The real estate market is constantly changing, both the professional landscape and the housing, rental, and commercial market. Staying up to date on these national and local trends will help you prepare for the coming months and year. Furthermore, knowing these real estate statistics and being fluent in real estate terms will impress clients and help earn their trust.
1. Real Estate Agent Statistics
The largest expense category for most realtors was vehicle expenses, with an average of $1,400 per year in 2020. National Association of Realtors |
In 2020, 65% of realtors were licensed agents. National Association of Realtors |
70% of realtors reported having a business website, while only 8% said they had a blog. National Association of Realtors |
In 2020, 64% of all realtors were women. National Association of Realtors |
In California, the real estate industry experienced a 6% job loss from February to September 2020. California’s Legislative Analyst’s Office |
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17% of realtors had previous career experience in management, business, finance, sales, and retail. National Association of Realtors |
For close-contact service industries in California, the real estate industry experienced the sixth most job losses from February to September 2020. California’s Legislative Analyst’s Office National Association of Realtors |
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In 2020, only 32% of realtors had a bachelor’s degree. National Association of Realtors |
Only 5% of realtors in 2020 reported that real estate was their first career. National Association of Realtors |
2. Real Estate Job Opportunities and Career Outlook
The median pay for real estate brokers was $59,720 per year in 2019. U.S. Bureau of Statistics |
From 2019–2029, there is a 2% predicted growth rate for real estate agents and brokers. U.S. Bureau of Statistics |
South Carolina, Oklahoma, and Washington have the highest concentration of real estate agent jobs in the U.S. with an average of 2.53 employments per 1000 jobs. U.S. Bureau of Statistics |
Agents working for a national brokerage firm can expect to earn around $82,535 compared to those who are self-employed and average $106,280 per year. Real Estate Express |
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New York is the top paying state for real estate sales agents with an annual mean wage of $111,800. U.S. Bureau of Statistics |
The median pay for real estate agents was $48,930 per year in 2019. U.S. Bureau of Statistics |
Real estate agents who work 60 hours or more a week make on average $145,347. Real Estate Express |
Agents who work 40–50 hours per week make $81,378 on average. Real Estate Express |
3. Housing Market Statistics
In January of 2021, the typical home spent 76 days on the market — 10 days less than the same time last year. Realtor |
It is projected that net growth in the number of homeowners from 2020 to 2040 will be nearly entirely people of color with white homeowners declining by 1.8 million. Urban Institute |
The median national home listing price increased by 15.4% over last year. Averaging $346,000 in January 2021. U.S. census Bureau |
The nation’s median listing price per square foot grew by 17.5% compared to last year. Realtor |
In 2019, first-time buyers made up a third of all home buyers. National Association of Realtors |
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Since November of 2020, 13% of new California residents came from New York and 8% came from Texas. RentSpree |
San Diego experienced a 13.2% increase in home values from 2019–2020. Zillow |
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Austin, TX experienced a 15% increase in home values from 2019–2020. Zillo |
The Silent Generation and Baby Boomers have the nation’s highest homeownership rates at 77.8% and 78.8%. Apartment List |
National inventory in the U.S. declined by 42.6%. Amounting to 443,000 fewer homes for sale in January 2021 compared to January of 2020. Realtor |
Household growth fell by 5.1 million between the past two decades due to slower U.S. population growth. Urban Institute |
The average one-year home value change from 2019–2020 in Raleigh, NC was a 9.6% increase. Zillow |
4. Home Buyer Statistics
61% of homebuyers in 2020 were married couples with single females being the second largest group at 17%. National Association of Realtors |
64% of homebuyers who purchased previously owned properties did so because of either “better overall value” or “better price.” National Association of Realtors |
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39% of homebuyers who purchased new homes did so to “avoid renovations or problems with plumbing and electricity.” National Association of Realtors |
Nearly two-thirds of all buyers had children under the age of 18 residing in the household. National Association of Realtors |
84% of homebuyers in 2020 were white or Caucasian. Hispanic or Latinx homeowners were second at 7%. National Association of Realtors |
Millennial homeownership rate is at 47.9%, over 20% lower than the next lowest homeownership generation (Gen X at 69.1%). Apartment List |
86% of Americans perceived homeownership as important for personal success. Apartment List |
By age 30, white millennial homeownership (51%) is 2.5x higher than the rate for Black millennials (20%). Apartment List |
Younger millennials, ages 22 to 29, make up 13% of the homebuyer population. National Association of Realtors |
Older millennials, those 30 to 39 years old, make up 25% of the homebuyer population. National Association of Realtors |
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From 2019 to 2020 the percentage of millennial renters who “expect to always rent” increased from 12.3% (2019) to 18.2% (2020). Apartment List |
For millennials who expect to rent forever, 74% state unaffordability as the main reason. Apartment List |
63% of millennial renters have zero down payment saving, and only 8% have between $5,000–$9,999. Apartment List |
5. Home Seller Statistics
9/10 home sellers worked with a real estate agent to sell their homes. National Association of Realtors |
Sellers 40 to 54 years made up one of the largest shares of home sellers at 23%. National Association of Realtors |
The median sales price for new houses in January 2021 was $346,400. U.S. Census Bureau |
In 2020, home sellers said they sold their houses for a median price of $60,000 more than they purchased it. National Association of Realtors |
Sales of new single-family houses in January 2021 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 923,000. U.S. Census Bureau |
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Pending home sales were up 18% year over year. Redfin |
More existing homes were sold in 2020 than in any year since 2006. Norad |
5.64 million homes were sold in 2020, up 5.6% from 2019. Norad |
6. Renter Statistics
Renter growth projects to more than double the pace of homeowner growth over the next 20 years. Urban Institute |
Rent fell by 1.2% nationally from March through June of 2020, opposite of the typical surges in the spring and summer. Apartment List |
Between 2012 and 2017, the number of units renting for $1,000+ shot up by 5 million, while those under a grand fell by 3.55 million. Harvard University |
Cities that neighbored high-priced cities became more expensive due to migration from expensive cities. Zumper |
New York City experienced an 18% decrease YoY for a median 1-bedroom apartment, while Newark saw a 20% annual price increase. Zumper |
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From the third quarter of 2014 to the third quarter of 2019 (five year span), overall apartment rents rose by some 18 percent. Harvard University |
San Francisco was the sole city for California’s five most populous cities to see a decrease in competition for rental properties in 2020 from 2019. RentSpree |
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In February of 2020, the median 1-bedroom apartment price for the eight most expensive cities was 120% higher than the bottom 92. A year later, the percentage sits at 79%. Zumper |
On average, Fresno was the most competitive city to rent in 2019 and 2020 for California’s five most populous cities. RentSpree |
The one-year rent price change in Austin, TX decreased by 3.8%. Apartment List |
The one-year rent price change decreased by 5.1% in Denver, CO. Apartment List |
The average number of applicants per real estate agent dropped from 3.04 in October 2020 to 2.87 in February 2021. RentSpree |
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The one-year rent price change in Seattle, WA decreased by 19.5%. Apartment List |
From October 2020 to February 2021, California averaged 2.9 applicants per real estate agent. RentSpree |
7. Commercial Real Estate Market Statistics
A net gain of 268 million square feet of industrial space occurred in 2020—due to the acceleration of e-commerce sales. National Association of Realtors |
Commercial sales prices across the market were down on average by 1% in Q4 of 2020 on a YoY basis. National Association of Realtors |
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Class A (high-luxury) apartment acquisitions had the lowest risk among commercial assets, at 5.4%. National Association of Realtors |
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Apartments led the way in commercial real estate in 2020 with $138.7 billion in sales. Statista |
Offices were second in commercial real estate sales with an accumulation of $86.1 billion in 2020. Statista |
In 2020, on a net basis, 98 million square feet of office space was vacated, a third of which was in the Northeast. National Association of Realtors |
8. Geographic Statistics for Agents
States With the Highest Employment Level for Real Estate Agents |
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State | Employment | Employment per 1,000 Jobs | Annual Mean Wage |
Florida | 19,240 | 2.19 | $62,790 |
Texas | 16,380 | 1.32 | $72,830 |
California | 9,750 | 0.56 | $74,140 |
Georgia | 8,190 | 1.99 | $54,670 |
Virginia | 8,810 | 2.27 | $64,210 |
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2019) |
Metropolitan Areas With the Highest Concentration of Jobs for Real Estate Agents |
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Metropolitan Area | Employment | Employment per 1,000 Jobs | Annual Mean Wage |
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort, SC | 560 | 7.18 | $59,100 |
Charleston-North Charleston, SC | 2,000 | 5.57 | $50,430 |
Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC-NC | 930 | 5.56 | $41,220 |
Punta Gorda, FL | 180 | 3.72 | $75,770 |
Sebastian-Vero Beach, FL | 200 | 3.69 | – |
Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, FL | 530 | 3.49 | $60,090 |
Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL | 880 | 3.24 | $54,630 |
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 6,230 | 3.08 | $68,250 |
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC | 2,320 | 3.06 | $67,380 |
Oklahoma City, OK | 1,190 | 3.04 | $53,600 |
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2019) |
Hopefully, these statistics gave valuable insight into what it’s like to work in real estate and brought awareness to the residential and commercial real estate trends in the U.S.
If you are a recent agent looking for leads or a seasoned vet, try using RentSpree’s rental application services to help quickly close deals and leases.