A real estate agent, real estate broker or realtor is a person who represents sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients.
Most of the real estate agents around are not employed by any specific company, they mostly work on commission only basis, so their income is up to them to earn after expenses of running the business.
Typically, agents only sell a couple of houses in their first year and usually only after about 6 months. Attrition rate is 90% in the first year of the business and 80% in 2nd year. Most agents average six sales a year which is why average income nationally is low especially for new comers. But things tend to improve as they grow older in the business and gain more experience.
How Much Money Do Real Estate Agents Make in Washington State
The amount a real estate agent can earn in Washington state primarily depends on their ability to sell real estate. Once the housing industry picks up after the corona virus pandemic in the United States, you should be able to earn your living. However, the real estate industry is hard and needs lots of persuasion, trying to influence people to buy the homes you are selling.
It will take about two years of hard work, in a good economy, before you feel like you can start to count on the income you earn from being a realtor. Sure, there are stories of real estate prodigies who sold 100+ homes in their first year, but this far from the norm.
You will also need to spend money to get yourself known by the people you want to sell your houses to. For this reason, experts recommend that potential real estate agents start their real estate careers carefully, before quitting their jobs.
That being said, the average Real Estate Sales Agent salary in Washington is $45,324 as of June 28, 2022, but the range typically falls between $44,277 and $57,651. Salary ranges can vary widely depending on the city and many other important factors, including education, certifications, additional skills, the number of years you have spent in your profession, etc.
Factors that affect the earning potentials of a real estate agent in Washington
A real estate agent’s income is highly dependent on many different elements such as niche, years of experience, how many hours they work a week, and even their happiness. Some of these elements are explained thus;
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How long the agent has been in business
One of the things that affect the earning potential of a real estate agent is how long they have been in the business. In real estate, longer hours usually mean higher earnings. Agents putting in 40 hours a week can expect to make around $46,000 to $80,000, according to recent survey. Agents who work between 41 to 59 hours a week can expect to earn around $80,000 to $100,000. It’s important to note that these are only estimates and many factors can influence these numbers.
In real estate, having more experience typically means a real estate agent will earn more. A real estate agent in the middle of their career might earn somewhere between $60,000 to $80,000 dollars. Again, this number is dependent on other factors which influence the average real estate agent’s earnings.
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Type of real estate sold
Another variable that can influence the average real estate agent’s salary is what brokerage you choose to work for. For example, an average real estate agent working at a national franchise can expect to pull in an average of $82,535 annually. On the other hand, real estate agents who report being self-employed earn an average of $106,280 per year. Earnings can be wildly different depending on the brokerage type or employment status.
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Job satisfaction
You might not think that job satisfaction has a big impact on how much a real estate agent makes, but research shows that happy agents make nearly three times more than those who are unsatisfied in their career. I guess a happy mind easily makes connections.
Conclusion
The real estate industry is tough to break into and you have to think of it as starting a new business. Most new businesses don’t make money for the first two years. You have to decide that you can survive on what you have currently if that should happen to you.
If you are serious, now is the time to start saving enough money to not only support you in the beginning, but pay for all the expenses in the first couple of years. These can be the required licenses and memberships, and all that is involved in starting a business.
Don’t expect much help since other agents are actually your competition. Some companies are pro active with training new agents, try to find one that will help you. Any help you can get would be good for your business future. If you have a background in Customer Service, Law, or sales, that background will be very useful in this field. To make things easy on your finances you should endavour to keep working on your current job until you are fully trained and able to get your first gig.