If you're like most people, deciding on a new career has lots of hidden cost and opportunities, but finding a break down of what is really involved in becoming a successful agent can be a challenge. This infographic is part of a series we are doing on being a real estate agent, what other agents are spending on advertising and marketing, what you can expect to spend yearly and how you might budget. Good luck. Let us know what you think. http://placester.com/academy/

1. Gas&Maintenance
$0.21
/mile
AAAestimateforamedium-sizedsedan.
Itmaynotsoundlikemuch,butmany
Realtorslogmorethan20,000
milesayeamilesayear.
AutoInsurance
$1,020
/year
AAAestimateforfullcoverageonaAAAestimateforfullcoverageona
medium-sizedsedan.Thegoodnews:
manyautoinsurancecompaniesoffer
discountsthroughtheNAR.
Foragentslookingtostayrelevantandknowledgeableina
changingindustry,competitioncomesatacost.
EDUCATION&
ENRICHMENT
AveragevehicleexpenseforRealtorsin2012,
accordingtotheNAR
$1,790/year
Somelessobviousexpensescantakeasignificanttollona
realestateagent’sbottomline.
OTHER
COSTS
Realestateagentsputanestimated3.6billionmilesontheir
carseachyear,previewingpropertiesandshuttlingclients
fromhousetohouse.
TRANSPORTATION
Gettingthewordoutaboutyourrealestatebusinessisone
ofthemostdifficultaspectsofthejob.Itcanalsobeoneof
themostexpensive,particularlyfornewagentstryingto
growtheircustomerbase.
31%ofrealestateagents
spendover$1000a
yearononline
marketingefforts.
17%ofagentsemploya
marketingassistant.
MARKETING&
ADVERTISING
RealEstate
Website
$100-500
/month
WhetheritWhetherit’sanIDX
websitewithlistings,a
realestateblog,orboth,
amarketingwebsite
includesmanysmaller
costs,including
developmentanddesign,
hosting,andSEhosting,andSEO.
70%ofagentssay
they’vehadawebsite
foratleastfiveyears.
Online
Advertising
$100-500
/month
PPay-per-clickads,
Internetleadgeneration,
socialmedia,premium
placementonbigreal
estatesites,andother
onlinesourcesnowmake
upover55%ofagents’
totaladspend.totaladspend.
Print
Advertising
$100-500
/month
YYardsigns,mailers,
billboards,newspapers,
andrackpublicationsare
justafewoftheways
agentsuseprinttoget
thewordout.
40%ofagentsstilluse
directmailmarketing.
Continuing
Education
$50-100
/year
EachstaterealestateEachstaterealestate
authorityrequiresagents
totakeanywherefrom
10-30credithoursof
continuingeducation
everylicensurecycle
(typically2-4years).
Conferences
$50-1000
/each
ConferencesofferanConferencesofferan
opportunitytonetwork
withotherprofessionals
andkeepupwiththe
latesttrendsinreal
estatetechnology.
Additional
Courses&
Designations
$100-500
/course
SupplementarySupplementary
courseworkadds
expertiseinniche
marketsandemerging
technologiestoraise
yourprofileamonglocal
competitors.
Income
Taxes
$VARIES
YYourtaxburdenwillvary
basednotjustonyour
income,butalsoyour
location.Californians,for
instance,bearatop
incometaxrateof13.3%.
Health
Insurance
$50-500
/month
ThetheNARoffersbasicThetheNARoffersbasic
coveragewithits
RealtorsCoreHealth
Insuranceprogram,but
thoselookingforbetter
optionstoinsuretheir
familiesmustcontend
withexpensiveindividualwithexpensiveindividual
policies.
Community
Outreach
$50-100
/course
13%ofagents(20%of13%ofagents(20%of
thoseearningmorethan
$100k)supportthe
communitythrough
sponsorshipslikeLittle
League,highschool
plays,andtheirlocal
church.church.
49%ofrealestateagents
spendover$500a
yearoneducation
andtraining.
16%ofagentshave
workedwithareal
estatecoach.
Createbeautifulrealestate
WEBSITESTHATWORK
INFOGRAPHICBYPLACESTER
BuiltwithindexableIDXforbetteronline
marketing,localsearch,andSEO.Forexperthelp,
visitplacester.com
Sources
https://placester.com/real-estate-marketing-academy/life-as-an-agent-survey-results/
http://www.realtor.org/reports/member-profile
http://www.spiceworks.com/news/press-release/2013/05-29/
http://www.ocregister.com/lansner/div-446030-strong-year.html
http://exchange.aaa.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Your-Driving-Costs-2013.pdf
hhttp://www.slideshare.net/gordonborrell/borrell-2012-real-estate-outlook
http://activerain.com/real-estate-marketing
Attributions
BillboarddesignedbyCaseyFlusterfromtheNounProject(http://thenounproject.com/term/billboard/19719/)
BookdesignedbyDiegoNaivefromtheNounProject(http://thenounproject.com/term/book/15474/)
BuildingdesignedbyMartinDelinfromtheNounProject(http://thenounproject.com/term/building/5747/)
BuildingdesignedbyMartinDelinfromtheNounProject(http://thenounproject.com/term/building/5747/)
CardesignedbyOlivierGuinfromtheNounProject(http://thenounproject.com/term/car/4699/)
CCashdesignedbyTonyMichielsfromtheNounProject(http://thenounproject.com/term/cash/38038/)
ChalkboarddesignedbyAsierBilbofromtheNounProject(http://thenounproject.com/term/chalkboard/26819/)
CheckdesignedbyBrandonManningfromtheNounProject(http://thenounproject.com/term/check/7718/)
ChurchdesignedbyAlexFullerfromtheNounProject(http://thenounproject.com/term/church/27686/)
ConferencedesignedbyDesbenoitfromtheNounProject(http://thenounproject.com/term/conference/16379/)
FirstAiddesignedbyAnsteyDesignfromtheNounProject(http://thenounproject.com/term/first-aid/20146/)
GGaveldesignedbyDiegoNaivefromtheNounProject(http://thenounproject.com/term/gavel/23091/)
MegaphonedesignedbyChristopherReyesfromtheNounProject(http://thenounproject.com/term/megaphone/11770/)
MegaphonedesignedbyMisterPixelfromtheNounProject(http://thenounproject.com/term/megaphone/35635/)
OutletdesignedbyKorokorofromtheNounProject(http://thenounproject.com/term/outlet/18289/)
PropaneTankdesignedbyAmbarBhusarifromtheNounProject(http://thenounproject.com/term/propane-tank/8486/)
TraindesignedbyJamisonWieserfromtheNounProject(http://thenounproject.com/term/train/1707/)
WWomandesignedbyLemonLiufromtheNounProject(http://thenounproject.com/term/woman/8215/)
GlobedesignedbyJuanGarcesfromtheNounProject(http://thenounproject.com/term/globe/1305/)
CursordesignedbyRenatoSilvafromtheNounProject(http://thenounproject.com/term/cursor/19119/)
NewspaperdesignedbyJohnCasertafromtheNounProject(http://thenounproject.com/term/newspaper/1233/)
DeskFees
$25-$750
/month
IneInexchangeforkeepingallormostof
yoursalescommission,somebrokers
chargeaflatfeetousetheirdeskspace
andbranding.Somebrokersmayalso
chargetransactionfeesonsomeorall
ofanagent’sdeals.
CommissionSplits
30-85%
/transaction
WhileWhile50/50dealsarecommon,
commissionsplitsvarywidely
dependingonfactorslikeexperience
andperformance.
Office
Supplies
$20
/month
PPaper,ink,andbusiness
cardsarejustafewof
theofficesuppliesmany
agentsmustfurnish.
Utilities
$75-150
/month
Software
$20-250
/month
Broadbandinternetand
smartphoneservicesare
essentialforagents--and
notoriouslyexpensive.
Fromcontact
management,tomarket
analysistools,tocloud
storage,softwarecosts
canpileupforagents.
Mostrealestateagentsalignthemselveswithabrokeror
firm,andmustpayfortheprivilege.Whilebrokershavea
varietyofwaystodeterminethiscost,twocompensation
modelsdominatetheconversation.
BROKER
COSTS
Brokerscoversomeofficeexpenses,butagentsareoftenon
theirownfortherest..Sincemanyagentsworkoutsidethe
office,personalcomputers,mobilephones,andhome
internetservicesmayalsobeconsideredbusinessexpenses.
increaseinITbudgetforsmall
andmidsizebusinessesworldwide,
January-June201319%
OPERATION
COSTS
Licenses&
Permits
$100-500
/year
Initialsaleslicenseand
renewalfeesvarywidely
fromstatetostate.
Realtor
Association
Dues
+$120
/year
WhileNARmembershipWhileNARmembership
startsat$120,stateand
localrealestateboards
addtothiscost.
MLS
Fees
$25-$100
/month
AccesstorealestateAccesstorealestate
datacancomeatahigh
price,andmayinclude
astartupfee.
Likeanyprofession,realestateishighlyregulated.Thereare
licensestoearnandrenew,organizationstojoin,andavariety
ofotherofficialhoopsagentsmustjumpthrough.
OFFICIAL&
PROFESSIONAL
COSTS
Still,onenumbercan’ttellthefullstory.That’s
whywe’vebrokendownalltheexpensesagents
face.Fromadstoautoinsurance,conferencesto
commissionsplits,herearethetruecostsofdoing
businessasarealestateagent.
Whenpeopletalkabouttherealestateprofession,theytendtofocusonhowmuch
moneyagentsandbrokerscanmake.Buthaveyoueverconsideredhowmuchitcosts?
TALKISCHEAPREALESTATE,
NOTSOMUCH
APLACESTERINFOGRAPHIC
RealEstateAgent
THECOSTOFBEING A
Realtors’total
businessexpenses
areincreasingrapidly.
TotalCosts
4800
5000
5200
4600
4200
4400
4000
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
2011 2012
2011
$4,520
2012
$4,900
$
$ $
$
$
$
$
$