A career in real estate can be appealing for many reasons, from flexible schedules and strong earning potential to the opportunity to guide buyers and sellers through one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives. But ask seasoned agents, and they’ll tell you the same thing: Building a successful real estate career takes time, patience and a willingness to push past some common misconceptions. Becoming a real estate agent requires more than passing a licensing exam, printing business cards and hanging a plaque on a brokerage office wall.
For starters, breaking into the industry isn’t easy. As of mid-June, roughly 1.44 million real estate professionals nationwide belonged to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). New York state is home to approximately 60,000 members, while the Capital Region has more than 4,000 licensed agents and brokers, with membership across the broader Global MLS market ranging from about 4,100 to 4,400 agents, according to the Greater Capital Association of Realtors.
While the profession can be rewarding financially, incomes vary dramatically. According to NAR’s latest Member Profile, the median annual income for Realtors was $58,100. But that number doesn’t tell the whole story. Experience matters; Realtors with 16 or more years in the business reported a median income of $88,500, while those with two years or less experience earned a median of just $8,100.
Part of the reason is that real estate isn’t a typical 9-to-5 job with a steady paycheck. Most agents earn their income through commissions when homes are bought and sold, and those commissions are typically shared among the brokerage and the agents representing both the buyer and seller. As a result, earnings can rise and fall based on everything from the number of transactions an agent closes to local market conditions and home prices.
We asked eight established local real estate brokers and agents what they wished they had known when they were starting out and what advice they would give someone considering a career in real estate today.