How much does an average NYC RE Agent make?

Good agents can always make money in any market. There are aways people needing to sell and if the property is priced right there will always be a buyer ready to purchase (especially when interest rates are this low). Also there are brokerage firms that offer higher than your average 50/50 split and the firm that I work for (Pari Passu Realty Corp) offers 100% commission payouts to agents.

How does the firm make money if 100% of commission is paid out?

LMAO. 100% of 0. You getz nothing I getz nothing... nice nice business model... where'd pari passu get his MBA, Dominic Republic?

hahahahaaha

they make money by renting out desks for a monthly fee, some other monthly fee, or by a transaction fee.

Its all about connections, your network, referrals. The toughest part is the first 2-3 years. Most agents dont survive past 18 months or so. The bigger your connections, the easier it will be if you market yourself properly. Its never easy, I can tell you that. Good business services are useful for building longer term business and referrals, but your skills at sales is also a key proponent to success.

Firm is more for credibility of the company backing you, the brand, and the marketing services offered for sell side. On the buy side, these firms dont really provide anything to you other than the access to internal systems for comps searching, etc..Thats where your skills, connections come into play. But generally speaking, getting a seller to work with an agent at Elliman is probably easier than getting a seller to work with an agent at Paru Passu Realty, on brand recognition and likely marketing services offered to agents to facilitate a sale. Just my two cents

The landscape is changing.

The average agent makes a number approaching zero. Most (residential) agents are some sort of part-timer/beginner/second income/etc. I remember reading a few year back in a NY Times article about there being like 27,000 agents in Manhattan and just over 10,000 transactions that year. So even if we assume 2 agents on a deal, the average agent does less than one deal a year?

Its funny how some try to act overly important. How can I know what one to trust? It seems like some are just a spokesperson for the developer, in the case of the new condos I have looked at.

rob: care to give out the specifics on the fees you pay to pari passu?

"How can I know what one to trust?"

Dude, you really are fresh off the boat. This is NYC; trust none of them.

"It seems like some are just a spokesperson for the developer, in the case of the new condos I have looked at."

You are one potential transaction while the developer in a relationship that can offer volume. Half the brokers in this city would sell out their grandmothers to deliver what a developer wants (a.k.a., a sucker to overpay for an apartment). Approximately 100% would sell you out.

What are the splits like for rental brokers?

Does a broker who obtains a listing get a share also, or do the brokers really just rent the apartments which are put into the database by the owners of the brokerage?

What I am really curious about is what the pie chart of a rental commission looks like. Where does it all go if it all does not go to the broker? to the house?

First, rental brokers: My company wants 15% from the new tenant *unless* the property owner is paying the equivalent, in which case we advertise these as no-fee apartments, because they are to the tenant. Commissions are negotiable, however, and at my company we are given free rein.

My company does not double dip (charge the tenant even though the owner is paying). There are companies that do, or so I am told, and if you're a tenant and it's a fee apartment, I would ask the agent point-blank if the owner is paying the agent/broker anything. Some landlords in Manhattan are offering concessions which are usually 1 month's rent to the broker, but MOST are not doing this. In fact relatively few are, and I'm surprised by this.

Companies that give 100% commission to the broker charge desk fees. Pari was charging $99 a month when I talked with them. TO work as an agent, you have to have a broker hold your license, you can't work alone until you leap through some additional legal hoops. This is to protect the public.

The cats in my office tell me they are making about $35,000 a year. One guy joked, "We're broke, that's why they call us brokers." They work all day, a lot of evenings, most weekends. These guys have about 2 years in the business. They are all impressive in the service they provide, and their honesty and care for their clients.

Sales: Commissions are negotiable by law, they vary from 5% to 6% in Manhattan, usually. The brokers split the commission among themselves, usually it's 50/50 seller and buyer's broker. The agent you're talking with usually gets 50%, but may get more, of that.

Agents/brokers (there's a legal difference, usually you're working with agents) are independent contractors and pay all their own benefits, including health insurance.

{Manhattan real estate agent.}

I would have thought that fulltime Manhattan brokers were making in the area of $125 K to $250 K for established New York brokers with a "sales" focus - at least during the boom years. Perhaps I just don't really understand the business.

Sometimes the grass looks greener on the other side.

Fluter, thanks for the info, but what I am looking for is how the commission gets divided up between the broker and the house.

Also, do rental agents working for companies generate/obtain their own listings, or just rent what their office has for them? If they do obtain listings also (for example if they have a relationship with an owner), how are they compensated for that?

Anyone?

Without getting too specific.. the house/broker spolit really depends on the firm and the tenure and production of the agent. Quite a range.

Further to what 30yrs said about the "average broker making close to zero", go through the list of brokers at any big house, and see how many have listings.

I have a cousin at Stribling whom I think of as typical. Still "active" and on the books, but lives in Princeton and has little call to come into town for work. The occasional listing for a previous client is for pin money.

I'm looking for a rental, definitely better price-wise and urgency-wise than when I looked two years ago, but other than living in a rental building which is not what I'm after (too many young 20s) so the other options still seem to have the broker fee.

I don't that the market is truly soft until we are at the point where the default is that the owner is paying the broker.