Real estate sales agents
SOC Code: 41-9022
Real estate sales agents carries a 29% AI exposure score (Medium automation risk), with a median annual wage of $56,320 and +3.1% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 420,900 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 29% AI exposure, Real estate sales agents sits 8 points below the 37.2% average across 832 U.S. occupations - more exposed than 26% of them. Most of its core tasks still require human judgment.
Career outlook score
58/100
Real estate sales agents, weighted across 3 of 3 tracked dimensions
A weighted composite of median wage, projected growth, and AI-automation security (inverted exposure), each benchmarked against every other tracked occupation. It describes this occupation's standing across those three dimensions, not a guarantee of future outcomes.
- Median wage D $56,320
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth C +3.1%
Projected employment change, 2024-2034, BLS Employment Projections
- AI exposure (inverted) B 29% exposure
Lower O*NET task-automability scores lower risk; this dimension scores security, not exposure
Home health and personal care aides is #1 of 832 occupations by employment (4.3M, AI exposure rank #392 at 35%) vs. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks #1 by AI task exposure (95%, employment rank #17 at 1.6M).
Automation-risk inventory
Exclusive cut of 832 occupations by PlainWorkforce automation-risk band. Orthogonal to the continuous AI-exposure distribution chart below and to this occupation's single risk badge, this is the corpus band mix, with Real estate sales agents in the Medium band.
Credential × growth standing
Open entry with non-declining BLS pace
Real estate sales agents keeps an HS / some college bar (333 of 832) and sits in Average (378 of 832). Lower formal gates with a non-shrinking employment line - skill and AI desks matter more than credentials here.
Where Real estate sales agents sits among all occupations
AI-exposure score distribution across 832 U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis). This occupation is marked in rose.
Where Real estate sales agents sits by AI exposure
AI-exposure score distribution across U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis)
29% Lower than most lower than 74% of 832 occupations
Occupations, banded by AI-exposure score
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more occupations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor) · BLS 2024–2034
Source: O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor); AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis. As of BLS 2024–2034.
Real estate sales agents vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Real estate sales agents is marked in rose; the top-left corner is the most future-proof.
Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 (growth) and O*NET (AI-exposure analysis by PlainWorkforce).
Employment Projections
Where This Score Comes From
Real estate sales agents's Medium automation-risk tier is computed from O*NET Database 30.0 task-level analysis, where each documented task the occupation performs is evaluated against current generative AI, robotic process automation, and machine-learning capabilities. A score below 40% reflects tasks anchored in physical dexterity, unstructured environments, or high-touch human interaction that current AI cannot reliably replicate.
The employment, wage, and education figures above come from a second, separate federal source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034, matched to the O*NET task data by Standard Occupational Classification (SOC 41-9022) code, with the wage figure cross-validated against the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 survey. BLS figures are presented exactly as published, with no adjustment on our part; the SOC-code match is what lets Real estate sales agents be compared directly against every other tracked occupation on the same basis, not just roles that happen to share a job title.
For career planners, this profile should be read alongside the task, skill, and knowledge breakdowns below and the list of employers whose workforce composition includes Real estate sales agents. Adjacent occupations shown further down offer lateral moves that preserve industry knowledge while potentially reducing exposure.
Education & Entry Requirements
Top Tasks (O*NET)
- 1. Prepare documents such as representation contracts, purchase agreements, closing statements, deeds, and leases.
- 2. Present purchase offers to sellers for consideration.
- 3. Act as an intermediary in negotiations between buyers and sellers, generally representing one or the other.
- 4. Generate lists of properties that are compatible with buyers' needs and financial resources.
- 5. Confer with escrow companies, lenders, home inspectors, and pest control operators to ensure that terms and conditions of purchase agreements are met before closing dates.
- 6. Promote sales of properties through advertisements, open houses, and participation in multiple listing services.
- 7. Compare a property with similar properties that have recently sold to determine its competitive market price.
- 8. Coordinate property closings, overseeing signing of documents and disbursement of funds.
- 9. Interview clients to determine what kinds of properties they are seeking.
- 10. Contact previous clients for prospecting of referral business.
Key Skills Required
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Negotiation
- Social Perceptiveness
- Coordination
- Critical Thinking
- Persuasion
- Service Orientation
- Reading Comprehension
- Writing
Knowledge Areas
- Customer and Personal Service
- Sales and Marketing
- English Language
- Law and Government
- Administrative
- Administration and Management
- Computers and Electronics
- Mathematics
- Communications and Media
- Building and Construction
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Real estate sales agents?
Real estate sales agents has an AI exposure score of 29%, indicating a medium level of automation risk. The majority of tasks in this role require human judgment, creativity, or physical presence that AI cannot easily replicate.
What is the job outlook for Real estate sales agents?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Real estate sales agents is projected to grow by 3.1% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 420,900 workers.
What skills are needed for Real estate sales agents?
Key skills for Real estate sales agents include Active Listening, Speaking, Negotiation, and others. Typical entry-level education is High school diploma or equivalent.
How much do Real estate sales agents earn?
The median annual wage for Real estate sales agents is $56,320, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). Actual earnings vary by location, experience, industry, and employer. The BLS publishes detailed wage percentiles by region in its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.
What education is required for Real estate sales agents?
The typical entry-level education for Real estate sales agents is High school diploma or equivalent. Employers generally expect None of related work experience. On-the-job training typically involves Moderate-term on-the-job training. Requirements can vary by employer and specialization.
Which companies employ Real estate sales agents?
Real estate sales agents roles exist across many industries and employers. Workforce composition is estimated from BLS industry-occupation employment distributions matched to SEC-registered public companies.
AI Exposure Rating
Medium automation risk based on 10 analyzed tasks. Most tasks require human judgment and are resistant to automation.
Nationwide occupations with similar workforce profiles
Two data-derived peer sets for Real estate sales agents: AI-exposure neighbors and BLS 2034 growth neighbors (distinct comparison neighborhoods, cross-occupation).
Similar AI exposure score
Nearest O*NET task-automability scores nationwide (29% here).
- Biochemists and biophysicists · AI exposure 29%
- Construction managers · AI exposure 29%
- Crane and tower operators · AI exposure 29%
- Electrical and electronics repairers, powerhouse, substation, and relay · AI exposure 29%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (+3.1% here).
- Financial specialists, all other · growth +3.1%
- First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers · growth +3.1%
- Funeral attendants · growth +3.1%
- Morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers · growth +3.1%
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on published BLS + O*NET metrics among occupations with ≥10,000 workers in 2024; corpus ranks above sort the full tracked set.
Related Occupations
Showing 6 of 7 occupations with a comparable automation-risk profile.
What to do with this
Use Real estate sales agents' numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- Compare Real estate sales agents side by side against another occupation on wage, growth, and AI exposure. Workforce comparison tool
- Understand how the AI exposure score above is actually calculated before treating it as a verdict. Reading AI exposure scores
- See the full ranked list of occupations with the lowest automation exposure nationwide. Safest occupations from AI
AI exposure scores estimate task automatability from O*NET data; they are not a certainty of job loss, and BLS growth projections are estimates, not guarantees.
Data sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2024–2034 and O*NET Database 30.0. Employment figures are rounded. Wage data from BLS Occupational Employment Statistics (OES).