Fewer younger agents holding on amid market headwinds
The typical NAR member is older and has more experience than a year ago, while median transaction volume held steady despite the slow market.
Key points:
- The typical NAR member is a bit older and has more experience than last year, according to the association’s 2025 Member Profile.
- The median sales volume and number of transactions for the typical agent was unchanged in the last year amid the persistently slow market.
- Despite these and other economic headwinds, most NAR members intend to continue working in real estate for the foreseeable future.
The latest National Association of Realtors member report offers new insight into agent demographics and operations based on survey responses from 4,947 NAR members, with many signaling ongoing challenges to the housing market and real estate sales profession.
Agents face ongoing market headwinds
As in last year's member report, NAR researchers highlighted the challenges that agents have faced amid the sluggish market over the last year — and were quick to point out early on that these annual reports provide a "snapshot" of a "particular period."
"For the last two and a half years, the housing market has been suppressed by lower home sales. The volume of existing-home sales remains just over 4 million units, the lowest level since 1995," the report said, adding that both the typical member's number of transaction sides (10 deals) and typical annual sales volume ($2.5 million) were unchanged in 2024 from the previous year.
The median gross income of NAR members meanwhile increased in 2024 to $58,100 from $55,800 in 2023, the report noted.
Fewer inexperienced agents in the mix
The median age of NAR members is now 57 years old, the report found, an increase from 55 the prior year. Only 11% of agents are under 40, compared to 17% last year, while the share of agents who are 60 or older has jumped from 35% to 44%.
Experience is also growing among many NAR members, with the median number of years of experience increasing to 12 years, up from 10 in last year's report. The share of members with two years of experience or less fell to 15% from 18% in the prior year, while those with 16 years of experience or more increased to 46% from 42%.
Most members plan to tough out the market slowdown
Despite some of the shake-ups among agent ranks, the majority of NAR survey respondents (74%) said they are "very certain" they will remain engaged as a real estate professional for the next two years. This figure is up slightly from last year's report, in which 73% of respondents said the same.
About a quarter of NAR members are less sure about their future in the business. Nearly 2 in 10 respondents (18%) are "somewhat certain" they'll stay in real estate, while 8% said they are "not certain."
A drop in NAR membership?
While the report does not offer an updated membership count, these indicators suggest that the organization has experienced a loss in younger agents and those with less experience over the last year.
NAR President Kevin Sears may have hinted at this possible membership decline while attending Inman Connect last week. Sears told one session audience that NAR is anticipating a drop of 150,000 agents by the end of the year and has adjusted its budget to reflect a total member count of roughly 1.2 million by 2026.
NAR last publicly reported its membership total as 1,453,690 as of May 31, 2025.