This blog was written by NAR Research's intern, Bronwen Leibe.

Hi again, it’s me, the research intern! Let’s take a closer look at this year’s member profile!

In the 2018 NAR Member Profile, females still make up 63 percent of all REALTORS®. This remains notably constant throughout years of experience (girl power!). Females dominate the profession, except in function breakdown; they make up a smaller percentage of broker-owners, managers with selling, and appraisers.

The median age of REALTORS® for 2018 is 54 years old. Although, there has been a slight increase in younger REALTORS® (30 years old and younger) to 5 percent.  The consistent largest age group, those 65 years and older, has increased from 17 percent to 20 percent of all REALTORS®. As a large population embarks on retirement, there will be the need for other generations to enter into the industry.

Interestingly, REALTORS® aged 45 to 54 are a larger portion with 2 or less years of experience than REALTORS® aged 30 years old and younger. Are people coming from other occupations? Well, only five percent of REALTORS® reported real estate was their first career. With 95 percent coming from another occupation, were their previous jobs helpful to a transition in real estate? Thirty-two percent of REALTORS® had a previous career in management, business, finance or sales/retail. To me, those industries’ skills are reasonably applicable to real estate.

Conjointly, education at all levels is a valuable asset for an occupation. Thirty percent of REALTORS® have had some college education, 13 percent have their Associate’s Degree. A third of real estate agents have Bachelor Degrees, while 13 percent have a graduate degree. Nonetheless, investment in your occupation is just as noteworthy as investment in your education. Seventy-two percent of REALTORS® said that real estate was their only occupation--- showing that agents heavily invest their time into the industry. In fact, a considerable majority of 52 percent work 40 or more hours per week.  On top of working in real estate, two-thirds of NAR members volunteer in their communities! Already, REALTORS® play a big role in community building and it is admirable that NAR members are contributing outside of their occupation.

Notice: The information on this page may not be current. The archive is a collection of content previously published on one or more NAR web properties. Archive pages are not updated and may no longer be accurate. Users must independently verify the accuracy and currency of the information found here. The National Association of REALTORS® disclaims all liability for any loss or injury resulting from the use of the information or data found on this page.