A Realtors’ median income for 2010 was $34,100 last year, a four-and-a-half percent drop from the previous 3 percent decline from 2009, said United Press International.


Licensed brokers fared slightly better, with a median income of $48,700 for 2010, and sales agents earned $24,900 on average, said NAR.

The study by NAR also found that the median household income for the Realtors was $91,700.

The survey found that the average age for a NAR member is 56, 57 percent are women, 57 percent are sales agents, 28 percent are brokers, 17 percent are broker associates, 4 percent act as appraisers, and 1 percent declared “other.”

A Realtor will, on average, work 40 hours a week, resulting in approximately eight home sales in 2010, said NAR. This is an increase, however, since 2009 when Realtors were only closing seven sales on average, yet they were paid more in 2009.

NAR found that most Realtors (68 percent) receive a split commission arrangement, 18 percent receive the total commission, and 3 percent are given commission plus a share of the profits. An additional 11 percent fit none of these categories, with an alternate form of compensation.

Agents’ employment background showed that only six percent of NAR members chose real estate as their first career. Many real estate professionals got their start in management, business, or financial careers (19 percent), closely followed by sales and retail (16 percent); another nine percent of members had a background in office or administrative support, and seven percent came from the education field. Aside from these popular fields, 14 percent claimed “other” and 12 other categories had pools of 5 percent or less.