Real Estate Sales Agents
Marketing, Sales and ServiceO*NET 41-9022.00United States
Rent, buy, or sell property for clients. Perform duties such as study property listings, interview prospective clients, accompany clients to property site, discuss conditions of sale, and draw up real estate contracts.
- Median annual earnings
- $61,588
- Projected change
- +9.2%
- Typical education
- High school diploma or less
- Employment
- 506.8K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
52.4% of the workforce
Growing to 553.42K by 2035
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The work
What real estate sales agents do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Present purchase offers to sellers for consideration.
- Prepare documents such as representation contracts, purchase agreements, closing statements, deeds, and leases.
- Act as an intermediary in negotiations between buyers and sellers, generally representing one or the other.
- Confer with escrow companies, lenders, home inspectors, and pest control operators to ensure that terms and conditions of purchase agreements are met before closing dates.
- Generate lists of properties that are compatible with buyers' needs and financial resources.
- Promote sales of properties through advertisements, open houses, and participation in multiple listing services.
- Coordinate property closings, overseeing signing of documents and disbursement of funds.
- Compare a property with similar properties that have recently sold to determine its competitive market price.
- Interview clients to determine what kinds of properties they are seeking.
- Contact previous clients for prospecting of referral business.
- Coordinate appointments to show homes to prospective buyers.
- Answer clients' questions regarding construction work, financing, maintenance, repairs, and appraisals.
- Review property listings, trade journals, and relevant literature, and attend conventions, seminars, and staff and association meetings, to remain knowledgeable about real estate markets.
- Advise sellers on how to make homes more appealing to potential buyers.
- Advise clients on market conditions, prices, mortgages, legal requirements, and related matters.
- Contact property owners and advertise services to solicit property sales listings.
- Display commercial, industrial, agricultural, and residential properties to clients and explain their features.
- Accompany buyers during visits to and inspections of property, advising them on the suitability and value of the homes they are visiting.
- Arrange for title searches to determine whether clients have clear property titles.
- Develop networks of attorneys, mortgage lenders, and contractors to whom clients may be referred.
- Review plans for new construction with clients, enumerating and recommending available options and features.
- Inspect condition of premises, and arrange for necessary maintenance or notify owners of maintenance needs.
- Visit properties to assess them before showing them to clients.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $22,708
- 25th percentile
- $36,310
- 50th percentile
- $61,588
- 75th percentile
- $119,190
- 90th percentile
- $245,197
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $61,588 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+9.2%faster than average
2025506,802 jobs
2035 projected553,424 jobs
46,622 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- High school diploma or less
- 52.4%
- Certificate
- 23.8%
- Some college
- 9.5%
- Associate degree
- 4.8%
- Bachelor's degree
- 4.8%
- Master's or Professional degree
- 4.8%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Real Estate Agents15,855 postings
- 02Leasing Consultants14,024 postings
- 03Leasing Professionals5,481 postings
- 04Leasing Agents4,387 postings
- 05Apartment Leasing Consultants1,867 postings
- 06Licensed Real Estate Agents1,688 postings
- 07Real Estate Associates1,642 postings
- 08Leasing Associates1,535 postings
- 09Apartment Leasing Agents1,497 postings
- 10Leasing Specialists1,359 postings
- 11Real Estate Buyer's Agents800 postings
- 12Bilingual Leasing Consultants640 postings
- 13Real Estate Sales Associates599 postings
- 14Showing Agents595 postings
- 15Commercial Real Estate Agents594 postings
- 16Real Estate Specialists526 postings
- 17Real Estate Associate Attorneys497 postings
- 18Multifamily Project Managers474 postings
- 19Real Estate Listing Agents471 postings
- 20Leasing and Marketing Professionals453 postings
Top employers
- 01Greystar Management Services1,898 postings
- 02Intersolutions1,792 postings
- 03Greystar1,260 postings
- 04Keller Williams Realty1,142 postings
- 05Weichert, Realtors1,066 postings
- 06Redfin820 postings
- 07Coldwell Banker798 postings
- 08Cushman & Wakefield756 postings
- 09Asset Living720 postings
- 10RPM Living490 postings
- 11Willow Bridge409 postings
- 12BGSF403 postings
- 13Century 21391 postings
- 14Zrs Management335 postings
- 15Mark Spain Real Estate317 postings
- 16Avenue5 Residential289 postings
- 17Career Strategies289 postings
- 18Edina Realty282 postings
- 19Apartment Management Consultants264 postings
- 20Rangewater Residential264 postings
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