The average Florida Realtor is female, 55 years old and voted.
Those are some of the findings from the “2009 Member Profile, Florida Report,” a survey by the National Association of Realtors’ Research Division.
In Florida, 61 percent of Realtors hold a sales agent license, and 21 percent hold a broker license. Seventy-eight percent consider residential brokerage their primary specialty, with 64 percent reporting their main function as sales agent, and 8 percent as broker licensees.
Other report findings:
Business traits: The typical Realtor in Florida has been in the business for 10 years, 16 percent have at least one personal assistant and and 75 percent maintain a home office.
Technology: Sixty-three percent have a Web site for business purposes, 55 percent have had a Web site for at least five years and 92 percent use e-mail daily or nearly every day. Eighty percent use a cell phone daily or nearly every day, and 41 percent use some kind of smart phone. Eight percent have a blog and 13 percent plan to start a blog in the future
Demographic characteristics: In Florida, 58 percent of Realtors are female; the median age is 55. Eighty-five percent are white, 11 percent Hispanic/Latino, 3 percent black/African American, and 2 percent Asian/Pacific Islander. Forty-six percent have a bachelor’s degree or higher; 37 percent had a prior career in management, business, finance or sales. Eighty percent say real estate is their only occupation.
Voting: Ninety-three percent of Realtors in Florida are registered to vote, and 91 percent voted in the last national election.
Professional: Thirty-two percent of Florida Realtors have a professional designation; 90 percent are certain that they will remain active as real estate professionals during the next two years.
Sales activity: The typical brokerage specialist completed six transaction sides in 2008 with a median sales volume of just under $1 million. Realtors with two years or less experience reported a median sales volume of $0.2 million, 3-5 years experience reported $0.7 million, and 6-15 years of experience reported $1.0 million. A median of 19 percent of business in 2008 was based on referrals, and 46 percent worked with international clients.
Income and expenses: Seventy percent report a percentage commission split; 18 percent have a 100 percent commission arrangement. Typical business expenses average $5,170. The median gross income was $32,200; those with two or fewer years experience earned $8,100. Those with three to five years experience earned $20,700; those with 16-plus years earned $44,500. The median gross household income of Realtors was $78,600 in 2008; 55 percent say real estate is not the primary source of household income.
Office affiliations: Fifty-five percent are affiliated with an independent, non-franchised firm, 30 percent with an independent, franchised company; nine percent with a franchised subsidiary. Seventy-eight percent work as independent contractors and the average Realtor has worked for five years at a firm with 19 commercial and residential brokers and agents.
Health care: Seventy-one percent of Realtors receive no insurance or retirement benefits from their firm.
The completed 137-page “2009 Member Profile, Florida Report” is available online at http://www.floridarelators.org. To read the study, go to: http://www.floridarealtors.org/LegislativeCenter/Research/index.cfm