National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) has released the 2022 Member Profile, an annual report analyzing members’ business activity and demographics from the prior year. Each year, dating back more than five decades, the report is released in varying and unique circumstances.

At the time of reporting, there was slightly more inventory in the residential real estate market than agents encountered last year. In 2021 and the beginning of 2022, inventory levels dropped to the lowest recorded since 1999. Yet while inventory levels were at all-time recorded lows, buyer demand was fueled by the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic and the need to re-invent one’s home. Due to both the low housing inventory and the concern of the pandemic, members embraced technology as a way of doing business.

In 2021, the rise of new members in NAR continued to increase. Membership grew from 1.48 million at the end of 2020 to 1.56 million at the end of 2021. The median years of experience in real estate remained flat at eight years. Those with two years of experience or less remained nearly unchanged, while those with 16 years or more experience increased to 39 percent from 34 percent. Despite the churn and unique real estate market conditions, looking forward, 79 percent of REALTORS® are very certain they will remain in the market for two more years.

Limited inventory continues to plague many housing markets in the U.S. Fifty-seven percent of members who practice as brokerage specialists cited the lack of housing inventory was holding back clients from completing a transaction, while 16 percent cited housing affordability. Due to the strong demand in housing, the typical member had 12 transaction sides, up from 10 sides in 2020 (when some areas of the country faced lockdowns in real estate activity).

The typical member was an independent contractor affiliated with an independent company catering to local markets. REALTORS® frequently have had careers in other fields prior to real estate, the most common being in management, business, and financial professions, followed by sales and retail. Only four percent indicated that real estate is their first career. The majority of members were women homeowners with a college education. The share of women in the industry continues to rise and is now at 67 percent—up from 57 percent in 2010. The median age of REALTORS® was 56 in the 2022 survey.

Read the full report HERE.