It’s impossible to introduce our annual Truth About Agents issue without acknowledging the impact the last 12 months have had on the industry and considering which data points were affected. Our annual survey of agents on salaries, brokerages, business practices, industry trends and more reflects a market like no one has ever seen.

Does correlation equal causation when considering how reader responses relate to the international health crisis? Was it the pandemic that motivated more than three-quarters of agents to say they have no plans to change brokerages in the next year? Does it come as a surprise that the percentage of agents who said they’ve been in the business for less than two years plummeted by more than half?

It’s a good time to hold a mirror up to the industry, because now more than ever, agents and brokers want to know where the local market is headed and what’s happening with their colleagues. Those informal networking moments where real estate folks learn from one another and share ideas — whether at the office water cooler or a young professionals network karaoke mixer — have been at a minimum since our last Truth About Agents survey. That’s why we’re so excited to share your responses.

While there are a few surprises in this year’s results, we don’t need a survey to tell us that one thing hasn’t changed: the desire of real estate professionals to learn and grow and get better every day. That means adapting to the world around them and reinventing themselves. It’s a metamorphosis that begs the question: “What have we become?” This is the issue where we dig down to find the answers. What trends do you see in the data? Contact us with your insights at
tim.inklebarger@agentpublishing.com.