Tag Archives: membership

Number of Real Estate Teams is Growing, NAR Survey Finds

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Washington, D.C. – October 17, 2018 (nar.realtor) Teams are becoming more common in the real estate industry as an increasing number of Realtors®, members of the National Association of Realtors®, consider themselves a member of a real estate team, according to a new survey by NAR.

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NAR’s 2018 Teams Survey found that 26 percent of respondents were members of a real estate team while 73 percent were not a member of a real estate team.

The definition of a real estate team varies and some states describe it as two or more real estate salespeople or licensees who work together to provide real estate services, or who hold themselves out to the public as a member of a team. Real estate teams are an appealing option as they help sales productivity by letting individual team members thrive with their own strengths and skill sets.

“The transformation of the real estate landscape continues to change the way Realtors® do business. Over the last few years, Realtors® have continued to embrace changing technology and business tactics that are modernizing the industry. Real estate teams are an increasingly popular business model in response to consumer demand for a wide range of specialties from their Realtor® as they expect constant support throughout the real estate transaction,” said NAR CEO Bob Goldberg.

The median year that real estate teams were established was in 2014 and Realtors® typically joined their current real estate team in 2016, according to the report. Nearly 30 percent of Realtors® had two people on their real estate team, with a median number of four team members.

Among respondents that are not currently on a real estate team, 16 percent have previously been on a team, while 84 percent have never been a member of a real estate team. For Realtors® that are not currently on a real estate team, nine percent have strongly considered the prospect and 30 percent have briefly considered joining or starting a real estate team.

The survey asked Realtors® to choose from a list of activities to explain their primary functions on a team. The most common answer was agent (88 percent), followed by broker (50 percent), marketing (47 percent), administrative (47 percent) and transaction coordinator (34 percent).

“This growing trend not only helps our members share workloads and responsibilities, but also allow Realtors® to benefit from the experience of fellow professionals. The synergies of a well-functioning team are often an incentive to relinquish some of the independence of a solo practitioner and offer many attractive features for both licensees and their customers,” said NAR President Elizabeth Mendenhall, a sixth-generation Realtor® from Columbia, Missouri and CEO of RE/MAX Boone Realty.

The most common compensation arrangements within a real estate team were fixed commission split (38 percent), graduated commission split (22 percent), and 100 percent commission split (13 percent).

As real estate teams become a fixture of the contemporary real estate environment, it is important to understand that real estate teams will attract the attention of real estate regulators. In recent years, 24 states have statutes or formal regulations in place that address real estate teams. “These regulations may continue to be relatively minimal, limited largely to advertising rules. Yet, as teams continue to develop and as the practice continues to evolve, it is possible that more extensive regulations will also develop and evolve,” Mendenhall said.

In July 2018, NAR invited a random sample of 50,436 active Realtors® to complete the Real Estate Teams survey. A total of 3,483 useable responses were received for an overall response rate of 6.9 percent. At the 95 percent confidence level, the margin of error is plus-or-minus 1.66 percent.

The National Association of Realtors® is America’s largest trade association, representing 1.3 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

Media Contact:

Cole Henry
(202) 383-1290
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Realtors® Survey Shows Rising Membership, Younger Agents Joining Industry

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Washington, D.C. – July 19, 2018 (nar.realtor) The income and sales volume of National Association of Realtors® members dropped slightly over the last year, but membership increased as younger members continue to enter the industry, according to the 2018 National Association of Realtors® Member Profile.

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This past year, there was a rise in new members from 1.22 million in March 2017 to 1.30 million in April 2018. The profile found that 29 percent of members have less than two years of experience, an increase from 28 percent.

“While inventory shortages continue and home prices remain high, NAR has seen a whopping 6 percent increase in membership over the last year. Younger Americans are seeking business opportunities that working in real estate provides, but the overall trend is a slightly older age profile,” Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist stated.

The survey’s results are representative of the nation’s 1.3 million Realtors®; members of NAR account for about half of all active real estate licensees in the U.S. Realtors® go beyond state licensing requirements by subscribing to NAR’s Code of Ethics and standards of practice and committing to continuing education.

Demographic Characteristics of Realtors®

Realtors®’ median age was 54 this year, slightly up from the last two years, at 53. Sixty-three percent of Realtors® are female, and the typical Realtor® is a 54-year-old white female who attended college and is a homeowner. The most common first careers reported are in management, business or finance, or in sales and retail, both at 16 percent. Only five percent of Realtors® reported real estate was their first career; 72 percent said that real estate was their only occupation, and that number jumps to 82 percent among members with 16 or more years of experience.

Sixty-five percent of Realtors® are licensed sales agents (same as last year), 21 percent hold broker licenses (down from 22 percent), and 15 percent hold broker associate licenses (same as last year). New members tended to be more diverse than more experienced members; 25 percent of members with two years of experience or less were minorities, up from 22 percent last year.

Business Activity of Realtors®

According to the survey, the main factors that limit potential clients in completing transactions are difficulty finding the right property (35 percent), housing affordability (17 percent), and difficulty in obtaining mortgage financing (12 percent).

Impacted by low inventory, the typical number of transactions decreased slightly from 12 transactions in 2016 to 11 transactions in 2017. Despite rising home prices again in 2017, the median brokerage sales volume decreased to $1.8 million in 2017 from $1.9 million in 2016.

“A familiar story lingers from last year, as limited inventory continues to plague many housing markets across the country. For the fifth year in a row, the difficulty finding the right property has surpassed the difficulty in obtaining a mortgage as the most cited reason limiting potential homebuyers,” said Yun.

The typical Realtor® earned 12 percent of their business from repeat clients and customers (compared to 13 percent in 2017) and 17 percent through referral from past clients and customers (compared to 18 percent in 2017).

Realtors®’ web presence and use of social media has increased in recent years as a valuable marketing tool to reach clients and build online communities. Sixty-eight percent of members reported having their own website, the same number as last year. Members continue to be more comfortable with using the latest technology on a daily basis as 71 percent of members were on Facebook for professional use and 59 percent were on LinkedIn (same as last year).

Finally, 80 percent reported that they are certain they would remain in the real estate business, while those who were newest to the profession were least certain they would remain; 5 percent of all members were uncertain whether they would remain in the business.

Office and Firm Affiliation of Realtors®

The survey looked at office and firm affiliation for members and found that over half of Realtors® continue to report that they work for an independent company. Fifty-eight percent of those are licensed as brokers and broker associates (up from 56 percent in 2017), and 49 percent are licensed as sales agents, an increase of one percent since 2017. Nearly nine in 10 members are independent contractors at their firms, the same as last year.

Forty-four percent of members worked at one office firm while a quarter of members worked at a firm with two to four offices. The typical member had been with their current firm for four years.

The 2018 National Association of Realtors® Member Profile is based on a survey of 200,964 members, which generated 12,495 usable responses, representing an adjusted response rate of 6.2 percent. Information about compensation, earnings, sales volume and number of transactions is characteristics of calendar year 2017, while all other data are representative of member characteristics in early 2017.

The National Association of Realtors® is America’s largest trade association, representing more than 1.3 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

Media Contact:

Cole Henry
(202) 383-1290
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Statement from NAR President Elizabeth Mendenhall Regarding Board Vote to Raise Professionalism, Member Dues

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Washington, D.C. May 19, 2018 (nar.realtor) The National Association of Realtors® Board of Directors today voted to raise the bar on professionalism with two amendments to the association’s strict member Code of Ethics. Those amendments include publishing limited information about members who violate the Code of Ethics, such as name, photograph, and a description of the violations, as well as requiring listing brokers to provide written affirmation that a buyer’s offer has been submitted to the seller or landlord or written notification that the seller or landlord has waived the obligation to have the buyer’s offer presented.

The NAR board also raised national membership dues to $150 to fund a broad range of new programming.

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NAR President Elizabeth Mendenhall, a sixth-generation Realtor® from Columbia, Missouri and CEO of RE/MAX Boone Realty issued the following statement after the votes:

Elizabeth Mendenhall

Elizabeth Mendenhall

“Every Realtor® in the country should be proud of the steps taken today to increase professionalism and raise the bar even higher on ourselves.

“We have heard from members for years about strengthening professionalism, and today we took an important step forward. The changes we made to the Code of Ethics will bring invaluable benefit to consumers and allow Realtors® to serve them to the best of our abilities.

“These changes will also lead to greater accountability to one another to ensure a better transaction and consumer experience, and will instill greater trust in Realtors® as important partners in the real estate transaction. This is all about being the best Realtors® that we can be for our clients.

“I’m also grateful to our members and board of directors for being involved in and taking an active role to advance our association. Raising membership dues is never an easy decision, but funding more initiatives and the association for the future will enable us to better serve our members.

“Leading NAR during a period of incredible change has been challenging, but it’s also been an honor. Thank you for owning it and the hardships and opportunities that lay ahead.”

The National Association of Realtors® is America’s largest trade association, representing 1.3 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

Media Contact:

Sara Wiskerchen
(202) 383-1013
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