Real Estate Sales Agents

Low Risk
Low High

Explore safer careers (1)

Lower estimated automation risk

Sales Managers
11% automation risk | Minimal Risk
Pays better More jobs
12.3 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Fits experienced agents using lead generation, sales coaching, targets, pipeline review, negotiations, and market strategy.

Alternative careers

Related career paths that build on similar skills and experience

Personal Financial Advisors
22% automation risk | Low Risk
Pays better Higher growth
0.9 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Uses client goals, assets, debt, housing decisions, risk tradeoffs, relationship management, and financial explanations.

Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Managers
23% automation risk | Low Risk
Pays better More jobs
0.8 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Applies property knowledge, owner communication, leases, maintenance coordination, budgets, tenant issues, and local market awareness.

Real Estate Brokers
28% automation risk | Low Risk
Pays better
View career
Why it fits

Directly reuses listings, contracts, client representation, negotiations, property showings, market pricing, and transaction coordination.


Share your results with friends and family.

Occupation snapshot

What does this snowflake show?
The Snowflake is a visual summary of the five badges: Automation Risk (calculated), Risk (polled), Growth, Wages and Volume. It gives you an instant snapshot of an occupations profile. The colour of the Snowflake relates to its size. The better the occupation scores in relation to others, the larger and greener the Snowflake becomes.
JOB SCORE
5.2/10
What's this?
Job Score (higher is better):

We rate jobs using four factors. These are:

- Chance of being automated
- Job growth
- Wages
- Volume of available positions

These are some key things to think about when job hunting.

Risk & user votes

Calculated automation risk

23% (Low Risk)

Low Risk (21-40%): This occupation has a lower risk of full replacement by AI, software, or robotic systems. Some tasks may be automated or assisted, but the role usually still relies on human judgement, communication, responsibility, physical adaptability, or practical decision-making.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Human strengths important in this job

These are human abilities and work contexts that are important in this occupation. They may help explain why parts of the role are harder to replace end-to-end, but they are not the only inputs into the automation score.

Decision-making and problem solving

Very important
Why this matters
Analyze information, weigh tradeoffs, and choose the best solution—especially when situations are ambiguous, high-stakes, or have real-world consequences.
Jobs that also use this strength

Communicating with people outside the organization

Very important
Why this matters
Represents the organization to customers, the public, or government—handling questions, concerns, and relationship-building through conversations, writing, calls, or email.
Jobs that also use this strength

Assisting and caring for others

Quite important
Why this matters
Provide hands-on help, emotional support, or personal care to people—work that depends on empathy, trust, and responding to individual needs in the moment.
Jobs that also use this strength

Negotiation

Quite important
Why this matters
Bringing people together to reconcile differences, trade off priorities, and reach agreements—work that depends on trust, persuasion, and reading the situation.
Jobs that also use this strength

Thinking creatively

Quite important
Why this matters
Coming up with original ideas and designs—creating new concepts, products, systems, or artistic work. This kind of open-ended invention and taste-based judgment is harder to automate end-to-end than routine, rule-based tasks.
Jobs that also use this strength
Show 5 more strengths

Social perceptiveness

Quite important
Why this matters
Noticing others’ emotions and reactions in the moment and adjusting what you say or do based on why they’re responding that way.
Jobs that also use this strength

Coordinating others’ work

Quite important
Why this matters
Bringing people together, assigning tasks, and keeping a group aligned so work gets done.
Jobs that also use this strength

Coaching and developing others

Quite important
Why this matters
Helps people learn and improve through coaching, mentoring, and feedback. This relies on trust, motivation, and adapting guidance to each person—work that’s hard to replace end-to-end with automation.
Jobs that also use this strength

Consulting and advising others

Quite important
Why this matters
Provide guidance and expert advice to managers or teams on technical, system, or process decisions—explaining options, tradeoffs, and recommended actions.
Jobs that also use this strength

Active learning

Quite important
Why this matters
Keeps learning from new information and applying it to make better decisions now and in the future, especially when situations change.
Jobs that also use this strength

What users think

Based on 543 votes

52% chance of full automation within the next two decades

Our visitors have voted they are unsure if this occupation will be automated. However, employees may be able to find reassurance in the automated risk level we have generated, which shows 23% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Real Estate Sales Agents will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?

Sentiment

Based on user votes over time

View sentiment trend

How opinions have changed over time

Pay & outlook

Wages

Moderately paid relative to other professions

In 2024, the median annual wage for Real Estate Sales Agents was $56,320 ($27 per hour).

The median annual wage for Real Estate Sales Agents was 13.8% higher than the national median annual wage, which stood at $49,500.

View wage trend

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Growth

Moderate growth relative to other professions

The number of 'Real Estate Sales Agents' job openings is expected to rise 3.1% by 2034

View employment trend

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2023 and 2033
Updated projections are due 09-2025.

Volume

Greater range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2024 there were 190,600 people employed as 'Real Estate Sales Agents' within the United States.

This represents around 0.12% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 808 people are employed as 'Real Estate Sales Agents'.

People also viewed

Lawyers Computer Programmers Real Estate Brokers Accountants and Auditors Actors

What people are saying (36)

Leave a comment
Ethan Libera (Moderate)
09 Jun 2025 20:52
i think there will be a rise in FSBO's
Looking for a house (Low)
30 May 2025 23:59
Needed as a middle man/woman between vendors and potential buyers and requires social skills. Also required for logistics with open houses. Their networks help too.
Barbara McNeill (Low)
15 Jul 2023 00:21
Finding a home is the most automated aspect the rest requires physical presence & soft skills that aren't easily transferred to a robot. Too many nuances & variables. Need for high emotional intelligence too.
Jean B (Highly likely)
10 Mar 2023 20:17
This can be easily answered. Yes, AI or some online template app will replace a great majority of realtors. Why? Just look at how people interact with other people currently. The human aspect, or human touch is not needed when selling a product someone already wants to buy. If you need any further insight, just look to how the vehicle sales field is changing.
Rochelle (Highly Likely)
26 Jan 2023 05:55
If I need my hand held while buying real estate, I'll hire a therapist to comfort me through the process. At $200 per hour, a therapist is bargain compared to a realtor. I was a realtor, and this job is going to be automated for the vast majority of deals. For the complicated deals, the buyers are going to need lawyers, not Realtors.
MW
11 May 2022 22:20
I think any transaction where the item can be assigned a hash "signature" can be added to a ledger and basically be traded on a blockchain. That will eventually make things like buying and selling cryptocurrency possible without a "middle man" needed. It seems like that is coming.
Paul Binks
28 Apr 2022 21:27
I'm interested in becoming a commercial sales agent and reading many of these comments is quite discouraging. I'm of the opinion that no matter how much data is provided, there is a subjective element that only a human can understand. Making a decision on a multi-million dollar site would benefit from the role of an agent who has the technical and subjective knowledge that a robot doesn't.

I'm not sure to what degree, however.
Former realtor
01 Dec 2021 00:24
Got into this profession because of my distrust of realtors and got out for the same reasons. The role of the agent in the state I got licensed in, is to keep the deal together. IMO, it should be to serve the best interest of your clients. I was told by the broker not to show houses that offered a 1% commission. Back-door deals are real, especially within the same office. Trust your gut. Absolutely automate this industry.
Pat
30 Oct 2021 03:45
No Realtors will never be replaced. Still to this day there needs to be human interaction. Technology/ websites would have already replaced Realtors. Will there be changes in the real estate industry every year? Yes... 100%. If the day comes when Realtors are completely gone then there will be robots everywhere and there will be no jobs for anyone. Maybe I am a little biased because I am a Realtor, but people all over the country, everyday are seeking advice from Realtors. Why are they seeking real estate advice from Realtors if they are irrelevant?
Alex (Uncertain)
03 Sep 2021 16:50
Certain people will always require a personalised and specialised service. The masses just want a cheap transaction.
Jordan Thomas (Low)
10 May 2021 19:42
Although you may be able to search and view properties online, receive a mortgage quote, even be pre-qualified online. A lot of reassurance can be provided by an experienced professional in the area you're looking to buy or sell. Buying or selling is a huge commitment and you want to feel confident in your move. I don't feel much confidence can come with handling this process solely yourself or even with a robot.
Tara (Low)
01 May 2021 11:57
The experience of having someone show you around a house cannot be replicated by robots, which is why I think there is a small chance of being replaced by AI
Hamza Aziz (Low)
23 Apr 2021 23:06
The human aspect of the job feels like it would be difficult to replace. Unless if someone is very knowledgeable about the housing market, Realtors would probably still be needed to handle most of the transaction. Most first time home buyers definitely need real estate agents to guide them through the process
Andrew West
17 Mar 2021 02:22
Realtors are waiters. There is very little value-added having someone hold your hand. Of course it will be automated - the data for buyers is available and free.
Sally (Highly likely)
19 Jul 2020 04:40
Real Estate agents will go back to there role of self less drug addicts and prostitution-pimps. They are greasy and have no empathy towards people. Karma is real - strap on your corsets and let the games begin.
Trish
11 Sep 2020 12:03
Maybe you should focus on learning the proper usage of "their" before generalizing people as drug addled prostitutes and pimps. BTW, I am not an estate agent. I am just a person that buys real estate.
j (Low)
09 Feb 2021 04:33
lol what do you have against real estate agents
Saul d Larrea (No chance)
17 Jul 2022 02:11
Well, I'm a realtor and I genuinely care about my clients in the Detroit Metro area.

I'm not going to force anyone to buy anything. I prioritize financial wellness over any commission check. This is because I believe that I can get more business by treating people like humans, and not like targets.
Dr. Ian H. (Highly likely)
17 Apr 2020 16:23
AI coupled with drones and virtual assistants (pattern recognition, natural language processing, etc.) will 100% replace realtors within the next two decades.
Bob the builder
01 Mar 2020 21:54
Automate this job away already as my last two transactions I did more due diligence in finding my property while the realtor came along for the ride to collect a commission. Realtor will have to bring more to the table if they want to still provide value beyond showing as home, making a flyer, and worrying about their latest headshots.
Yong Shun Peng (Highly likely)
29 Nov 2019 10:31
Living in Singapore, Government have taken initiative such as the HDB Portal to sell resale flats. Carousell, A Singapore app has also started to take initiative by selling flats.
Scott
14 Nov 2019 20:22
100% realtors will be replaced. People look for honesty in a transaction. With the ridiculous amount of money going the realtors way if a sale goes through...yeah they would lie about items. Ai or robots deal with facts, no BS. Why do you think realtors are collectively trying to phase out home inspectors in Canada? They want that sale at any cost! Now if there was a home inspection done before every sale by a properly trained and licensed Home Inspector pretty much guaranteed a monkey could sell the house. No disrespect as I have encountered several good agents over the years. Just the facts!
adriano gutierrez
12 Nov 2019 21:37
Robots can't handle the personal human connection
no-bs (Highly likely)
24 Sep 2020 20:20
People will choose a robot that does not want commission. Realtors can take their personal human connection and shove it for the commission they were able to normalize.

Leave a reply about this occupation
0/8000

Job description

Rent, buy, or sell property for clients. Perform duties such as study property listings, interview prospective clients, accompany clients to property site, discuss conditions of sale, and draw up real estate contracts. Includes agents who represent buyer.

O*NET-SOC code: 41-9022.00