Real Estate Agents

Most often, when property changes ownership there is a real estate agent involved. There are over 150,000 agents on the books. That means there is nearly one real estate agent per every 2000 people in the United States. They are invaluable in helping owners (and renters) sell or rent houses, land, offices, buildings. The black population in the United States now over 14%. So, I thought it would be interesting to see where black real estate agents rank in the country demographically.

Black Real Estate Agents

Black real estate agents make up a relatively tiny part of the real estate industry. Over three quarters of the real estate agents in the United States are white at 75.2%. Whites are followed by Hispanics or Latinos at 11.6% of the personnel. Next, is the Asian group making up 6.2%. All three of these groups have more real estate agents than blacks do.

Only 5.0% identified as Black. Essentially, of the six categories surveyed, blacks came in 4th place above the American Indian/Alaska Native category (0.3%) and the category of “unknown” at 1.7%.

Real Estate Agent - Racial Share vs Population

Race	Percentage of Population	Share of Real Estate Agents
Black	13.4	5.0%
White	60.1	75.2%
Hispanic / Latino	18.5	11.6%
Asian	5.9	6.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native	1.3	0.3%
Unknown	-	1.7%

Real Estate Agent Demographics

Let’s take a look at how the share of the agent market matches up to the racial share of the population…

Black

Blacks are underrepresented in the real estate agent field. In 2020, black people made up around 13.4% of the United States population. Meanwhile, only about 5% of real estate agents in the U.S. were black.

White

In contrast to Blacks, Whites are drastically overrepresented in the real estate field. They hold a 75.2% share of the markets personnel. Meanwhile, they represent only 60.1 percent of the population. That’s when we restrict it to “White Only”. That only covers those that don’t claim Hispanic origins.

Hispanic / Latino

Hispanic and Latino people represent an 11.6% share of the real estate agents in the United States. Like Blacks, they are underrepresented in terms of population versus industry representation. In population, Hispanics and Latinos represent an 18.5% share.

Asian

Asians, unlike Blacks and Hispanics and Latinos, are slightly overrepresented in the real estate industry. Interestingly, that population margin is very small. That number almost mirrors their representation within the population. Asians represent 5.9% of the population. Meanwhile, they represent a 6.2% share of the real estate agent industry participants.

American Indian and Alaska Native

Members of this racial group represent a very small portion of the overall population. And, they represent a dismally low percentage of the share of real estate agents. The population percentage is 1.3%. Meanwhile, the share of industry participants is 0.3%.

What Real Estate Agents Do

Here’s a basic list of examples of responsibilities that real estate agents might have on their resumes. It represent things they are likely to do in their roles.

• Learn all phases of real estate ethics, practice and procedures.
• Utilize real estate expertise and communication skills to negotiate both residential and commercial property transactions.
• Respond to other real estate agents to develop marketing strategies and customer lead acquisition.
• Create ad campaigns for Google ad-words and Social Media.
• Organize listing paperwork, contract, and disclosures.
• Coordinate counsels, owners, and architects to facilitate office property transactions.
• Market properties utilizing sound planning, professional ethics, persuasive skills, and a strong company support systems.
• Coordinate real estate closings.
• Prepare closing documents including contract addenda, HUD-1 statements, deeds and affidavits.
• Optimize marketing campaigns based on ROI and progress against sales and lease goals.

Black Real Estate Agents

Race	Percentage of Agents	Average Income	Average Age (Male)	Average Age (Female)
White	75.2%	$98,045	50	51
Hispanic or Latino	11.6%	$94,057	45	44
Unknown	1.7%	$97,760	44	42
Asian	6.2%	$97,684	45	47
Black or African American	5.0%	$93,212	48	48
American Indian and Alaska Native	0.3%	-	-

Black Real Estate Agent Age and Income

Age

The average age of a black real estate agent in America was 48 years old in 2020. That age is the same for both males and females. Blacks have the second highest average age. Whites are highest averaging 50 for males and 51 for females.

The most logical reason for higher age averages in this career field than in many others is that real estate tends to be a second, third, or later career for many. A lot of people find that experience in other jobs helps them become Real Estate Agents. Often, Real Estate Agents have previous career experience as Sales Associates, Customer Service Representatives, or other similar roles.

Income

The average income for a black real estate agent was $93,212. This put Blacks in the field in last place for known income for real estate agents. Whites took the first place spot at an average income of $98,045. The unknown race category was next at $97,760. Next, was Asians at $97,684. And, finally in fourth place was Hispanic and Latino real estate agents with $94,057. So, there was $4,833 difference in average annual income between Black agents in last place and White agents in the first place position.

Education

There is no real education requirement. Around 59.4% of Real Estate Agents have a bachelor’s degree. Meanwhile, 7.4% of Real Estate Agents have master’s degrees. But, there is some good news. Fortunately, you can enter the field with only a high school degree or GED.

Life experience and people skills seem to be the most important factors for aspiring Real Estate Agents.

Becoming a Real Estate Agent

So, a good question to ask is why there are so few black real estate agents. At least, when compared to our share of the population. It most certainly can’t be about the money. That’s because real estate agents make an above average income on average. However, it is mostly a commission only career. Success, in the beginning, can be hard. Most beginners usually need another form of support. At least, until they build their clientele and start making the good money.

I believe that’s the hard part. You rarely see stories of “overnight success”. It takes hard work. And, they have to stick with it. It can seem glamorous on the surface. But, you must understand the amount of work it takes. Also, it isn’t all about what you know. It matters who you know. It’s true that your net worth is you network.

The field definitely presents some great opportunities for Blacks to make a great living. But, there are a lot of folks out there struggling to make ends meet. Remember, those income levels mentioned earlier are averages. That means there are many making a lot more. In contrast there are quite a few agents making little. Some make no money at all.

In any case, we need more representation. For those who are successful, it’s worth it.

Peace and Blessings!