Can you still make money on real estate?

Do new real estate agents make money ?

• do they make money first year? as in sell houses first year. average salary?

• Answer:

  No salary. No hourly wages. Sales commissions only, and nothing is paid to you until your sale closes and the payments clear the banks! A typical sales commission of 6% is divided half to listing agent & listing broker, and half to selling agent & that agent's broker. (Sales people work under a broker who holds a broker's license!) So your commission amounts to 1.5% of the sale, or $1500 on sale of $100,000 house. Lots of investments to make to launch this as your career. In a good market, new real estate agents need to plan on supporting themselves plus paying their business expenses for a year before earning enough to cover expenses, two years to start "making money." In a bad market, or one where there too many agents & brokers, unless you outshine them all, you have a really big problem and a really poor future. Your start-up expenses include: real estate agent's course, exam fees, annual license fees, car (which must be a good car kept immaculately clean and well maintained), car insurance, gas & maintenance, computer & internet, cell phone, camera (some use high-end cell with camera feature), printing brochures & flyers on properties you list, holding open houses (advertising, "wine & cheese," balloons, etc), signage, business cards & stationery, office space (some space in your home, may have to "rent" desk from your supervising broker or may have a desk assigned), professional & business organization dues (e.g. Chamber of Commerce, etc), more. You need enough money to live on for at least a year, plus your business investment. No guarantee you will recoup any of your investment since only you know how dedicated you are to becoming successful, how good a salesperson you are, what will happen with RE market - the bottom could fall out (unlikely, but always possible). This is why so many successful RE salespeople are wives of successful, high earning husbands so there is plenty of income for living expenses, plus the kinds of contacts & community knowledge which comes from living that sort of life. You need lots of contacts in your community, extensive knowledge of local schools, etc, to have any chance of making it.