Provided By: National Association of Realtors
WASHINGTON — Reflecting the 11.5 percent growth in
home prices last year, income and sales volume jumped for the third year
in a row, according to the
2014 National Association of Realtors® Member Profile. The survey also found an increase in new and younger members to NAR in 2013.
The survey's results are representative of the nation's Realtors
®;
members of NAR account for about half of the approximately 2 million
active real estate licensees in the U.S.* Many non-member licensees are
inactive or part time. Realtors
® go beyond state licensing
requirements by subscribing to NAR's Code of Ethics and Standards of
Practice and committing to continuing education. NAR members also have
access to professional resources to better serve their clients' needs.
Lawrence Yun ,
NAR chief economist, said recovery in the housing market since the
downturn continues to improve the earnings of real estate professionals.
"Fueled mostly by rising home sales and prices, the median gross income
of a Realtor
® increased to $47,700 in 2013 from $43,500 in
2012, marking a 9.6 percent rise and a sharp gain from $34,900 in 2011,"
he said. "Although the median number of transactions or commercial
deals remained unchanged from last year at 12, this marked a continued
return to pre-recession levels after bottoming out at seven transactions
in 2008 and 2009."
There are two sides to every real estate transaction — one each for
the seller and the buyer. As expected, median gross income and number of
transactions generally increases with experience. Last year, NAR
members in business for more than 16 years earned $70,200 and made 15
transactions. On the contrary, those with three-to-five years earned
less than half that amount ($30,100) and had 10 transactions. Incomes
also varied by license type, as members licensed as brokers earned
$66,300 in 2013, while the median earnings for sales agents increased
$1,000 from the previous year to $35,000.
Last year also brought an influx of new and younger members to NAR.
Years of experience in real estate decreased to 12 years from 13 years
in 2012; the typical tenure at a firm decreased to six years from seven
years; and the age of members decreased to 56 years from 57 years. Three
percent of all Realtors
® are under 30 years of age, 16 percent are between ages 30 and 44, and 24 percent are 65 and older.
"Realtors
® bring value to buyers and sellers, help build
communities, and encourage responsible homeownership behaviors," said
NAR President
Steve Brown, co-owner of Irongate, Inc., Realtors
®
in Dayton, Ohio. "The fact that the number of members with one year or
less of experience rose to 9 percent in 2013 from 5 percent the year
before shows that those agents getting into the field are attracted to
the many benefits and business opportunities that come with being a
Realtor
®."
The typical NAR member works 40 hours per week. Women represent 57
percent of all members, accounting for 53 percent of brokers and 62
percent of sales agents. More than three-quarters of all Realtors
®
cite real estate as their only occupation, and 82 percent (up two
percent from last year) are certain they will remain in the business for
at least two more years. This share is higher than the previous two
years, indicating the optimism that's seen in today's market.
Most members — 57 percent — are licensed as sales agents; 26 percent
are brokers, 17 percent broker associates and 3 percent appraisers (some
hold more than one license). Thirteen percent of members have one
personal assistant, while 3 percent have two or more personal
assistants.
Several factors limit potential clients in completing transactions.
Members said finding the right property was the biggest challenge (33
percent) followed by obtaining a mortgage (25 percent).
"The survey indicates that inventory shortages, overly restrictive
mortgage lending standards and the rise in home prices and interest
rates last year had an impact on Realtors
®' ability to help their client find the right property," said Yun.
Similar to 2012, eight out of 10 NAR members focus on residential
sales and 73 percent have secondary real estate real estate specialties.
Of those members with secondary specialties, residential brokerage is
the largest at 35 percent. Both residential property management and
relocation were next at 17 percent, followed by commercial brokerage at
16 percent. Smaller percentages were also in counseling, land
development, auctions and commercial appraisal.
Realtors
® continue to rely on repeat business and
referrals. Repeat business accounted for a median 21 percent of activity
in 2013 and is higher for those with more experience. For members in
the business 16 years or more, repeat business was 42 percent of their
activity. Referrals accounted for an additional 21 percent of all
business.
NAR members understand the importance of a web presence and
communicating with their clients through several channels. More than
two-thirds have a personal website — operational for a median of eight
years — and 91 percent report their firm has an online presence.
Sixty-one percent of the respondents use social or professional
networking sites — an increase of 5 percent from 2012 — and 12 percent
have a blog. Realtors
®use a variety of communications methods
when interacting with current clients or customers, with 94 percent
preferring e-mail, followed by telephone at 90 percent and text
messaging at 80 percent.
Compensation structures for Realtors
® and firm affiliation
remained mostly the same from 2012. Sixty-eight percent of respondents
are compensated through a split commission arrangement, 17 percent
receive all of the commission and another 4 percent receive a commission
plus a share of profits; 11 percent received some other form of
compensation. Eighty-two percent of members work as independent
contractors for their firms. The vast majority of Realtors
®receive
no fringe benefits, although 33 percent are covered by errors and
omissions insurance. Only 5 percent receive health insurance through
their firm.
NAR members are well-educated (50 percent hold a bachelor's degree or
higher), own a home (86 percent), invest in at least one residential
investment property (39 percent), and bring a wide range of expertise,
skills and experience to the profession. Only 6 percent began their
career in real estate, with the majority having previous full-time
careers in management, business or financial (19 percent) or sales and
retail (15 percent). Forty-one percent of those fluent in other
languages speak Spanish and 96 percent are registered to vote.
Respondents worked for a firm typically with one office and had been
with that firm for six years. Fifty-seven percent of members are
affiliated with an independent firm, and 38 percent are with a
franchised company; 5 percent are other. Nine percent of Realtors
®report
their firm was bought by or merged with another firm during the past
two years, down for the second consecutive year and from 11 percent in
the 2012 study.
The 2014 National Association of Realtors® Member Profile
is based on a survey of 95,340 members, which generated 6,462 usable
responses, representing an adjusted response rate of 6.8 percent. Survey
responses were weighted to be representative of state-level NAR
membership. Income and transaction data are for 2013, while other data
represent member characteristics in early 2014. The study can be ordered
by calling 800-874-6500, or online at
www.realtor.org/prodser.nsf/Research. The profile costs $14.95 for NAR members and $149.95 for nonmembers.
The National Association of Realtors
®, "The Voice for Real
Estate," is America's largest trade association, representing 1 million
members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real
estate industries.
