67 Shocking Real Estate Statistics You Need To Know

The real estate industry is constantly changing, both in terms of the consumer market and the professional landscape. Staying up to date on the latest real estate statistics is a great way to impress your clients as well as better position yourself for success in a very competitive field.

We’ve pulled together 67 of the most compelling real estate statistics from across the real estate field, covering market numbers, buyer and seller behavior, marketing trends, and real estate agent demographics to help you better understand your industry and leverage your knowledge to get more leads and close more deals.

Here are the 67 real estate stats you need to know:

Real Estate Agent Statistics

Understanding more about the real estate agent population is important because knowing who your industry contemporaries (and your competition) are will give you a leg up on your own business practices. Check out the real estate agent statistics below, as well as our most important takeaways from this data.

1. More than 63% of Realtors are women.

2. Only 43% of Realtors have completed a bachelor’s degree or higher.

3. Nearly one in nine Realtors in the United States lives in California.

4. Since 2000, the number of Realtors in Florida has nearly tripled from 67,000 to more than 180,000.

5. The median age for Realtors in the United States is 54.

6. The typical Realtor receives upward of 30% of their business from repeat clients or referrals.

7. 20% of Realtors have had their license for a year or less.

8. 71% of Realtors specialize in residential real estate.

9. 45% of brokers report that “keeping up with technology” is the biggest challenge their agents face.

10. Realtors earning $100,000 or more in gross commission income are more than twice as likely to use advanced technology tools like a CRM than agents who earn less.

Statistics courtesy of the National Association of Realtors, Real Estate Agent U, and Contactually.

Realtor Demographic Stats Major Takeaways

The results are pretty clear here—white women in their mid-50s remain the dominant force in the real estate industry.

Also, technology is both a challenge for most agents, and also clearly associated with success. If you’re an agent struggling to break through to the next level, it might be time to take a look at what you can do to level up your technology game with a great CRM or a website builder. Check out our article about the best real estate lead generation websites, each with their own CRM.

How Much Do Real Estate Agents Make?

Ever wondered how your take-home pay stacks up against the industry average? Here are some eye-opening stats about real estate agents and money.

11. The average income for a real estate agent working between 21 and 39 hours a week is $46,458.

12. The average income for real estate agents working 60 hours a week is $145,347.

13. The average income of real estate agents who’ve been full-time in the real estate business between four and 10 years is $63,595.

14. The average income of real estate agents who’ve been full-time in the real estate business between 11 and 25 years is $101,633.

15. The average real estate agent in the United States closes 12 deals a year.

Statistics courtesy of Real Estate Express.

Agent Income Major Takeaways

The numbers are clear, agents who put more time and effort into their real estate business get more out of it. If you’ve been in the business for a number of years and are willing to grind the hours, especially early on in your career, you can make a handsome living doing it. That being said, if you are looking to do real estate on the side, agents working 20-25 hours a week can still make a good chunk of change—just not enough to live on.

Number of Realtors By State

The National Association of Realtors keeps a pretty close eye on the number of Realtors there are in every state in order to better understand where to allocate their resources. Here’s all the members of NAR, broken down by the state they are licensed in.

Keep in mind, only about 1.35 million of the over 2 million licensed real estate agents in the United States belong to NAR, so there are professionals out there that this table doesn’t account for.

Realtors By State Major Takeaways

The major growth in the real estate agent population is indicative that this is still a bullish market; there’s lots of money to be made in real estate and there are many who are coming for their piece of the pie. The southern portions of the United States are seeing some of the largest growth, in some cases by more than 5% year-over-year.

Real Estate Marketing Statistics

Property marketing is a critical topic for real estate agents because it often serves two purposes—to advertise properties an agent has listed for sale, and act as de facto advertisements for what you as an agent can do for potential listers. Make no mistake, when you are marketing your listings, both buyers AND sellers are watching.

Here’s our top 10 real estate property marketing statistics, along with the conclusions we drew from them.

16. In 2020, it is estimated that more than one out of every five commercial drone shoots will be for real estate purposes.

17. 73% of homeowners say they are more likely to list with a Realtor who uses video to sell property.

18. On average, the third most viewed page on a real estate agent website is the “About Us” page.

19. Americans spend an average of 58 minutes per day on Facebook.

20. The average American Facebook user clicks on eight ads per month, 10 ads a month for women.

21. 69% of recent home sellers surveyed said that they would gladly write a review for their sales agent if requested.

22. Homes with drone photography as a part of the marketing plan sell, on average, 68% faster than those without.

23. When asked about the most important trait they look for in an agent, prospective home sellers chose “professional reputation” most often.

24. Recent sellers reported only 10% of their agents effectively used video to market their property.

25. Facebook Live watch times have, on average, quadrupled in the last 18 months.

Statistics courtesy of Hootsuite, The National Association of Realtors, Carrot, RIS Media, U.S. Association of Unmanned Aerial Videographers, and Autel Robotics

Property Marketing Stats Major Takeaways

Video, video, video. General internet marketers have been telling us for a while now that video is the king of the internet, and it’s becoming crystal clear that this is also the case in the real estate field. If you aren’t using video to market properties and yourself, you’re missing an opportunity that your competitors aren’t going to miss.

Let’s be honest though, not all of us are marketers, and most of us aren’t quite sure where to start when it comes to video. Maybe you’re good in front of the camera but don’t know how to edit footage together into a final product. Maybe you need templates to use to put together property marketing pieces and branding. Whatever you need, you can find it on Fiverr. Fiverr is a freelance marketplace where you can find a provider for just about any business task, including real estate video marketing.

Check out Fiverr

Real Estate Market Statistics

Keeping up on the national trends in the real estate market helps you identify what could be coming down the pike for your neighborhood, but also gives you ammunition for the conversations you’ll have with potential buyers and sellers who get their real estate news from CNN or Fox News.

Check out our picks for the most interesting real estate market stats below, as well as our key takeaways from them afterward.

26. Responding to a continued national trend of an inventory shortfall, list prices year over year in January 2020 are up nearly 4%.

27. The Boston metro area continues to lead the nation as the hottest real estate market with a median list price of over $631,000 and a median days-on-market of three. The Boston area has seen their average listing price change year-over-year for January 2020 by 4%.

28. June is, on average, the month when homes sell the fastest in the US.

29. Home ownership rates in the US have steadily risen since September 2016, coming in at 64.3% in January 2020.

30. In 2020, Fannie May and Freddie Mac are projecting that they’ll underwrite approximately 20,000 more mortgages than they did in 2019.

31. The Midwest and Southwest regions of the US are expected to have the most reliable growth in terms of sale prices in 2020, around 3% on average.

32. National home sales increased steadily month over month in 2019, starting from 555,000 homes sold in December 2018 to 690,000 homes sold in March 2019.

33. The number of homes with a sales price of less than $200,000 has fallen steadily since 2012, starting at nearly 1.1 million to a projection of just over 400,000 in 2019.

34. Mortgage rates are, on average, 10% lower than they were in 2018, driving a mortgage application increase rate of 8%.

35. In 2019, 35% of residential properties sold for between 95% and 99% of their listed price.

Statistics courtesy of Redfin, and the National Association of Realtors.

Real Estate Market Statistics Takeaways

Home prices are on the rise, most likely due to increased pressure on inventory. Many people thought that the seller’s market we’ve been experiencing in the last few years was on its way out, but it’s clear that we’re going to see it for a little while longer.

This conclusion may seem to conflict with the fact that existing home sales continue to fall, but one explanation for these disparate facts could be that home sellers are worried about being able to afford a new home if they decide to sell, pressuring them to stay put.

Real estate agents should take this information as a cue that the prospective buyers and sellers in their market need to be educated so they can make the best choices on the next step in their home journey. A great way to educate sellers in a particular area is to start a real estate farm and really focus in on a neighborhood. We’ve written an article all about starting a real estate farm, give it a read and find out how you can get in on this strategy.

Homebuyer Statistics

For most new real estate agents, working with buyers is the best way to break into the business. Having a handle on how the typical buyer operates will help you position yourself to pick up more buyer leads.

Here are our favorite homebuyer stats and our conclusions from them.

36. 59% of homebuyers under the age of 29 don’t expect to be in their home for more than 10 years. 28% of them plan on being in their new home less than five years.

37. As of 2018, millennials made up 37% of residential buyers.

38. One-third of homebuyers in 2019 were first-time homebuyers.

39. 18% of homebuyers in 2019 were single females.

40. The average millennial household income in 2018 ranged from $71,200 to $101,200.

41. In 2019, 84% of homebuyers identified themselves as Caucasian.

42. 74% of first-time homebuyers occupy rental housing immediately before purchasing their first home.

43. One in six homebuyers in 2019 were willing to compromise on the condition of a home if the price and location were right.

44. On average, buyers search on their own for a new home for three weeks before contacting a real estate agent.

45. Other than finding the right property, millennials identified “understanding the home buying process and steps” as the most difficult item in the journey.

Statistics courtesy of The National Association of Realtors.

Homebuyer Statistics Takeaways

Millennial homebuyers have picked up steam and are now the most important segment of the buyer population. Why the most important? Because getting in with this crowd now will help you create a lasting relationship with buyers who don’t plan on being in their first home for long, so you’ve got another transaction (or two) built in when they become a client.

Also, given the high volume of first-time homebuyers currently occupying rental housing, targeting your lead generation toward rental communities seems like a surefire way to build your client base.

Home Seller Statistics

In order to become a top producer, you need listings, and lots of them. Listings are great because you have a whole community of buyer’s agents who are also working to get you a deal, making closing transactions easier. So, understanding the current status of today’s home seller is very important.

Here are our favorite home seller stats from the last year, as well as our takeaways from them.

46. 92% of homes in the US are sold using an agent or a broker.

47. 75% of sellers sell their home with the first agent they interview.

48. The national median days-on-market for residential real estate in 2019 was 56.

49. Existing home sales have remained relatively steady since March 2019 (about 433,000 per month).

50. In contrast, new home sales surged in January 2020 to a 12 year high of 764,000 units.

51. Baby boomers make up an estimated 43% of the home seller market.

52. 41% of listed homes have a price reduction before they get an accepted offer.

53. 34% of sellers offer some sort of incentive (closing costs, home warranty, etc.) to entice offers.

54. The average home seller cashes in 29% equity in their property when they sell.

55. Only 2% of home sales in 2019 could be directly attributed to newspaper advertising.

Statistics courtesy of the National Association of Realtors, and PropertiesOnline.

Home Seller Statistics Takeaways

Home seller confidence continues to be high, maybe a little too high. Home sellers should be confident in the current seller’s market, as evidenced by the shrinking inventory, climbing prices, and the fantastic equity returns they’re currently enjoying. However, with the number of price reductions and ultimately the number of incentives that home sellers have to offer homebuyers to get the deal closed, home sellers might be overestimating the market’s actual strength.

The best real estate agents are going to tamp down these seller expectations a little, which will ultimately get them a better deal.

Fun Real Estate Facts

Here are a few of the little-known real estate facts that might surprise you about the real estate industry and the places we operate.

56. The famous Las Vegas strip isn’t actually located in the city of Las Vegas. It is located in the town of Paradise in order to avoid paying the huge property taxes.

57. In Scotland, homeowners paint their front door when they’ve paid off their mortgage.

58. Charles “Pretty Boy” Floyd was a depression era gangster and bank robber. When he robbed a bank, he would seek out and destroy the mortgage documents (thus erasing the record of debt), making him a hero among poor homeowners.

59. In 2009, there were more home foreclosures in the United States than there were marriages.

60. Alaska is simultaneously the northernmost, westernmost, and easternmost state in the United States. Also, Alaska has the second fewest number of licensed Realtors; only Vermont has fewer.

Statistics Courtesy of Inman.

Local Real Estate Market Statistics – Cities That May Surprise You

After the housing market correction of 2008, the US’s biggest cities were often the first to see any sort of recovery, and thus these markets saw growth as people flocked there for jobs and opportunity.

However, since 2015, growth in New York, Los Angeles, and even Chicago, has slowed to a crawl, each of these cities averaging an annual growth rate of less than a one-quarter percent per year in population.

But, the migration to cities hasn’t stopped. Seekers of new opportunity are headed to other cities with lower cost of living to seek their fortunes. Here are the seven cities we’re keeping our eye on in 2020.

61. Atlanta, GA

Projected Five Year Population Growth: 1.3%

Median Resident Age: 33

Median One Bedroom Rent: $1,029

Median Single Family Home Sale Price (Greater Metropolitan Area): $224,100

Year over Year Median Home Sale Price Growth: 9.7%

62. Austin, TX

Projected Five Year Population Growth: 2.3%

Median Resident Age: 32

Median One Bedroom Rent: $1,154

Median Single Family Home Sale Price (Greater Metropolitan Area): $318,200

Year over Year Median Home Sale Price Growth: 7.4%

63. Boise, ID

Projected Five Year Population Growth: 1.6%

Median Resident Age: 35

Median One Bedroom Rent: $715

Median Single Family Home Sale Price (Greater Metropolitan Area): $274,700

Year over Year Median Home Sale Price Growth: 18.3%

64. Charlotte, NC

Projected Five Year Population Growth: 1.5%

Median Resident Age: 34

Median One Bedroom Rent: $961

Median Single Family Home Sale Price (Greater Metropolitan Area): $245,000

Year over Year Median Home Sale Price Growth: 5.1%

65. Columbus, OH

Projected Five Year Population Growth: 0.8%

Median Resident Age: 32

Median One Bedroom Rent: $740

Median Single Family Home Sale Price (Greater Metropolitan Area): $207,600

Year over Year Median Home Sale Price Growth: 7.1%

66. Denver, CO

Projected Five Year Population Growth: 1.3%

Median Resident Age: 34

Median One Bedroom Rent: $1,063

Median Single Family Home Sale Price (Greater Metropolitan Area): $450,100

Year over Year Median Home Sale Price Growth: 7.7%

67. Las Vegas, NV

Projected Five Year Population Growth: 1.4%

Median Resident Age: 38

Median One Bedroom Rent: $927

Median Single Family Home Sale Price (Greater Metropolitan Area): $294,600

Year over Year Median Home Sale Price Growth: 12.6%

Statistics courtesy of PWC, The National Association of Realtors, City Data, and Rentonomics.

Over To You

Was there a real estate statistic we didn’t cover that you’d like to hear about? A city we don’t have on the list that you know is booming? Leave us a comment below, let’s keep the conversation going.