The nation’s real estate agents and brokers, who largely escaped blame for the housing crisis, earned more again last year.
As the U.S. housing market continued to recover during 2013, the country’s home prices grew by 11.5 percent.
That ongoing improvement since the real estate downturn has had a direct impact on the compensation of agents and brokers.
The National Association of Realtors reported in its 2014 National Association of Realtors Member Profile that median gross income for its roughly 1 million members averaged $47,700 last year.
A year earlier, earnings averaged just $43,500.
It was the third consecutive year that income increased.
Income averaged just $34,900 in 2011.
Last year’s average income for Realtors with more than 16 years in the business was $70,200, while it dropped to $30,100 for agents with between three and five years’ experience.
Overall, the average number of years in the business for NAR members was 12 during 2013.
Another finding from the survey was that there was an increase in new and younger members at NAR in 2013. The average age was 56.
A majority — 57 percent — of Realtors were women.
While NAR President Steve Brown noted in the report that “Realtors bring value to buyers,” they didn’t prevent buyers from buying into one of the worst housing bubbles in decades. Yet little media coverage or government scrutiny was ever focused on the sector.
