One thing a lot of people ask when thinking about getting into real estate is how much income can a real estate agent make? More specifically how much does a Florida real estate agent make? These questions really depend on the city they are in, the experience they have, and ultimately how many homes they sell in a given year.
How do real estate agents get paid?
The majority of Florida real estate agents work as independent contractors under a brokerage company, they typically do not get paid an hourly amount but instead are paid by commission or referral fees.
What is a commission and how much commission do real estate agents get?
Real estate commission is the percentage of the total home sale price, this is typically distributed between the buyer’s agent and the listing agent. For most real estate agent, the commission is their primary source of income.
So how much commission do real estate agents get? Typically commission rates for real estate agents are between 5-6% of a home’s sale price. This is split between the listing and buying agent so 2.5-3% each. It’s important to note that an agent or company cannot represent both the buyer and seller, this is called dual agency and is illegal in most states.
What are real estate referral fees?
Real estate referral fees are another way agents can earn money, although a little less common and a lot less profitable. When an agent refers a client to you, commission will typically go to that agent, these are called referral fees. This scenario usually happens with new real estate agents getting clients from more senior agents or when there is a particular conflict of interest such as a family member. .
How much does a real estate agent make a year?
Like with most commission-based jobs this really varies from agent to agent and market to market. Some real estate agents specialize in high value properties where the commission for a single sale will be 6 figures, while others focus on smaller properties but sell 5 a month.
Lucky for us we can use some national data to get an idea of how much real estate agents make in Florida.
Image data from Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
We can also highlight what cities in Florida have the highest paid real estate agents, which we grabbed from Ziprecruiter from 2019.
- Jacksonville, FL – $81,569
- Miami, FL – $83,220
- Tampa, FL – $80,982
- St. Pete, FL – $74,094
- Orlando, FL – $76,357
- Hialeah, FL – $73,444
- Port St. Lucie, FL – $82,536
- Cape Coral, FL – $77,384
- Tallahassee, FL – $73,284
- Fort Lauderdale, FL – $78,399
Conclusion
Typically your average real estate agent makes between $50,000 and $65,000 a year with commissions and referrals. If you are looking to sell your house without paying out 5% of your house’s total worth contact us about a cash offer on your home that includes no fees.