Real Estate Statistics to Help You Determine Where You Stand

Question: What percentage of real estate agents have a Facebook for professional use?

Answer: 80 percent.

What's the big deal that 80 percent of agents have Facebook for professional use? It seems like a relatively trivial number to pay attention to, but we can guarantee that it isn't.

Stats like this are important to note because they help agents understand what their colleagues are doing to stay successful and top of mind. We've compiled a comprehensive list of real estate statistics and facts that can serve as a benchmark to help you determine where you stand and the progress that you've made compared to other real estate agents.

Whether you're new or have been in the business for a while, fast-changing technology, emerging social media platforms, and new real estate tools make it nearly impossible to keep up. This post highlights popular technology, strategies, software, and more that agents are taking advantage of to stay ahead.

Read on for more real estate statistics and facts to help determine where you stand!

Real Estate Basics:

The typical agent had 12 transactions in 2016.

This is a great benchmark for agents to observe when determining their progress. With this knowledge, you can determine if you are "on par" with other agents or if you should reevaluate your goals.

There are 394,400 actively employed agents.

Of these actively employed agents, 59 percent are licensed sales agents, 25 percent licensed brokers, and 17 percent licensed broker associates.

Forty-nine percent of agents work 40 hours a week or more, while 22 percent work less than 30 hours a week.

Being a real estate agent is no easy task – which explains why almost half of the agents surveyed worked over 40 hours per week! We recommend checking out what a typical day looks like for a real estate agent if you're curious how they're filling their schedules.

Social Media and Real Estate Agents:

A 2016 study revealed that of 242 real estate agents, no one reported using one specific platform for more than three hours per week.

From home listings to keeping in touch with clients, social media is becoming a valuable tool for all agents – but only if you use it properly! While there's no perfect formula for how long you should be spending, you should be on each platform enough to correspond with customers, conduct research, and post original content related to your business.

Social media drives approximately 43 percent of internet traffic, with Facebook being the largest social media driver.

Referral links and links shared on social media are one of the main sources of incoming traffic. Currently, Facebook is responsible for the large majority. So, if you're posting links, Facebook is your best bet to get it shared and drive traffic to your website!

Approximately 80 percent of Realtors are using Facebook for professional use, followed by 71 percent on LinkedIn, 30 percent on Youtube, 28 percent on Twitter and 14 percent on Instagram.

Real estate agents are everywhere on social media! If you're not taking advantage of the various platforms for both your personal and professional use, start now! It will allow you to easily update your followers, increase your online presence, and communicate with clients and other agents.

Marketing and Real Estate Agents:

Sixty-two percent of agents spend at least an hour a day on marketing and advertising.

Real estate is rooted in name recognition and referrals, which is why marketing and advertising are crucial. It's important to dedicate time every day towards marketing efforts to increase your exposure, which will result in more business.

Only 15 percent of agents have a video marketing presence online.

An overwhelming number of buyers and sellers would prefer an agent who has incorporated video marketing into their website. If you're not using video marketing, you're not taking advantage of the many benefits that it has to offer, such as virtual home tours, which are highly demanded by clients.

Real estate as an industry has an open rate of 20.84 percent.

While there is no specific information for real estate agent email open rates, the overall industry open rate is approximately 20.84 percent. It is recommended that individual agents try to achieve a similar open rate for their own real estate related emails.

Real Estate Tools:

Approximately 71 percent responded that they did use some form of a CRM service.

Of 782 respondents, over two-thirds of the agents indicated that they used some sort of CRM service to keep in touch with their contacts.

Forty-eight percent of all firms reported that keeping up with technology was one of the biggest challenges they will face within the next few years.

So if you're not entirely comfortable using technology as a primary real estate tool, you're not alone. However, in order to stay competitive and top-of-mind, we recommend taking the time to become more comfortable! It will improve your social media presence and online presence, among other things.

Where Are Clients Coming From?

In 2016, 28 percent of Realtors reported that 1 percent to 5 percent of of their business came from their personal website.

Approximately 60 percent of Realtors attribute a percentage of their business to their Realtor website, which ultimately means that if you don't have one already, you should! It's an easy way for leads to get in contact with you and increase your online presence.

A typical REALTOR® received 13 percent of their business from repeat clients and 18 percent through referrals from previous clients.

The numbers say it all! With 13 percent of business from past clients and 18 percent through referrals, it's incredibly important to keep in touch with your network. It will be beneficial in the long term and keep you thriving as an agent.

Sixty percent of agents search for leads on a daily basis, but only 26 percent search for several hours per day.

Over half of the agents surveyed reported that they search daily for leads because they recognize that leads are the foundation of a successful real estate business. Additionally, 26 percent of agents dedicate several hours to searching for leads given the level of importance. If you aren't investing time to discover leads, we recommend you start!

"Agents who spend $1,000 or more to maintain their website generate on average 3x more leads than those who spend $500 or less."

The moral of the story is – invest! If you want your website to attract clients, it is crucial to update it with listings, community information, and accurate contact information.

What Are Clients Looking For?

Forty-seven percent of buyers reported that responsiveness was the most valuable trait in a real estate agent.

Forty-four percent of sellers indicated that experience in selling homes similar to theirs was more important than agent responsiveness.

Nineteen percent of sellers indicated that they wished their Realtor used more online marketing tactics.

Thirteen percent of buyers wanted their agent to serve as an advisor.

Both buyers and sellers indicated that they wish their agent had "fought harder" for them.

As an agent who represents both buyers and sellers, it's important to be aware of what clients are looking for in order to satisfy them.

So, Where Do You Stand?

Agents, it's now time to evaluate where you stand. You have the necessary real estate statistics to determine if your marketing strategy, social media usage, and transaction number, among others, are in line with other real estate agents. If they are, it looks like you're on the same page! If they aren't, that's okay! We hope that you got some new ideas for how to make your day-to-day real estate duties even better.

To view the original article, visit the Contactually blog.