What to Pay and How to Find (and Keep!) Great People in Your Brokerage

The power of your real estate firm and brand is strengthened by the caliber of people you have supporting it. Finding the right people who share your vision, work ethic and culture is no small feat.

By Deirdre LePera, Director of Business Development

Several employees can have one or two of the characteristics above (vision, work ethic, cultural fit), but the almost-there approach only works for so long. Ultimately, it’s the employees who align with you in all three areas that drive the success of your company short-term and the success of your brand long-term.

The other side is that the employee who aligns with you emotionally also must align with you rationally. This is where the expected hours of work in a week, the number of vacation days per year and the total compensation package come into play. Even though this is the analytical part of the equation, it is often where brokerage owners have a challenging time establishing a competitive package that is beneficial for both parties.

Over the last 15 years, REAL Trends has periodically produced a Brokerage Compensation Report to help brokerage owners identify the average compensation for the key management positions inside real estate firms. This year, the data for the REAL Trend’s 2016 Brokerage Compensation Report is comprised of nearly 65 residential real estate firms representing over 37,500 sales associates and $103.8 billion in total sales volume.

The report includes compensation information for nine different real estate brokerage positions, including the CEO, CFO, Technology Director, and Office Manager. Virtually every brand and business model is represented in the report with total compensation for each position segmented by bonus, benefits, and base salary. The total compensation is compared against the firm’s annual GCI and annual gross margin revenue. Additionally, compensation for each position is segmented by the agent count, regional location and if the brokerage is affiliated or independent.

The purpose of creating the 2016 REAL Trends Brokerage Compensation Report is to provide brokerage owners with the analytical information they need to hire and retain the right people to drive their business.


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