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Real Estate Sales Brokers Job Overview

Real estate sales brokers possess a comprehensive knowledge of the real estate market in their local community. They help people sell and buy their houses and investment property. They know the tax and local zoning laws well and negotiate between intermediaries regarding the price of the estate.

Real Estate Sales Brokers Schools and Degrees

Real estate sales brokers need a college degree. Background courses in finance, business administration, law, statistics and/or economics is useful. Many colleges, community colleges and universities offer associate’s and bachelor’s degrees in real estate. Advanced courses in property management and mortgage financing are also available. The National Association of Realtors also offers courses on the fundamentals of this field.

Job Requirements

Real estate sales brokers need to be licensed in every state. They earn licensure by passing a written exam. The test examines their skills on the laws relating to the sale of estates and properties as well as fundamental questions on transactions of real estate. Those who wish to earn a general sales license have to attend about ninety hours of classroom study. The are also required to have three years of experience selling real estate. Many states require ongoing education in order to renew the license of real estate sales brokers. The license needs to be reviewed every three years.

Experience is a very important requirement in this field.

Real estate sales brokers need to have a pleasant and inviting personality. Honesty is also an important quality in this profession. One also needs to know the real estate market well and should have good judgment regarding it. Competition is high in this field, therefore a well-planned and detailed approach to sales is vital.

Nature of Work

Real estate sales brokers verify the ownership of properties to be sold and arrange for meetings between buyers and sellers. They even help arrange for finance from a lender. They maintain a list of the properties to be sold and even meet prospective buyers to get an accurate idea of what kind of property they want.

Real estate usually works for about forty hours in a week. They work during the evenings and weekends as per the needs of the clients. They work for long hours but mostly can make their own schedule. They need to research the market and meet the prospective clients. Computers and advancement in telecommunications have made them accessible to much more data and gives them the advantage of operating from their homes when necessary.

Real Estate Sales Brokers Jobs and Outlook

According to a study conducted in 2006, real estate sales brokers held about 131,000 jobs in the US. The number is estimated to increase by eleven percent in the next ten years.

The median annual earnings of real estate sales brokers is about $60,790.

Job Numbers and Growth

There are an estimated 131,000 real estate sales brokers nationally. Most recently, workers have experienced a very low level of joblessness. An estimated 1% of employees did not have employment in 2008.

Area Job Conditions

Real estate sales brokers -of-a-feather seem to flock to Palm Coast (Florida), Kingman (Arizona), and Wilmington (North Carolina). They are less likely to be found around Fort Worth (Texas), Austin (Texas), and Cleveland (Ohio).

Compensation of workers is best in San Francisco (California), New York (New York), and Atlanta (Georgia), and much worse in Fayetteville (North Carolina), Boise (Idaho), and Greenville (North Carolina).

Training and Education

Employees often find employers are looking for work experience in a related occupation. Real estate sales brokers, in 45% of cases, have bachelor's degree or higher. After high school, 37% of workers pursued some additional career education. Employees, in 18% of cases, had only a high school education. Recommended schools are shown in the column to the right; request information from them to help you decide which if any could help you with this career.

Part-Time Work and Self-Employment

Real estate sales brokers employed part-time are 16% of the total. Workers, in about 64% of cases, work for themselves.

Real Estate Sales Brokers by Metropolitan Area (city and its surroundings)

In the table below, a Job Density near 0% means the area has an average number of people in this occupation, for its population. A higher or lower Job Density (e.g., +22% or -45%) tells you there are that many more or fewer workers of that type there than in the average US metro area. So, the higher the number, the more common the occupation.

Alabama

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Birmingham	$55,000	40	-73%
Huntsville	$52,000	70	+17%

Arizona

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Phoenix	$44,000	1,270	+142%
Tucson	$108,000	160	+60%

California

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Bakersfield		30	-60%
Chico	$116,000	40	+115%
Fresno	$99,000	80	-14%
Los Angeles	$77,000	1,700	+41%
Modesto	$106,000	30	-32%
Oakland	$119,000	230	-23%
Oxnard	$53,000	110	+27%
Riverside	$78,000	420	+17%
Sacramento	$58,000	160	-38%
San Diego	$70,000	510	+31%
San Francisco	$75,000	200	-32%
San Jose	$116,000	180	-33%
Santa Ana	$68,000	520	+20%
Santa Rosa	$114,000	40	-19%
Visalia		40	+6%

Colorado

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Colorado Springs	$37,000	110	+50%
Denver	$45,000	660	+78%
Fort Collins	$52,000	70	+99%

Connecticut

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Bridgeport	$57,000	80	-36%
New Haven	$76,000	130	+64%

Delaware

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Wilmington	$87,000	40	-58%

District of Columbia

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Washington	$88,000	960	+32%

Florida

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Cape Coral	$65,000	350	+530%
Deltona	$46,000	170	+291%
Fort Lauderdale	$46,000	740	+258%
Fort Walton Beach	$63,000	70	+239%
Gainesville	$43,000	30	-12%
Jacksonville	$74,000	320	+80%
Miami	$69,000	790	+171%
Naples	$76,000	200	+543%
Ocala	$39,000	90	+276%
Orlando	$95,000	720	+138%
Palm Bay		40	-29%
Palm Coast	$41,000	60	+1518%
Panama City	$60,000	30	+63%
Pensacola	$36,000	50	+19%
Port St Lucie	$45,000	110	+231%
Punta Gorda	$38,000	50	+405%
Sarasota	$58,000	160	+124%
Tallahassee	$69,000	110	+140%
Tampa	$51,000	770	+126%
West Palm Beach	$63,000	710	+364%

Georgia

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Atlanta	$97,000	540	-22%
Augusta	$69,000	30	-49%

Hawaii

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Honolulu		140	+8%

Idaho

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Boise	$39,000	40	-47%

Illinois

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Chicago	$54,000	1,150	+2%
Rockford	$30,000	80	+102%

Indiana

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Gary	$60,000	50	-36%
Indianapolis	$57,000	300	+13%
Lafayette	$62,000	30	+47%

Kentucky

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Louisville	$51,000	80	-56%

Louisiana

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Baton Rouge	$42,000	160	+46%

Maine

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Portland	$61,000	80	+39%

Maryland

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Baltimore		330	-16%
Bethesda	$122,000	320	+87%

Massachusetts

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Boston	$108,000	690	+33%
Worcester	$81,000	70	-4%

Michigan

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Detroit		70	-65%
Warren	$59,000	230	-28%

Minnesota

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Minneapolis	$72,000	160	-70%

Missouri

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Kansas City	$62,000	140	-54%
St Louis	$58,000	190	-52%

Nebraska

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Lincoln	$49,000	50	+10%
Omaha	$85,000	130	-7%

Nevada

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Las Vegas	$102,000	210	-17%

New Hampshire

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Nashua	$46,000	30	-23%

New Jersey

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Edison	$84,000	220	-28%
Newark	$98,000	230	-23%
Trenton		30	-54%

New Mexico

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Albuquerque	$89,000	70	-38%
Santa Fe	$54,000	30	+82%

New York

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Buffalo		50	-69%
Nassau	$99,000	450	+19%
New York	$141,000	2,360	+52%
Rochester	$101,000	70	-53%

North Carolina

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Asheville	$47,000	160	+215%
Burlington	$39,000	80	+435%
Charlotte	$68,000	1,110	+336%
Durham	$45,000	290	+260%
Fayetteville	$41,000	180	+407%
Goldsboro	$40,000	30	+191%
Greensboro	$51,000	490	+368%
Greenville	$42,000	50	+176%
Hickory	$40,000	50	+20%
Jacksonville	$54,000	80	+634%
Raleigh	$59,000	870	+469%
Wilmington	$68,000	170	+341%
Winston Salem	$40,000	330	+442%

Ohio

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Cincinnati	$118,000	130	-57%
Cleveland	$69,000	120	-61%
Columbus	$82,000	170	-38%
Dayton	$140,000	60	-47%
Youngstown	$77,000	30	-54%

Oklahoma

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Oklahoma City	$42,000	420	+145%
Tulsa	$59,000	200	+58%

Oregon

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Corvallis	$64,000	40	+509%
Eugene	$49,000	50	+26%
Portland	$73,000	490	+61%

Pennsylvania

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Harrisburg	$127,000	40	-57%
Philadelphia	$136,000	800	+40%
Pittsburgh	$144,000	300	-12%

South Carolina

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Charleston	$54,000	230	+174%
Columbia	$52,000	390	+279%
Florence	$81,000	30	+39%
Myrtle Beach	$67,000	90	+196%

Tennessee

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Knoxville	$63,000	80	-18%
Memphis	$43,000	180	-2%
Nashville	$61,000	290	+32%

Texas

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Austin		230	-2%
Dallas	$105,000	610	-3%
El Paso		60	-25%
Houston	$90,000	750	-5%
San Antonio	$61,000	150	-42%

Vermont

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Burlington		30	-4%

Virginia

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Lynchburg	$42,000	90	+229%
Richmond		150	-18%
Roanoke		50	+13%
Virginia Beach	$67,000	230	+2%

Washington

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Kennewick	$64,000	40	+44%
Seattle	$87,000	350	-16%
Spokane	$76,000	40	-32%
Tacoma		40	-48%

Wisconsin

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Milwaukee	$143,000	80	-68%