Inman

Real Estate Commissions and Compensation: 2011

The global economic downturn, which has brought prices down in many real estate markets across the U.S., has hit real estate professionals in their pocketbooks and led some to leave the business.

Many real estate professionals have developed specialized services and carved out niches to survive in this changed housing landscape, and some real estate companies and professionals have retooled their compensation structure to win more business.

This online survey, which will form the basis for an upcoming research report, explores trends in real estate compensation. Inman News conducted similar surveys and released reports in 2006 and 2009 (see excerpt), and the latest survey results will be compared to the previous findings.

The survey is designed for a range of real estate professionals, including agents, brokers, managers and executives, and explores changes to the compensation practices and the structure of compensation for real estate services.

A sampling of questions:

  • In 2011, what (market factors) will have the most impact on your compensation/income?
  • What type (or types) of fee structure for real estate services do you believe will become more popular within the next 5 years?
  • Do you receive any compensation for real estate services performed other than brokerage services?
  • How many transaction sides did you close in 2010?
  • If you work within an agent team, how is commission income/compensation shared among agent members and the brokerage office?

Take the Real Estate Compensation Survey

Survey participants, who will remain anonymous in the survey report, can enter to win a $250 Amazon.com gift card, which will be awarded to a respondent who is selected at random. Survey participants can also request a summary of the survey findings.

The survey largely features multiple-choice responses and is designed to take less than 10 minutes to complete.

Also, Inman News would like to hear from those real estate companies and individuals who are using new and unique approaches to real estate compensation, and will be highlighting some of these models in upcoming coverage. Let us know what you’ve tried and whether it’s working. What has been the response of consumers?

Send us a short (less than 250 words) note to press@inman.com explaining your unconventional approach to real estate compensation.