How many HOURS on average do Real Estate Agents work?

7 Comments

1. Lex says:

   May 17, 2010 at 1:53 pm

   First and foremost, realtors have to pay to advertise your home. Also, they work all hours promoting houses and closing deals. In light of that and in a soft market, your house is unlikely worth the time vs. money if the mandate period (usually three months) runs it’s course.

   Also - realtors wouldn’t command the percentage they make if they weren’t worth it, sellers would drive the price down. Your attitude, if it’s accuratly reflected here, may also contribute to an unwillingness to deal.
2. Gregorio says:

   May 18, 2010 at 11:57 pm

   Depending on the market you are in and and the property values in your area, many agents wouldn’t get out of bed for $2500. Not all agents split 50/50 with their brokers. Some actually make 90% or even 100% commission on their 3%. Figure in a high value market like California where home values average at least 500K, that would be $15,000 in commissions at 3%.

   And … you may have unrealistic expectations on how fast your home can sell. You say you are selling it in a “quick sale”, what exactly is that? Is there a magic “quick sale” fairy that comes along and produces qualified buyers with magic financing already in place? The market is bad, things take time. It may take months to sell you home and $2500 is nothing. Even if it sold in 1 month $2500 to an experienced agent won’t pay the bills.
3. Lola says:

   May 22, 2010 at 11:23 am

   As a former realtor, I can tell you that most commissions are 7% or at least they were years ago. We will use your example of $10,000. First of all 1/2 of it will got to the listing broker, so now we’re down to $5,000. You are correct in assuming that the remainder will be divided between the two agents. Maybe she is just trying to keep the entire amount for herself, which really wouldn’t surprise me. So if she can’t find a buyer herself she will come up with excuses not to share it with someone else.

   As for what a realtor does… that’s a lot that won’t fit here. There are a lot of expenses involved such as advertising, signs, contracts, getting a title company to send you info on the house… and then there are the hours spent at the office, and the hours spent driving people around, some of whom are just sight seeing and not really interested in actually buying anything. Then there are the hours spent holding open houses. There is a lot involved and a realtor doesn’t get paid a single cent until AFTER the title clears, the sale closes and the funds are released from escrow. Then out of that $2500 she will still have to pay business taxes, personal taxes (double the amount by the way because you have to pay your share and the companys share because you are an independent contractor) social security & medicare, and malpractice insurance. By the time they get done there is not much left. Most likely less that $900! And now that $900 has to cover all of her expenses that she paid out before the house sold.
4. Stacy says:

   May 24, 2010 at 10:54 am

   My husband is an agent. I don’t even try to keep up with the number of hours he works in a week, but I have a normal 40/hr week job, and he definitely works more than I do. Agents have to be available all the time, often working evenings and weekends. I can’t complain about the income overall, but it’s a very depressing thing to work out his hourly wage.

   The important data missing from your question is your selling price, if your home is listed for more than $150,000, your commission looks paltry. And yes, there are buyers agents who will look at the commission being offered to them when showing a property.

   That said, I don’t like agents who make excuses (is she really saying *that’s* the only reason for no offers?) and I don’t understand agents who compromise their commissions. How can you possibly afford to offer the same services on half a 5% commission that you would have offered on a half a 7% commission?
5. frankie b says:

   May 27, 2010 at 6:11 am

   OK here’s the thing, you forgot to mention your list price, and what the average list price in your area is. If you are listed at 100k then the 10k would be a very good commission.(10%)
   Now if you are listed at 500k, then the 5k commission to the co broke looks like a joke. They could go nest door and get 2.5 % of 500k. This is 12.5k. Now if you are an agent what one would you try to sell? Its simple math. Give more info, and I will answer the question in more detail.
6. godged says:

   May 30, 2010 at 11:53 am

   Geez, I don’t even want to keep track of the hours I work. The one thing about being a Realtor is that you are basically always on call. I had a client call me Sunday morning wanting to go to some open houses. So, rather than lounge around with the hubby, I went to some open houses.

   As for hours per house, it really depends on the transaction. I have had some quick and painless transactions that went smoothly. But some others were problem after problem, and I probably spent 50 hours for one sale that finally closed. And it was a smaller commission than you are offering.

   As the other posters said, you may have priced yourself poorly against the competition. If your property was perfect for one of my clients, I’d show it. But I know some Realtors will check commission and won’t pitch property with lower commissions.

   What we do to sell a home can vary drastically by client. At least it is for me.
7. jeanniep says:

   June 2, 2010 at 9:28 pm

   if you are doing a quick sale to get out of this asap
   you don’t have any negotiating room