Portland Real Estate Agents

Curious about Realtors?
We write regular articles about average real estate agent commission rates, the number of real estate agents working in the Portland metro area, the difference between different types of local real estate licenses, where to find the best real estate agent reviews, best questions to ask when interviewing local agents, and much more. Enjoy!

Real Estate Agent vs. Seller Agent Specialist: What’s the difference?

April 26, 2019

Portland’s real estate landscape is vast! There’s a specialist for nearly every activity — and that’s a good thing. To have a hassle-free real estate transaction, you need someone handling the mortgage, someone looking at the title, someone inspecting the home, etc. That’s why a system has developed over the decades in which, in a given home sale transaction, there’s usually one real estate agent for the seller and one for the buyer. Now some real estate agents will take that a step further and exclusively represent sellers or exclusively represent buyers as a career specialization choice to serve their clients in the most effective manner. 3 Seller Agent Specialist Advantages 1. Improved Customer Service When I first started the...

How Much Do Real Estate Agents Make? 2018 Update

December 10, 2018

The National Association of Realtors puts out a Member report annually. In the 2018 report, NAR lets us know: Real Estate Agents Made $39,800 According to NAR this is the median gross income of all Realtors from real estate activities in 2017. Realtors median business expenses for the year totaled $4,580. After all taxes and all expenses, the median net income of Realtors in 2017 was a mere $25,900. The Realtors who worked less than 20 hours a week had a median gross income of $8,930 a year and those who worked 60 or more hours per week had a median gross income of $102,630. For experienced Realtors with over 16 years in the business, the median gross income was...

How Many Real Estate Agents Are There? – 2018 Update

October 26, 2018

Number of Real Estate Agents in the U.S. According to the National Association of Realtors 2018 Member Report, there are 1.3 million Realtors in the United States, up from 1.22 million in their 2017 report, an increase of 6%. Typically speaking when the real estate market is strong, there are more real estate agents, and when the market softens, membership decreases. Real estate agents must obtain a license through a local state agency which provides oversight and requires education and testing. In order to maintain their real estate license, agents must also complete continuing education and keep their license in good standing with their state. If you need a quick reminder of the difference between a Realtor and a real...

What is a Principal Broker?

June 25, 2018

Real Estate Agent Real estate agent is the most commonly used and understood term in the public sphere to refer to someone who helps people buy and sell homes, but “real estate agent” is not typically the license term or official term the local governments use. Real Estate Broker Real estate agent is not the licensed term or the official term in Oregon and in most states. In Oregon someone who is licensed to sell homes or represent buyers purchasing homes is called a Broker. All of these Brokers will still typically refer to themselves as real estate agents because that is what the public easily understands (but these Brokers in their advertising requirements still need to refer to themselves...

Portland Real Estate Agent Reviews & Ratings: 2018 Guide

June 1, 2018

Best Real Estate Agent Review Sites These days, it’s pretty hard to find a product or service that hasn’t been reviewed and rated on a handful of different websites. In 2018, nothing goes un-rated, it seems, from TV shows to national parks, even zoo animals! Yet how do we tell the worthwhile reviews from the worthless, and what does the number of stars really say about a real estate agent? The Two Best Agent Review Sites Realtor.com and Zillow.com: these are the top two websites we recommend for checking out reviews of Portland real estate agents. Personally, we attempt to get all of our reviews on Zillow.com. I’ll say more on that later. Here’s why we think these are the...

Top Portland Buyer’s Agent – Kami Price

February 16, 2018

The results are in! Kami Price was again a top 1% Portland buyer’s agent in 2017 according to home buyer’s total sales volume and number of buyer represented home sales in the Portland metro area (Multnomah, Clackamas, and Washington counties) per our local MLS, the RMLS. What makes a great real estate buyer’s agent? Experience. Licensed Broker in Oregon since 2004, Kami has had experience representing sellers in top local real estate teams since she started her career and has represented hundreds of buyers. Education. Kami Price is one of the most educated buyers agents you’ll find in the Portland metro area. Not only has she obtained a Masters Degree in Business Management, she also has earned numerous certifications in...

How Many Real Estate Agents Are There in Portland, Oregon and the U.S.? – 2018

December 12, 2017

Number of Real Estate Agents in the United States According to the National Association of Realtors 2017 Member Report, there are 1.22 million Realtors as of March 2017. The median experience level of Realtors was 10 years. The median age of Realtors was 53. The typical number of annual transactions per Realtor was 12. Number of Real Estate Agents in Portland, Oregon How many are real estate agents are in Portland, Oregon? To answer that question we’ll look at the two major Realtor associations in the area and the MLS (multiple listing service) that covers the entirety of the Portland metro area, RMLS, which stands for Regional Multiple Listing Service. First of all, it is important to know that the...

Real Estate Teams vs. Solo Agents

October 20, 2017

In my opinion, everything’s better when I’m on a team — whether I’m completing a project, playing sports, or working as a real estate agent. Years back I never heard about a real estate agent seller’s team or buyer’s team. You typically had individual agents, top producers or otherwise, who would run their own business solo or perhaps with their spouse. The Realty firm would typically supply office space, insurance, branding, and then that solo agent would go out into the world representing both buyers and sellers. This is the way I started my real estate career as well. Now real estate agent teams have a big presence in Realty firms across the country (my team is with eXp Realty)....

The Code of Ethics for Realtors in Portland

July 17, 2017

Realtors are schooled heavily on the code of ethics, but most buyers and sellers don’t become aware of The Code unless they feel there is a situation in which their agent has acted unethically. The REALTOR® Code of Ethics is a lengthy (eight pages as of 2017) document detailing all of a licensed real estate agent’s responsibilities and obligations. It describes a Realtor’s duties to their clients, to the public, and to other Realtors. It’s a good document to read before hiring a real estate agent in Portland (or anywhere) to represent you in buying or selling a home. Before we dive into what the REALTOR® Code of Ethics prescribes, it’s important to make a distinction between Realtors and real...

Our Portland Real Estate Agent Team is Green

May 5, 2017

It’s spring and everything’s coming up green in Portland – including our real estate team! Actually, Stephen FitzMaurice has had Green Realtor certifications since before it was cool. Our Buyers’ Specialist, Kami Price, has also earned her NAR Green Designation. Our extra training in sustainable home features, energy efficiency and more have helped us sell homes faster, and get buyers into the home they want! Here are the designations our team has earned: Stephen FitzMaurice, Earth Advantage Broker Earth Advantage is a non-profit organization based in Portland that certifies hundreds of green buildings and homes every year. If you’ve ever heard of the US Green Building Council’s LEED program, Earth Advantage is similar. They use a point system to verify...