Real Estate Brokers: Job Description
Operate real estate office, or work for commercial real estate firm, overseeing real estate transactions. Other duties usually include selling real estate or renting properties and arranging loans.
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What Do Real Estate Brokers Do?
The core tasks performed by real estate brokers include:
- Sell, for a fee, real estate owned by others.
- Obtain agreements from property owners to place properties for sale with real estate firms.
- Act as an intermediary in negotiations between buyers and sellers over property prices and settlement details and during the closing of sales.
- Generate lists of properties for sale, their locations, descriptions, and available financing options, using computers.
- Manage or operate real estate offices, handling associated business details.
- Compare a property with similar properties that have recently sold to determine its competitive market price.
- Maintain knowledge of real estate law, local economies, fair housing laws, types of available mortgages, financing options, and government programs.
- Monitor fulfillment of purchase contract terms to ensure that they are handled in a timely manner.
What Real Estate Brokers Need to Know
Effective real estate brokers draw on a mix of skills and domain knowledge.
Key Skills
These are the skills that matter most in this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:
Core Knowledge
Other Real Estate Brokers Job Titles
Common job titles for this role include:
- Broker
- Broker Associate
- Buyer Broker
- Buyers Agent
- Closing Agent
- Contract Specialist
- Dealer
- Designated Broker
How Many Real Estate Brokers Are There?
There are about 981,510 real estate brokers working in the United States today. This occupation is expected to grow by +5.1% over the projection horizon.
How Much Do Real Estate Brokers Make?
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual median | $36,148 |
| Hourly median | $17.38 |
| 10th percentile | $23,540 |
| 25th percentile | $29,844 |
| 75th percentile | $42,452 |
| 90th percentile | $48,756 |
Wages vary widely based on experience, location, and industry.
Pay by State
| State | Annual median salary |
|---|---|
| Iowa | $116,920 |
| Massachusetts | $112,180 |
| New York | $94,170 |
| New Jersey | $92,890 |
| Connecticut | $90,910 |
| Nevada | $86,730 |
| Maryland | $82,500 |
| Vermont | $82,270 |
| California | $82,050 |
| Washington | $81,450 |
| Utah | $81,230 |
| Colorado | $79,400 |
| New Mexico | $77,940 |
| Indiana | $76,330 |
| Pennsylvania | $74,990 |
| Oregon | $70,860 |
| North Dakota | $70,820 |
| Delaware | $68,320 |
| Texas | $66,700 |
| Tennessee | $66,670 |
| Minnesota | $66,310 |
| Kentucky | $64,210 |
| Arkansas | $63,890 |
| Wisconsin | $63,690 |
| Florida | $63,440 |
| North Carolina | $62,660 |
| Alabama | $62,000 |
| Alaska | $59,860 |
| Montana | $59,310 |
| Missouri | $58,690 |
| Michigan | $58,640 |
| Virginia | $55,660 |
| Illinois | $55,290 |
| Arizona | $54,460 |
| South Carolina | $54,300 |
| Maine | $53,340 |
| Nebraska | $47,170 |
| Hawaii | $47,050 |
| Ohio | $45,850 |
| Mississippi | $43,670 |
| West Virginia | $43,600 |
| Kansas | $40,930 |
Pay by U.S. Region
Compensation for real estate brokers vary by region. The following regions pay the most:
| Region | Median annual wage | Share of U.S. jobs | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Far Western US | $79,776 | 27.9% | 1.46 |
| Middle Atlantic | $74,990 | 3.2% | 0.57 |
| Rocky Mountains | $71,659 | 2.1% | 1.23 |
| Plains States | $67,977 | 12.4% | 1.39 |
| Southwest | $67,590 | 10.7% | 0.78 |
| Great Lakes | $60,508 | 12.4% | 0.70 |
| Southeast | $32,048 | 30.7% | 1.76 |
Top Metro Areas
| Metro area | State | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | IA | $157,100 | 330 |
| Springfield, MA | MA | $123,090 | |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | MA | $108,910 | |
| Vallejo, CA | CA | $106,680 | 50 |
| Boise City, ID | ID | $106,420 | |
| Reno, NV | NV | $105,220 | 120 |
| Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC | SC | $99,990 | 170 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | NY | $97,500 |
Top Industries Employing Real Estate Brokers
Most real estate brokers are concentrated in the following sectors:
| Industry | Employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Real Estate and Rental and Leasing | 43,010 | $71,990 |
| Finance and Insurance | 3,160 | $76,600 |
| Construction | 1,150 | $64,130 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 840 | $62,940 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 510 | $79,280 |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 90 | $73,320 |
Real Estate Brokers work in the following industries:
Tech Stack
- Graphics or photo imaging software: Adobe Photoshop (hot technology)
- Web page creation and editing software: Facebook (hot technology)
- Accounting software: Intuit QuickBooks (hot technology)
- Data base user interface and query software: Microsoft Access (hot technology)
- Web platform development software: Microsoft Active Server Pages ASP (hot technology)
- Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
- Office suite software: Microsoft Office software (hot technology)
- Electronic mail software: Microsoft Outlook (hot technology)
- Presentation software: Microsoft PowerPoint (hot technology)
- Word processing software: Microsoft Word (hot technology)
- Customer relationship management CRM software: Salesforce software (hot technology)
- Data base user interface and query software: Yardi software (hot technology)
Work Environment
Daily working conditions for real estate brokers tends to involve the following characteristics:
- Telephone Conversations
- Freedom to Make Decisions
- Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
Education and Training
Most real estate brokers positions require a bachelor’s degree as the typical entry-level education. The role falls in Considerable Preparation Needed (Job Zone 4), indicating the level of preparation typically expected.
Related Careers
Similar Occupations
- Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Managers (Primary-Short)
- Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products (Supplemental)
- Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products (Primary-Long)
- Appraisers of Personal and Business Property (Primary-Long)
- Appraisers and Assessors of Real Estate (Primary-Short)
- Credit Analysts (Supplemental)
- Financial and Investment Analysts (Primary-Short)
- Personal Financial Advisors (Supplemental)
Top Programs to Study For This Career
Aspiring real estate brokers commonly pursue programs in:
Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services
1 programs across 1 majors
Architecture and Related Services
1 programs across 1 majors
References
This profile draws on the following authoritative sources:
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
- BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
- O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.
SOC code: 41-9021.00 (Real Estate Brokers).
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