How Much Money do First-year Real Estate Agents Make?
If you have ever watched any of the Million Dollar Listing “reality” shows on Bravo TV, you have likely seen large six-figure potential income numbers flash on the screen in bright, bold colors. These graphics add to the allure of the show and provide an additional entertaining feature, but they are not reality. The producers of the show know people love seeing large numbers like this and talking about large sums of cash because, well, most people are obsessed with money, especially since they likely don’t have much.
As entertaining as these shows are (and I’ll admit they are really entertaining), they have also created a false sense of what being a real estate agent is like. What the shows fail to focus on (because it wouldn’t be as entertaining) is all of the hard work (done for free) it took to make those commissions. Plus, these agents are veteran agents with many years of experience (and failures) who work in an extremely rare market that supports six-figure commissions. Realistically, 99% of the country is not even in the same pricing ballpark as the homes showcased. So if you had hopes of making six-figure commissions in your first year, come back to Earth. Before you get mad at me, I’m not saying it isn’t possible because I believe anything is possible, but unless you are in the same markets as these agents, I want to keep you grounded so you can focus on making over six figures each year.
So, now that I’ve slapped you back to reality, let’s talk about what you should expect to make in your first year.
Before I do, though, it would help for you to understand exactly how you will get paid since that’s kinda important.
How Are Real Estate Agents Paid?
A real estate agent is not like being an employee, where you know you will be paid every two weeks. At its core, real estate is sales, and with most sales jobs, it is typically 100% commission-based. This means that if you do not sell a home, you don’t get paid. It’s not uncommon for agents to go months without getting paid. For most people, this lack of consistency in income is terrifying. It is one of the many reasons so many get out of real estate as fast as they get in. On the flip side, there is also no limit to what you can make, which attracts those few people who are driven to create a life they dream of.
Agents, for the most part, work for “free.” All of the time spent showing buyers properties or marketing a listing is pro bono. Plus, there is no guarantee your buyers will ever buy or your listings will ever sell. You could show a buyer 60 properties and have them tell you they have decided not to buy. Or spend six months doing everything possible to market your listing to have a seller tell you they want to try a different agent. At the same time, IF you can get an offer accepted, there is no guarantee the sale will close. For example, I worked with my buyers for over six months only to have the deal fall apart at the closing table. Oh, and if you can get your sale to close, it typically won’t be for 30-60 days after the offer was accepted. And on top of all of this. You don’t even get to keep the full commission amount because your breakage gets their cut first!
OK, so now that you know all of that, how exactly does an agent get paid?
Real estate agents get paid any time they:
Help a buyer buy a property
Sell a listing
Receive a referral (referring one of your clients to another agent for a percentage of their commission)
Represent a tenant on a rental property or list one
Regardless of which way you are to be paid, the process to do so is the same. The commission check is received by your brokerage. From there, all brokerage fees are taken off the top (transaction fees, processing fees, printing fees, etc.) Then, the brokerage takes their percentage out (what the amount you agree to with them). Finally, whatever is left is given to you. So you can start with a $5,000 check and by the time it gets to you, its less than half.
For the sake of brevity, I am not going to go into more detail about how commissions work in this blog, but if you would like more information on this, I have an example HERE on my New Agent Resources page you can check out, along with a commission calculator to play with.
How Many Sales do New Real Estate Agents do in Their First Year?
Now that you know agents only get paid when they sell a property, the next question is, how many sales should you expect to do in your first year? This is kind of a loaded question since it depends on a number of factors, like how much effort you put in, if you have people willing to work with you when you enter the industry, or what leads you can generate, to name a few. But, if you are looking for a number and have Googled enough to still have no idea, I’m going to share what I know for sure from my experience as an agent, owning a brokerage for almost a decade, and spending over 100 hours researching.
Before I opened up my brokerage, I wanted to learn from agents in my market and around the country what their experience was like at their brokerage. I wanted to know what agents liked and disliked so I could create a model designed to help agents succeed quickly. In speaking with these agents, I’d ask about the number of properties new agents were selling in their market. This was important for me to know because my brokerage was specifically designed to help brand-new agents, so I needed a baseline for comparison. From my research, most agents can expect to sell 2-4 properties in their first year.
But don’t just take my word for it. My conclusion is backed up by the 2025 chart below from the National Association of Realtors member profile highlights.
How Much Does a Real Estate Agent Make in Their First Year?
OK, knowing most agents sell fewer than five properties a year, what exactly does that translate to in dollars? Well, trying to figure out what first-year agents make is not so easily calculable. There are so many factors that can go into what you can make. Like, the amount you get paid for each transaction. You could have seven sales and make less than if you had one large one. Plus, how much you make per transaction will depend on your agreement with your clients and with your brokerage. Since every brokerage offers different commission splits, it is impossible to give you an exact number, so I am going to rely on the chart below from the National Association of Realtors 2025 member profile highlights.
From the research I have done, I tend to believe this chart is accurate for new agents. If I am putting a number on it, less than $10,000 is about right for a few reasons. First, most sales agents have in year one are lower-priced sales, so the commission checks are not going to be anywhere near those six-figure ones being shown on Million Dollar Listing. Second, typically, brokerages do not offer new agents high commission splits. Brokerages don’t expect new agents to sell much, so they offer splits of around 50% so they can at least make some money off the agent. Finally, convincing people to trust someone (you) with no experience to make arguably the biggest financial decision of their lives is not easy, and most people would prefer to work with a veteran agent, even if they are your bestie.
Look, I know $10,000 isn’t $100,000, but it doesn’t mean it can’t be. In my research, I have found that most people who enter the industry are not serious about being an agent. They think they can make money quickly, then as soon as the reality I spoke about earlier sets in, they leave. But if you are sincere about being a real estate agent and building the life of your dreams, also know that anything is possible.
Does all of this make sense? If not, please leave a comment so I can make sure it does!
If this blog has been helpful and you'd like to learn more about this topic, please check out my other blogs below!
How Many Sales New Real Estate Agents Make Depends on the Agent
How Do Real Estate Agents Get Paid?
“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” —C.S. Lewis
P.S. If what I mentioned above didn’t frighten you and you believe being a real estate agent is what you have been looking for, I encourage you to check out the coaching program I have developed to help agents before they enter the industry. The program is designed to help you avoid the frustrations I and so many other agents felt when entering the industry, struggling to survive while clinging to the belief we will succeed. It is completely based on proven results from my experience as a top-producing agent, owning a brokerage for almost a decade (where I helped agents average 2x4 times the amount of sales and income), and from spending over 25,000 hours learning from history’s most legendary people! If this sounds like something that would benefit you, please click HERE to set up a FREE 30 Minute Virtual Call to learn more about how I can help you.