NAR's 2003 Member Profile

NAR Survey shows Large Growth in REALTORS®

Newcomers entering the real estate industry accounted for three-fourths of a large increase in membership of the National Association of REALTORS® during last year, according NAR’s 2003 Member Profile.

NAR has added 102,000 members in the last year for a total of 962,000.  The survey shows 8 percent of NAR members are newcomers to the industry, which accounts for 77,000 of our new members. An additional 25,000 practitioners were previously licensed but decided to join the REALTOR® family.

An additional 5 percent of NAR members — about 48,000 — have been in the business for one to two years. The typical member has been in the business for 13 years, with a median of eight years for sales agents and 17 years for brokers.

For the first time, a majority of real estate brokers are women – 52 percent—while women continue to dominate full-time sales agents at 54 percent.

While the REALTOR® universe is growing in diversity, the survey shows the typical member is a 51-year-old married female with a gross personal income of $52,200, who works 40 hours a week and often communicates with clients by e-mail.

Typical NAR members are agents who are affiliated with an independently owned, nonfranchised firm. They complete 13 transaction sides per year, equivalent to 6.5 full sales transactions. More than one out of four works as a member of a team, while 21 percent have personal assistants. For four out of five, the primary business activity is residential brokerage.

Half of all REALTORS® practice both buyer agency and seller agency, with disclosed dual agency for in-company transactions; 73 percent of members are compensated by a percentage of commission split.

The gross personal income of sales agents rose 15 percent between 2000 and 2002 to a median of $39,300, while the gross income of brokers declined 11 percent to $65,300. The decline in broker income results from a rise in the number of less experienced brokers, a decline in the number of hours worked and an increase in the number of brokers whose primary function is sales.

REALTORS® are well educated, with 90 percent pursuing education beyond high school compared to 69 percent for the U.S. labor force as a whole. Only 6 percent chose real estate as their first career; 15 percent worked in sales before entering the field.

NAR members who are racial or ethnic minorities have grown by 2 percentage points since 2001. Ten percent are racial or ethnic minorities; however, this number under-represents the actual total because a large portion of respondents aren’t comfortable in answering such questions and simply leave that section blank.

The member profile shows 15 percent conduct some business in a language other than English, which also shows a higher level of ethnic diversity than the survey would indicate; 8 percent of all respondents were born outside of the United States.

Four-out-of-five REALTORS® frequently use e-mail for business purposes, 50 percent use a digital camera and 70 percent have a home office. There’s been continued growth in the use of technology–46 percent of our members have a personal Web site, up from 43 percent in 2001, in addition to 87 percent of member firms, up from 82 percent two years ago.

Also, 84 percent of members place their listings on REALTOR.com, up from 68 percent in 2001; and 69 percent place listings on a local REALTOR® association Web site.

Many NAR members hold at least one professional designation, with the most popular being GRI (Graduate, REALTOR® Institute), held by 19 percent of respondents, ABR® (Accredited Buyer Representative), 12 percent, and CRS® (Certified Residential Specialist), 10 percent.