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Who Are We?

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Who are we? Most of us already know who we are, or at least which direction we're going in.

So, why the title?

REALTOR

I just read through the 2007 NAR Member Profile that was just released a bit ago, and I found some interesting stats in there. It's a GREAT read, if you like that kind of information!

Who are we? The average REALTOR is a white 51 year old married female, who owns her own home and lives there with only her spouse. She's college-educated, and her household income is over $100,000.

One in ten REALTORS are under the age of 35, and 25% are over the age of 60.

The average number of years in the business is 7 years. The median age of those who've been in the business for 2 years or less is 43 years old, while those with 16 years of experience of more are at least 55 years old.

What about our work experience? For 4% of REALTORS, real estate is our first career. For those of us with 16 years in the business, 9% have said real estate is our only career. For those who said real estate isn't their first career, most of them came from previous careers in management, business, finance, or sales fields. I was surprised that teaching didn't show, as I know many former teachers in real estate in my area.

USA Flag

"America the Beautiful"

90% of those of us under 40 years of age were born here in the USA, while 93% of those 60 and older were born here in the USA.

Our level of education exceeds that of the general population, with 44% of us holding a Bachelor's degree versus 25% of the general population holding a Bachelor's degree. 8% of us have completed some graduate level courses, and 10% of us have a Graduate degree of some sort.

What about incomes? For REALTORS holding either a Broker or Broker-Associate license, our gross median household income is $122,100, and just about 25% of those of us that are either Brokers or Broker-Associates have gross household incomes over $200,000. For sales agent licensees, their gross median household income was $92,300.

The median gross income of those with at least 16 years experience is about five times more than the median gross income of those with less than 2 years experience. That would stand to reason, at least to me, since typically experience should bring greater incomes.

How about some business numbers........... six in ten of us have websites for business purposes, with about 1/3 of us having had our websites for 5 years or more. Blogs - 4% of us use blogs, 10% plan to have one.

REALTORS with less than 2 years experience in the business are the least likely to have a website, but they plan to have one in the next 18 months or so. REALTORS with 3-5 years experience are the age group that most likely has a website. The typical REALTOR has received four inquiries from their websites.

The importance of designations to us: the most desired designation to us is the ABR, while GRI is the most commonly held designation. 18% of us have earned GRI. e-PRO is the most commonly held certification, with 9% of holding that certification. How many of us have no designations? Seventy percent have no designation of any kind.

e-PRO

Do we own real estate? 91% of us own our own home, while the general population shows a rate of 70% owning their own homes. 17% of us own at least one vacation type home; 39% of us own at least one residential property in addition to our primary homes or vacation homes. 13% of us own three or more homes, and 11% of us own at least 1 commercial property.

Want some other numbers?

72% of us are married
60% of us work at least 40 hours a week
We've been at our current offices for about 4 years
95% of us are registered to vote
70% of us have a home office
80% of us are 'fairly certain' we'll be in the business in the next 2 years
85% of us are fluent only in English

I find this kind of information interesting, and if you'd like to read more detailed information on the 2007 NAR Member Profiles, go to Realtor.org to the REALTOR Team Store to buy your copy.

While you're there, check out the other 2007 Profiles that have recently been released - some great info there in all that research!

Posted by Portsmouth NH Homes Condos - Ann Cummings New Hampshire REALTOR® on 10/20/2007 02:47 PM

Comments (54)

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54 Comments on Who Are We?

OCT

2007

Hi Ann, I love these stat's and refer to them often. I think stat's help us all in businesses. Its looking at the facts... We are lucky as NAR provides them for us...we just have to take the time to read! 4% blog and 10% are going to! I find that interesting information

Hi Midori - I find stats like this interesting, too. This Profile had some really interesting info in there, and far more than I wrote about here.

There were some numbers in there that talked about those who use technology tools - digital cameras, instant messaging, GPS, etc. And there were further breakdowns of the numbers I used in most of those groups I wrote about.

Thanks for reading!
Ann

Nice facts and figures! Thanks for sharing! I guess we are all in that 4% that has a blog!

I love the stats, too. I usually buy that booklet from NAR, but haven't yet. Since you have the info.... did they mention anything about blogging?

Thanks for sharing these stats. I'm proud to be in the 4% who have a blog, the 25% who are over 60, the 33% who have had a website 5 years or more, in the higher percent for designations (GRI, CRS, ABR), the 10% who have a graduate degree or higher, the 72% who are married, the 39% who own at least one other property, and who knows what else. We all have a lot of good knowledge and skills AND a lot in common...excellent review.

Hi Ann - These are interesting facts. I'm going to have to look them up...I find them fascinating! I enjoy looking at these kinds of things. Thanks for sharing!

Ann - Thank for sharing these stats. They are quite interesting.

Hope that is not suggesting I need to age a little and have a sex change before making the big bucks..... On a serious note hope this report doesn't reinforce the public thought that we are highly paid. I think most agents work long hours & earn under 50k per year. Wonder why they list household income verses agent income.

Well, I fit the numbers and the profile. So I'm average and I'm in the 4% that blog. That is an amazing number, wonder how they came up with that ? So for 4% of us and maybe 10% in the future, NAR is going to try to moniter us ?? I'm sure Monika will read this. She needs to have that fact in hand for the November meeting.

Thanks for sharing all this information, it's very informative!

And here I thought I stood out from the crowd!!.....NOT

Ann,

Great info....I almost forgot my log in information...I didn't see anything in mine that was a surprise and I usually hear about the stats...but do not keep up with them...I know what I do when I do it and how much I make...all I can say is it is a full-time job and I work hard and do the best I can ...thanks for the photo mention. We are what we eat.

Michael - yep, all of us here fit nicely into that 4% group! I think I sort of expected that number to be a little bit lower, but 4% is still a very small number.

Chris - the only mention of blogs that I remember reading is about the 4% who already have blogs, and the 10% who plan to get on the band wagon. I'll look back through to see if it was mentioned anywhere else in there.

Kay - I checked to see where I fit in, too. I hit some of the numbers you mentioned - blogs, designations, real estate, grad school work, website. It is fun to see how the numbers in this book compare to our own information!

Thanks for reading and commenting - much appreciated!
Ann

Linda - Make sure to check out the other 2007 Profile books they just released - those have some really great information in them, too! I love reading this kind of info.

Carolyn - you're quite welcome! Glad you enjoyed them as I did.

Dan - I'm thinking you don't need that surgery, and I'd bet Sandra would agree, too. The numbers used in the report you referenced were individual agents. The numbers I wrote about above were referring to HOUSEHOLD incomes - apples and oranges. The NAR Member Profile did talk about the number of hours worked per week, which increased with the income.

Missy - these numbers came from the member surveys that NAR sent out all over the country. I think the NAR monitoring thing got blown a bit out of whack. My take on what will be discussed is that they're going to come up with compliance rules, much like the advertising compliance rules we already have in place for websites, ads, etc. I don't believe for a second that they're going to do anything more than that.

Thank you for your comments!!
Ann

Ann, those ae interesting. Let's see:

I'm 50 male(most of the time)
Married (for a long time)
Broker
Own my home
Own rental properties
Been in business 14 years
Work from home
Make more than the average bear.
Have a GRI designation
Registered voter
Two websites
Two blogsites
Speak English and Southern
Level of education is GED
And I'm soooooooooooo good looking

Tina - you're very welcome, and I appreciate you reading and commenting on this post!

Joan - these numbers are basically summarized from what I read, and I'd bet if you read the whole profile, you just might find out you really do stand out. They did pretty detailed breakdowns of all the info I wrote about, as well as quite a bit of other interesting information. These were the stats that jumped out at me after my first read-through of this information.

Neal - 'the real deal'!! We are, indeed, hard-workers doing the best we can, that's for sure. I pretty much fit in with the numbers about where I thought I would, too.

Thank you all for reading and for sharing your comments - much appreciated!
Ann

Ann... I realize the NAR numbers and the report I cited make different comparisons. Just find it odd that NAR would publish what I consider misleading information by using household income instead of only Realtor earnings. Guess it's my "young" rebellious nature to question authority. NAR = The Establishment!

Hey Blog Boy - it's that last stat you listed that puts you right over the top!!! And part of that first one, 'most of the time', that helped, too. Funny how they didn't mention Southern as one of the other languages some are fluent in, but having many family members who speak that, it really is at times a completely different language!!

Ann

Hi Dan - I don't think NAR's information is misleading at all. They were talking about the 'typical REALTOR', who is married and then they listed what her average household income is. It would follow that they would then go on to discuss in a little more detail other average household incomes as well. And they were very clear that it was household income they were talking about. I'm sure they also mentioned average NAR member income, not household, but for some reason that didn't jump out at me. I'll have to go back through and see if I can find those stats.

Ann

It is interesting that the number who have blogs is similar to the number of people with a CRS designation. I think that hovers between 4 and 5%. (I am not saying that all CRS's have blogs!) but it seems like there are more CRS's than bloggers. Good info Ann, thanks!

Very interesting, Ann! We have a bunch of former teachers around here, and they do VERY well. Part of that is that they really work to stay in touch with everyone they know. I guess sticking to a lesson plan has some benefits. :o)

Ann, I'm not a realtor but found those statistics so interesting! I thought about the realtors I do know and aren't sure of some of those questions while what I do know about them pretty much seems to match. Great post.

Joanne - that is an interesting correlation! I'd bet nowhere near all the CRS's have blogs, and it would seem to follow that there are more CRS's than bloggers. Blogs are still so very new, and CRS has been around a long time at this point.

Sarah - I'd bet those lesson plans from former days have a lot to do with their being able to develop business plans and actually work those plans, too.

Carole - thanks for the comments! Those kinds of stats always interest me, love reading them!

Many thanks for the comments!
Ann

Ann, I like those numbers. Regarding designations, the e-Pro designation is kind of a joke. I took me a couple of days to complete and was not really informative. The most that I got out of course was when I joined Realtalk and the forums. Then again I took e-Pro in 2003, so maybe it has changed.

BTW, thanks for your comments on KC's Blog. You said it perfectly.

Hi Ryan - the e-PRO course is constantly changing, and I think you'll find it's much more udpated now than it was a few years ago. And I suppose it depends on what your level of experience with technology, the internet, etc. is when you take that course.

And you're very welcome for those comments. It's sad his post even had to be written, and that any of us have to deal with that kind of stuff.

Ann

Thanks Ann. I have not picked up a copy yet....now I can save the money and read your post instead! Thank you sooo much!

Ann, the only thing I found surprising was that CRS was not listed in the top designations as to me it is the most coveted. Thanks for sharing all of this research!

Thank you my friend. Very interesting stats indeed. I hope all is well.

Hey Monika - this is just a very brief summary of the info that's in that profile. As you know, there's a whole lot more detail in each of the categories they use. But these are pretty much the highlights that jumped out at me.

I thought of you as I was writing this post - I know you enjoy this kind of information and I know you use it in your classes, too.

Ann

Hi Diane - I don't think that book said CRS wasn't in the top designations. I just listed the most commonly held designation and the most commonly held certification. I'll have to go back and see what they said about CRS. I know I read something but I don't remember what it was. Now you have me curious!

Hey George! I'm glad you stopped by! All is well indeed, as I hope it is with you, too.

Thanks for the comments!
Ann

Thank you for my featured post!!

Interesting stats, Congress should take notice and be more like realtors. I heard one of trainers say that blogs will not catch on. She does not think much of websites either. This is a trainer of new agents? Thanks for sharing. Eric

Hi Eric - I'd say whoever those trainers are who are discouraging new members from websites and blogging need to get out in the real world! On the other hand, perhaps that's really good for those of us already in the business.... ;-)

Thanks for commenting!
Ann

I thought working over 40 hours was required...seriously, thanks for sharing the stats!

Thanks for taking your time on this one Ann. CRS not appearing as first preferred designation is disappointing. We've got most all of them, and CRS is the most helpful of them all by a landslide.

cheers

Holy cow Ann, It looks like you were writing your dissertation.

I laved you post, and it brought out sme great statistics and interesting points, It seems like you covered everything from education, type of Realtors, their sex, age, howlong they have been in business,if indeed they are registeredto vote, where is their business, and if they are biligual, You put a loy of time intothis and it shows.

Great post

Tom BRaatz

Ann...

Not much left to say as Blog Boy stole my comment :)

What I will say is that I completely understand why you would choose that pic as your graphic for this post :)

It says it all :)

TLW...ROAR!

Ann, nice photo! Being a Realtor® is certainly my favorite career!

Al - I don't think a week has gone by in all the years I've been in real estate that I didn't work at the very least 40 hours, unless I was away on vacation. I don't think I know how to work less than that!

Gary - CRS is definitely the one I know most would attribute to bringing in more money, at least those I know who have their CRS designation. I was a little suprised that ABR has now become the most desired designation. I had my CRS designation for a number of years, but got ticked off that I had to keep paying to use what I had earned, so I let it go. I've been giving serious thought for a bit now about getting it back.

Thanks for the comments!
Ann

Tom - my 'dissertation', huh? I guess, with all those stats in there, it could look like the start of one. It was interesting reading, and then summarizing it here in this post.

TLW - yep, that picture jumped right into my mind when I was putting this post together! Blog Boy did pretty much cover it all, didn't he? "....sooooooo good looking', too.

Carole - my favorite career, too!

Thanks for taking the time to read and comment!!
Ann

Ann, Thanks for your blog...I very much enjoyed the stats. I have to admit I was pretty surprised with the paragraph on designations and that 70% of Realtors did not have any. In being relatively new to real estate I really had the impression that the majority of Realtors would have or want to attain these designations.

Wow...you learn something everyday. :)

All the Best,

Hi Therese - thanks for reading, and I was surprised as well at how many had no designations at all. Designations are heavily promoted, so don't let that stat sway you into not obtaining any. Go after those that interest you!

Thanks for your comments.
Ann

Great stats, thanks for sharing. I always want to know where I fit in....or if I even do. Looks like I'm pretty average for a Real Estate Broker. Who knew? Thanks, now I feel normal.

Hi Tracey - glad to help you feel 'normal'! I like reading up on stats like this, and knowing how I compare, too.

Thanks for reading!
Ann

Hey Ann,

Just saw this post and loved it. I too read the NAR survey, but you put things together so well, you made it every easy to digest. Looks like I'm in the 4% minority of r.e. being my first (and only, unless you count my 6 months saying "attention K-mart shoppers) career, the the 93% of those over 60 who were born here.

Thanks again, great job!

OCT

2007

Hi Lynda - thanks for that nice comment! When I wrote this, I tried to put it together so it would be easy to read, as I know many aren't into numbers. I thought all that info was really interesting to read.

Thanks for stopping by!
Ann

Hi Ann,

Interesting post and stats. Thanks for reporting this. After reading the stats which I think are somewhat impressive, I'm suprised at how many real estate blogs and bloggers are always writing about how low the bar is to enter and remain in real estate when all they are really doing is perpetuating the negative stereotype about REALTORS®.

Hi Mitchell - you bring up an interesting point about how often we do read about the bar being low to get into our profession. I often wonder if they realize they're doing just what you wrote - feeding into the negative stereotyping that goes on. We really should stop feeding into that ourselves.

Thanks for reading and for sharing your comment!
Ann

Ann, lots of interesting data to chew on!

Okay, now that we have the NAR member demographic survey, how about someone putting together a survey of Active Rain members? I imagine the stats would be impressive!

Hi Eric - now that would make for some interesting data! And it would be really interesting to see how set of data would stack up to NAR's Member Profile. Interesting thought!!

Ann

OCT

2007

Hi Ann, Thanks so much for this link. Thoroughly enjoyed reading this post. Statistics can be so fascinating to read. I'm not the average Realtor...but sure enjoy meeting her vicariously. :)

Hi Lola - I'm not quite the average REALTOR either. I thought the information in this book was interesting, and am glad to see others find it that way as well.

Thanks for your comments!
Ann

OCT

2007

Ann - I don't fit the mold AT ALL. But I've always heard (where?) that Realtors broke the mold. We come in all forms and sizes. I'm surprised at this information.

OCT

2007

Hi Dena - this info was just a compilation of the information gathered during their surveys, and then extrapolated into a 'typical REALTOR' from that info. Some of it I fit into, some I didn't.

Interesting info throughout the report, which is far more detailed than I included here.

Ann

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Portsmouth NH Homes Condos - Ann Cummings New Hampshire REALTOR®

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