Illusion vs. Reality: NWAOR 80/20 Rule Proven in Charts

The Northern Wasatch Association of Realtors released their 2011 survey.  They had a total of 476 respondents.  Here are some interesting findings:

It appears that 28% of Realtors in Northern Utah work two jobs.  The question I wanted answered is how many people truly make a living doing real estate vs. supplementing their income in real estate.  I also would be interested to hear how many Realtors live with a spouse or significant other that work and contribute to the household income.  An appropriate question would have been "Does Real Estate sales provide the majority of income in your household?" Unfortunately, this survey does not completely answer that question.  However, it does give us a clue:

The Real Estate industry is highly pretentious and ego-centric to a large degree.  What you are told is not always how things actually are.  That is why I love the MLS and these kinds of surveys.  They get to the crux of what is really going on out there.   

This pie chart here shows that a whopping 61% of agents sell less than 10 homes a year!  I would say that 10 transactions is the threshold necessary to stay proficient in the industry.  Certainly, selling less that 4 homes a year does not meet this standard and with well over a third of the folks in our ranks falling into this category, it is no wonder that the industry is often given a bad name.  It's my opinion that many of these folks know just enough to be dangerous.

Meanwhile, only 20% of the agents are selling more than 20 transactions per year.  I would qualify this number of transactions (unless you are selling super expensive houses) as the number needed to be truly full-time and a serious wage earner in the business.  Perhaps I feel this way because I fall in the category of the 20-30 range each year.  I am also the sole breadwinner in my home which I know is an anomaly in the industry as well.  This chart basically proves the Pareto Principle or 80/20 rule of life.

Regardless, the next time you interview a Realtor, ask them: "Are you a full-time professional Realtor?"  See what they say.  As the top chart shows, way more than 20% will likely answer you in the affirmative.