The Rise of Women in Real Estate: Shifting to a Female-Dominated Industry
As with many other careers, real estate has traditionally been a male-dominated industry. But over the last few decades, this trend has significantly reversed to the point where women are now experiencing a great deal of success in real estate and in many ways are dominating the industry.
According to data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), approximately 66% of residential real estate agents are women. This is a staggering rise from a little over a century ago. When the NAR was founded in 1908, 100% of its members were male. This gradually began to change and in 1978, women comprised over 50% of NAR membership for the first time. Today, they represent roughly two thirds of the residential real estate industry (the story is a little different in commercial real estate – more on that later).
Why has real estate emerged as a growing profession for women over the past 50 years, and what opportunities still exist for this trend to continue moving forward? Below, we’ll explore the rise of women in real estate and discuss the reasons why they’re experiencing more success in the industry than ever.
History of Women in Real Estate: A Gradual Inclusion Followed by a Meteoric Ascension
As stated earlier, there were no women members of the NAR when the organization started in 1908. While there were no restrictions on women being members, this phenomenon reflected a greater trend regarding women’s role in the workforce during the early 1900s. Shortly after the NAR was founded, women began joining, but they remained a significant minority during the first few decades of the organization’s existence. Early women in real estate typically fell into one of the following categories:
Widows or daughters of male real estate agents
Part of a husband-wife or mother-son real estate team
Women who started as office workers or rental agents and then transitioned into real estate sales later
One of the primary barriers for entry into the industry for women in the early 20th century was that many local real estate boards banned women from membership. However, this began to change in the early 1950s, when most local real estate boards lifted restrictions on women. At this time, most women in real estate were sales agents, not brokers, and the NAR was still only open to brokers. This is why the percentage of women NAR members still remained low until 1973, when the NAR began accepting sales agents in their ranks.
By the end of 1973, women comprised 17% of the NAR’s membership. This figure rose to approximately 33% of the organization’s members by the end of 1975, and women officially accounted for the majority of NAR members by 1978. However, there wasn’t a female president of the NAR until 1992, and women didn’t comprise the majority of NAR broker members until 1996.
Less than 30 years later, women now comprise roughly two thirds of the organization’s membership, and they play a prominent role in the residential real estate industry. As of 2022, women comprised 40% of the leadership positions in Zillow, one of the country’s leading real estate platforms. In addition, female-led real estate startups are one of the fastest growing sectors in the industry. In recent years, women have shifted from simply being real estate agents and brokers to leaders, decision-makers and trendsetters in the industry.
Why Are Women Choosing Careers in Real Estate?
There are a variety of reasons why a career in real estate has become very appealing for many women:
Lucrative Income – Real estate provides a higher income potential than many other fields, making it an appealing career path at a time when cost of living has risen exponentially and raising a family has become more expensive than ever.
Flexibility – Real estate offers a great deal of flexibility, allowing women to schedule their workday around their family obligations. This flexibility also makes it easier to achieve a strong work/life balance. Working mothers are able to spend more time with their family and save money on childcare expenses.
Job Satisfaction – Real estate can be an extremely rewarding profession, as agents are able to help people find the home of their dreams or sell their current home as they transition to the next phase of their life. It also provides the opportunity to meet a diverse group of people and build meaningful relationships that last well beyond the real estate transaction that brought the agent and client together.
Diversity of Career Paths – There are many different options with a career in real estate, giving women the ability to pursue a niche that meets their specific needs and interests. You can work full-time or part-time, allowing you to work as much or little as you like. This can be attractive during the early years of raising a family. In addition, there are many different real estate niches to specialize in, giving women the ability to choose an area of focus that matches their unique strengths and skill sets.
In addition, many women in real estate initially worked in a different field and made the transition mid-career due to the reasons listed above. Real estate’s relatively low barrier for entry combined with its strong earning potential has allowed many women to shift gears and achieve their financial goals in ways that simply aren’t possible with many other mid-life career changes.
Challenges and Opportunities Still Exist
While women have achieved a great deal of success in the residential real estate industry, commercial real estate has been a bit more elusive. Currently, women only account for approximately 36% of commercial real estate agents. In addition, this figure has remained relatively constant over the past 15 years. The challenges to making inroads in commercial real estate have been much more significant than in residential real estate, but this also presents an area of opportunity for women to continue growing in the industry.
There are a wide range of roles available within the commercial real estate industry and they span many different disciplines, including architecture, banking, brokerage, investments, engineering, construction, accounting, law, and technology. In addition, there are a variety of traits that contribute to success in commercial real estate, including relationship building and creativity. This provides women with the opportunity to carve out a niche in commercial real estate that aligns with their specific skills, background and interests.
Tips for Women Interested in a Career in Real Estate
If you’re ready to join the many women who have found a rewarding career in real estate, there are several steps you should take to set yourself up for a successful transition:
Research Your State’s Licensing Process – Every state has a slightly different real estate licensure process, so it’s best to start by researching the educational requirements for licensure where you live. The first step to becoming a successful real estate agent is to complete your pre-licensure coursework, pass your state’s real estate exam and get your real estate license.
Research Different Real Estate Career Paths – While the most common career path for women in real estate is to become a residential agent or broker, there are many other options you can pursue. These include commercial real estate, property management, land sales and “fix and flip,” just to name a few. There are also specific niches within residential real estate, such as focusing on first-time buyers, properties in a certain price range, or specific property types. By choosing a real estate niche, you can often find it easier to build a career that aligns with your specific interests, skillset and personality.
Leverage Your Network – As you start looking for clients, it’s critical to get the word out to everyone you know. Real estate is a relationship-based industry, and most of your clients will eventually come from referrals and/or repeat business from family and friends, previous clients, and others within your personal and professional network.
Find a Mentor – There is a significant learning curve associated with real estate, and there are many different facets of the industry that you’ll need to master to build a successful business. This can seem overwhelming at first, especially if you’ve never run your own business before. Finding a mentor real estate agent who can help you navigate the industry and help you avoid common pitfalls experienced by new agents can significantly boost your success.
Build an Online Presence – While you’ll eventually generate most of your clients from repeat business and referrals, you’ll need to put more effort into marketing your real estate business in the early years of your career. Building a website, creating social media profiles for your business and posting valuable information for prospective buyers and sellers will help you establish credibility and get the word out there to potential clients. This will help you close leads in the early stages of your career.
Colorado Real Estate School Can Set You Up for Success
If you’re interested in transitioning to a career in real estate, Colorado Real Estate School can set you up for success. Our online real estate courses contain all the information you need to pass the real estate exam, get your license, and build the foundation for a thriving career. In addition, the online format of our classes allows you to work through the materials at your own pace, providing tremendous benefits for anyone juggling family life or a full-time job with their coursework.
At Colorado Real Estate School, we work with a team of licensed local real estate professionals who develop and teach all our online real estate courses. This gives you access to insider knowledge and insights into the latest trends, laws and issues impacting the Colorado real estate market. While our courses aren’t in-person, they do provide a highly personal touch. Our VideoConnect Success System™ contains the largest library of instructor-led video content available, providing highly engaging lessons that create an authentic classroom experience from the comfort of your home.
We’re also relentlessly committed to your success, and we back this up with our TruSupport Pass Guarantee™. If you complete our pre-licensure course and don’t pass your real estate exam on the first try, you’ll receive extended access to all course materials. We’ll also pair you with an instructor who will analyze your test results to identify the subjects that were most challenging to you. Together, you’ll develop a customized study plan that emphasizes the concepts you need the most work on. This approach will help refine your focus as you study to retake the exam, giving you the best chances of a successful outcome next time.
Contact us today to learn more about our online real estate courses.
