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Since the pandemic began, a “Great Resignation” has taken root as people left their jobs. Many of them apparently may be shifted careers to real estate.
From January 2021 to January 2022, the top trending career search entry was “how to become a real estate agent,” according to Google searches.
More people have entered a career in real estate between 2020 and 2021, recording a 60% increase compared to the two years prior, The New York Times reports. With the real estate market booming across the country, job hunters may be drawn to the profession and the opportunity to build their own businesses.
“I think many people have gone through the journey over the past number of years now of exploring, I’ll call it self employment, and perhaps the kind of role that is both flexible and knows no boundaries,” Ryan Gorman, CEO of Coldwell Banker Real Estate, told Fortune. “And there is no more boundaryless role than a real estate agent. So we literally have real estate agents—with the same license that anyone can obtain over the next few months—who enjoy an income of seven and even eight figures, because they’ve realized that they can get out of it what they put into it. There is no telling you what the limit is to your potential.”
While the sky may be the limit for a real estate professional’s salary, most agents don’t make six figures, however. The median annual earnings for a real estate sales agent were $48,340 in May 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
People are being drawn to a career in real estate for better work/life balance, increased income potential, and gratitude for having a job, according to a new Coldwell Banker Real Estate survey of 1,405 licensed real estate agents and brokers.
The National Association of REALTORS®’ latest total membership count, reflecting April data, was at nearly 1.55 million members. The states with the most members are Florida, California, and Texas.