How much do REA's earn?

I know it obviously varies depending on how good they are, but what would their average commission be? Or average salary? The other thread about what cars they drive reminded me, as I've been wondering for a while.
 
It's a cyclical business. Those who are good earn a packet. I've met a few who earn over $200,000 perannum during good times. Most just get by, struggling from paycheque to paycheque, supplemented by the occasional joint-sale. Around half the long-term REAs I know don't even own their own home! Most do not have tertiary qualifications - not that having the a degree would make one a better salesperson.
 
Next to nothing in salary/wages if it's a sales agent, commission is where you see the big bucks - and even then, most of those would be commission only so it's not a "secure wage". Last I checked, absolute minimum is around the $600/week mark.

For a PM, not much and usually only a small commission, if any. With 2years experience, $45-$50k.

Obviously the PM example will vary greatly depending on the area, working with high end properties and with 2+ years experience that will go up to about $55-$60k and $75k for a senior PM (or more).
 
The salaries are detailed here: https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/documents/modern_awards/pdf/MA000106.pdf (page 14-15).

Agents can work either on salary + commission, or commission only (with some prerequisites).

From my understanding a pretty common spilt for agents on salary + commission is about 65% to the agency, 35% of the agent and that's generally around 2% of the sale price. These numbers are all case-by-case, agency-by-agency though.

Lets say you make a $500,000 sale. That'd be $3,500 in the pocket on top of your salary at 35% of 2%.
 
My late father in law was a real estate principal for the last 15 yrs of his life in a town where the average price was <$200k (ie not the eastern suburbs of Sydney - in a town where transactions, and not average commissions, are everything).

Even in lean years the heavy hitters in his business would gross >$100k.

During the booms, more than triple that.

However, heavy hitters are the exception and not the rule in real estate. And the wise agents squirrel away funds during the booms.

But your "average" agent would probably do better financially in some easy M to F 9 to 5 job.
 
I've always have the itch to become a salesman in the druitt. "Now this house has been rented for the last 5 years but you never see the tenant, always pays in advance. Hydro set up and staffys are thrown in!"

Come and inspect...see if your fists fit in the holes in the walls. Could be a perfect match! lol.
 
A mate of mine is a REA.
Her base is 40k.
All the rest is commission.
I think last FY she paid close to 50k tax.
So, working backwards, is that 160-70k?
 
I know it obviously varies depending on how good they are, but what would their average commission be? Or average salary? The other thread about what cars they drive reminded me, as I've been wondering for a while.

I have a mate that bought a real estate business about 3 years ago ,the first 2 years he was making above 250k after tax,speaking to him over Christmas and he tells me the market is very slow so this year might not be that high after all the costs to run that type of business model,the problem with real estate sales is you only ever hear about the high flying agents,not the ones that never make it into their second year,my idea of success is how much time to have to do nothing..
 
Real estate agents are not just residential sales agents. There are some of us who are commercial agents and some of them (like me) specialise in a field of two and we are paid well for our expertise.

Personally I would never sell residential for a living (preference in being a buyer).
 
How much they get paid, is way more than how much they earn

I have to say this is a bit of a generalisation. My mother was a very good agent, worked seven days a week, usually getting signatures after hours and sometimes up to midnight to close a deal. She was not pushy at all, highly respected.

I recall very well her first year earnings were over $70K (commission based). That was back in 1986. It was a very good income back then, but one day my dad teased out the figures and worked out that she didn't earn more than a "normal" hourly wage when the hours she worked were divided into the income.

If I ever was to sell houses, I'd try to sell mid to high end houses. Generally the same amount of work is done to sell "any" house (with obvious differences that don't need spelling out).
 
Real estate agents are not just residential sales agents. There are some of us who are commercial agents and some of them (like me) specialise in a field of two and we are paid well for our expertise.

Personally I would never sell residential for a living (preference in being a buyer).

This is very true, commercial managers tend to be paid a lot higher than the residential agents.

I wouldn't say it's because they're better, but it's very different. Plus if you're managing larger scale buildings (such as Coles etc.) you're earning the company more money than your run of the mill resi agent.
 
A mate of mine is a REA.
Her base is 40k.
All the rest is commission.
I think last FY she paid close to 50k tax.
So, working backwards, is that 160-70k?

Yeah sounds about right - but that's taxable income and not indicative of overall turnover....remember there's fancy cars to lease and business lunches to be had :)

Cheers

Jamie
 
Just like in any business - most are starving.

There was one time when I told a friend who was a photographer that I am expecting 5 settlements this month - that was about $50K in commissions.

He ran out and got a real estate license LOL - earned a total of ZERO from that license.

There is so much more to business!
 
Mate of mine may earn 7 figures but has near 30 years in the game, has a big rent roll and has busted his chops for years. Like anything, if you work hard and have some luck you'll go well
 
My mother was a very good agent, worked seven days a week, usually getting signatures after hours and sometimes up to midnight to close a deal. She was not pushy at all, highly respected.

If I ever was to sell houses, I'd try to sell mid to high end houses.

From my observations, the best real estate are your like your mother Wylie: they're not pushy. A few years ago I wanted to sell a house. I had a real estate agent come over and give me a figure. His words were, 'Don't sell'. He could've encouraged me to sell, but he didn't: he wanted what was best for me. He is still my 'go to' re agent to this day.

All the re agents I see drive BMWs and flash cars--much nicer than my Commodore, lol.
 
Real estate agents are not just residential sales agents. There are some of us who are commercial agents and some of them (like me) specialise in a field of two and we are paid well for our expertise.

Personally I would never sell residential for a living (preference in being a buyer).

Agreed totally Chilliblue - there's another world out there outside of residential.

This is very true, commercial managers tend to be paid a lot higher than the residential agents.

I wouldn't say it's because they're better, but it's very different. Plus if you're managing larger scale buildings (such as Coles etc.) you're earning the company more money than your run of the mill resi agent.

In commercial (and retail) you are dealing with a more diligent tenant (or the good ones engage specialised tenant reps for their lease management eg: chainstore retailers outsource this role). How many residential tenants would engage a tenant rep?
 
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