You hear about real estate agent salaries all the time. And on top of that, popular reality tv shows are glamorizing the lifestyle of a real estate agent. But, in truth, a real estate agent’s salary varies depending on a number of conditions. That aside, once you become a seasoned real estate agent or even a real estate broker, your salary will significantly change. But it’s always that sunshine and rainbows in the beginning. This is why we’ve created this blogpost to show you what you can expect to make as a real estate agent. Please factor in that this will vary state by state and province to province.
Here are the Basics
Being a real estate agent isn’t your basic 9-5 office job. Chances are, you will be working from home, working from your car, coffee shop, and the office here and there. You’ll also have to consider the fact that some real estate agents choose to dedicate more than 40 hours a week to this, whereas others choose to keep this strictly as a side career. However, according to NAR 2020 Member Profile, 73% of REALTORS® say that real estate is their only occupation. That number is a lot higher of those who have over 16 years of experience is real estate. That being said, you also have to factor in personal expenses, especially in your first year of real estate. Only then can you really consider yourself a paid real estate agent. This leads to our next key point. Are you a part time or full-time real estate agent?
Are you a Part Time or Full Time Real Estate Agent?
Being a part time or full-time real estate agent will have an effect on your salary. Keep in mind, especially when you’re a rookie real estate agent, you need clientele and you need a good strategy to follow up with referrals and gain more leads. The more time you invest into your real estate business, the more effect it will have on your real estate salary. According to a 2020-2021 report by McKissock Learning, the more hours an agent has invested into their real estate business per week, the higher their salary was. For example, an agent investing less than 20 hours a week would get paid an average annual income of about $22,000 compared to a real estate agent investing 51-59 hours a week and getting an average annual income of approximately $85,800. All in all, investing more hours into your lead generation and follow up, organizing your database, updating your agent website and posting on your social media really makes a difference in what salary you should expect as a real estate agent.
Take Brokerage Fees into Consideration
In places like Ontario, real estate agents are required to work for a brokerage and therefore, have to pay a certain percentage to the brokerage. According to a blogpost published by Get What You Want, a real estate agent is required to give a certain percentage of their commission to their brokerage. This could be roughly anywhere between $2,900-$3,825 depending on where you live and what commission you’ve earned.
Are you interested in seeing how you can earn more as a real estate agent? Watch your salary grow by trying a simple tool like IXACT Contact!
How You Can Earn More as a Real Estate Agent
If you’ve made it this far, you will have, at some point, felt a little overwhelmed. Especially as a new agent, you are already so overwhelmed with all of your expenses, broker fees, and taxes. Considering all of this, your fantastic-looking gross income could end up looking a little less fantastic. However, there are solutions. While it won’t happen within the course of a day, making certain changes to your real estate business can have you earn more as a real estate agent.
So how do you increase your salary as a real estate agent? Start by investing in yourself. With the right tools, you can really take your real estate business to the next level. A simple tool to get started would be a real estate CRM. A CRM is a contact relationship management software. This is just the tool you need to organize your database, make notes, schedule and send automated emails and eNewsletters, build a beautiful real estate agent website and so much more!
A real estate CRM that will take your real estate business to the next level and have you earning more as real estate agent would also come equipped with a marketing automation system. This is where you will feel like you have your own personal assistant without having to hire someone.
So How Will this Affect Your Salary?
Making these simple everyday changes will allow you to build your business and keep in touch with your contacts and important referral sources. Once your start growing your database, keeping in touch and nurturing your contacts, while also focusing on promoting your brand, your real estate business will see more action. As mentioned earlier in this blog, agents that put in more time into their real estate business see a higher salary than those doing the bare minimum. Putting in more time doesn’t mean you need to sit at the computer for long hours. Once you have everything scheduled and automated, you will find it easier to operate your real estate business and you will adapt. Find out how you can use a real estate CRM like IXACT Contact to grow your real estate business and increase your salary as a real estate agent.
