Real Estate Sales Agents
Rent, buy, or sell property for clients. Perform duties such as study property listings, interview prospective clients, accompany clients to property site, discuss conditions of sale, and draw up real estate contracts. Includes agents who represent buyer.
- Median pay
- $52,830
- Doing it now
- 427,000
- By 2035
- Up 1.7%
- Usually needs
- High school diploma or equivalent
a year
across the country
32,600 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Present purchase offers to sellers for consideration.
- Confer with escrow companies, lenders, home inspectors, and pest control operators to ensure that terms and conditions of purchase agreements are met before closing dates.
- Interview clients to determine what kinds of properties they are seeking.
- Prepare documents such as representation contracts, purchase agreements, closing statements, deeds, and leases.
- Coordinate property closings, overseeing signing of documents and disbursement of funds.
- Act as an intermediary in negotiations between buyers and sellers, generally representing one or the other.
- Promote sales of properties through advertisements, open houses, and participation in multiple listing services.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- Real EstateSee 68 colleges that teach it
- Real Estate DevelopmentSee 4 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Leading and persuading
Organised and precise
Helping and teaching
Careers like this one
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $52,830 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.