High-Paying Careers: How Good is Real Estate Agent Pay in 2021?

March 16 2021 - Interested buyers and sellers are dying to know what the 2021 real estate market will look like. Will it crash or boom?

Experts are expecting that the real estate market will remain strong in 2021, especially for sellers. That isn't just good news for property owners. It's also good news for anyone interested in starting a real estate career in the next year.

Real estate has long been considered a lucrative industry, but we tend to hear people talking about the investment side. What about real estate agent pay? How much can you stand to make as a real estate agent in 2021?

Read on to learn everything you need to know in our guide to real estate agent pay.

How Does Real Estate Agent Pay Work?

You're probably wondering how real estate agents get paid. In a way, real estate agents are sort of like contractors. Rather than receiving a regular salary, real estate agents work on commission from the sales they help to close--whether they're working for the buyer or the seller.

Typically, real estate agents charge a 5% to 6% commission. This may not sound like much, but let's break down what that can actually look like.

Let's say you've helped close a sale on a $200,000 with a 5% commission rate and it took about a month to complete from start to finish. That means that you've just made $10,000 for 30 days of work, which breaks down to over $300 a day.

Now remember that most of the time, you'll be working with more than one buyer or seller at a time. Although a 5% commission may not sound like much, that money can add up fast.

Why Is a Seller's Market Good News for Real Estate Agents?

As we mentioned earlier, it's looking like we're in for a steady seller's market this year. Why does that make this the perfect time to get started on a real estate career?

In a seller's market, the competition becomes steeper for buyers. This means two key things.

The first is that buyers are quick to jump on opportunities when they find them, and you can close deals at a faster rate. The second is that housing prices tend to go up in a seller's market, too.

What does that mean for real estate agents? With faster sales and higher housing prices, real estate agents stand to make more money in a smaller amount of time. (Again, this is true whether you're working for the buyer or the seller--both tend to ask for at least a 5% commission rate.)

Jump-Start Your Real Estate Career In 2021

When we talk about the real estate market, we tend to focus on what buyers and sellers can expect. With our guide to real estate agent pay in 2021, we hope that you've learned more about what you can expect as an agent. Get ready to jump-start your new career!

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