. Others included property managers, relocation specialists and commercial brokers.
Earning a degree also can be a career benchmark. Agents with a degree in some area of business, sales, or marketing are positioned for success.
A NAR analysis shows that real estate agents with a bachelor’s degree or higher earned 5 percent more money than those without degrees and more degree holders made more than $100,000 than those without a degree.
Graduate degree holders made even more money than all others by more than 20 percent.
You also can study under s seasoned mentor, taking in the experience that an industry veteran has to over. Their experience as agents can help first-year agents get a head start on their counterparts by mentoring under an agent with decades of experience. Maybe even find a mentor in a specialty that you wish to acquire like a broker to start building your career for the future.
Education also is on-going, so continue your education in real estate to build toward a higher salary, even for a new agent.
You are required to attend additional continuing education classes to maintain your license. However, you can also earn specialist designations in desired niches that can help you market yourself as an expert even when you’re new to the industry.
These tips offer a path for you to push your new real estate career forward, start by checking out these and other ways to acquire licensing and professional certifications that will boost new real estate agent incomes.
