What are Real Estate Salaries Like?

Real estate is a career that tends to attract outgoing, self-motivated people. In fact, most real estate agents are self-employed. For most of the decade, real estate trends have been growing at a rapid pace. In 2006, however, the United States began to experience a subprime mortgage crisis, and the housing bubble began to burst. Now, the real estate market is slower and leaner than it has been in years. Even though business is no longer booming, home sales are slowly growing in certain areas, and it can still be quite lucrative to pursue a career in real estate.

Salaries for real estate agents can vary as drastically as home prices, and are affected by similar factors such as location and cost of living. It's important to have accurate real estate agent salary data when entering this competitive world - a real estate agent knows the importance of negotiation when buying or selling a house, and negotiating salary offers is no different. PayScale's real estate agent salary data can help you get the most out of your career.

Real Estate Agent Salary Data

If there's a group of people who are likely to understand how important city and state are to salaries, real estate agents are high on the list. Just as housing prices can vary drastically from one region to the next, real estate salaries fluctuate depending on the market in a given area. Viewing the Real Estate Agent Salary by City report, you can see that Los Angeles and Chicago are current hot spots for high real estate salaries. When comparing Real Estate Agent Salary by State, New York is high on the list. Take a cue from home prices in New York and Los Angeles, however, and it should come as no surprise that the cost of living is very high as well. Use the PayScale Cost of Living Calculator to find both Cost of Living and Real Estate Agent Salary Data for New York and other cities.

There's a saying in real estate: "You're only as good as what you sell, not what you're paid." For a real estate agent, salary is just the jumping-off point, a baseline income that is often supplemented by a hefty commission. See how your sales commission might be affected by location, employer type and other factors on the Real Estate Agent Commission page. Research the median Real Estate Agent Salary by Yearly Sales to gain more insight into this topic. To compare the median real estate agent salary in residential home construction, commercial real estate and other areas, take a look at the Real Estate Agent Salary by Industry chart. This revealing chart shows that the highest real estate agent salary may go to those who pursue property management.

Career Profile: Agent Salary Story

Seattle real estate agent George F. Lamson III has seen a lot during his time with John L. Scott. Hear how this 100 percent commission salesman makes the most of his real estate agent salary in the video post, "Real Estate Agent Salary" in the Salary Stories blog.

Real Estate Salary Links

Real Estate Appraiser Salary
Real Estate Asset Manager Salary
Community Association Manager Salary
Real Estate Agent Salary - Canada
Real Estate Agent Salary - UK