Salespeople are an optimistic bunch 一 especially real estate sales men and women, and not just individually but also the brokerages where they hang their licenses.
In the new edition of its semi-annual Profile of Real Estate Firms, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) says more than one-third of the agencies polled (38%) expect their operations to be more profitable this year. That’s up from three in 10 in 2023 (30%), the last time the survey was conducted.
In line with that optimistic outlook, 35% of brokers said they are actively recruiting new agents with a focus on growth. They are looking for more experienced agents, as well as looking at replacing those who have left the business.
These brokers do not have their collective heads in the sand, however. They cited affordability as their biggest challenge, not only how it impacts young people’s ability to buy a home, but also on their negative views on homeownership in general.
With an estimated 300,000 realty brokers operating nationwide, the report also quizzed respondents about how they operate, and the results were quite revealing. For example, 46% of their sales are generated from repeat business, while 44% stemmed from past client referrals.
Eighty-one percent of the firms that took part in the survey have a single office, typically with two full-time real estate licensees. Nearly 90% were independent, non-franchised brokerages, and nearly 80% specialize in residential buying and selling.
Firms with only one office recorded a median sales volume of $4.6 million in 2024, while firms with four or more offices had a median volume of $169.2 million. One-office companies had a median of 12 real estate transaction sides last year, as compared to multi-office firms, which typically registered 300 transactions.
When it comes to what they are paying their agents, single-office companies had a median commission volume of $2.8 million. Those with four or more offices paid out a median of $13.8 million in commissions.
