An internal analysis by Redfin, based on its 2025 Industry Survey conducted by Jason Aleem, sheds light on the current state of the real estate industry from the perspective of non-Redfin agents. The company states it conducts these surveys to understand broader industry trends and agent needs.
The survey, fielded between December 2024 and January 2025, included 500 agents across 46 states who closed at least one deal in 2024. Respondents typically had over 10 years of experience, and 83.8% worked full-time.
Key Findings from the Redfin Analysis:
- Agent Performance: Despite a market slowdown, experienced agents appeared to consolidate business. 58% earned over $50,000 in 2024 (up from 49% in 2023), and nearly 30% earned over $100,000 (up from 22%). More agents (72.2%) closed 5+ deals, potentially due to fewer new agents entering (17% had <3 years experience vs. 28% in 2021). However, over a third still held a second job.
- Brokerage Choice: Commission splits are paramount (78.4% rate as very important), outweighing brand reputation (55.2%) and training/support (54.6%). Agent movement remains high, with 15% planning to switch brokerages in 2025 and 13.4% having done so in 2024. Notably, 54.8% of agents indicated they’d prefer lower brokerage support investments for a better split.
- Career Sentiment: Enthusiasm has declined. Only 21.2% are likely to recommend real estate as a career, versus 49.8% unlikely, resulting in a Net Promoter Score of -28.6, noted by Redfin as the lowest they’ve recorded. Top dislikes included income unpredictability (42.6%) and difficulty finding clients (37.8%). Independence (86.8%) and helping clients (76.4%) remain key motivators.
- Industry Headwinds: Affordability is the top challenge (64.2% major concern), followed by lack of inventory (42.8%) and declining commissions (42%). Redfin notes this aligns with its separate research on housing affordability.
- Policy & Economic Outlook: Agents widely support affordable housing policies (75.6%) and building more homes (66.8%), but less so for denser zoning locally (40% disagree). Opinions on the 2025 market are cautiously optimistic (around 50% expect local sales/prices to rise), while views on the overall U.S. economy are split (40.6% positive, 39.6% not).
- Climate & Insurance: Climate change impacts buyer decisions according to 39% of agents (higher in FL/CA), yet few (<10%) reported climate-risk training. Insurance issues during transactions increased for 47% of agents (72%+ in CA/FL), though 37.6% reported no client insurance problems.
- Discrimination: Reported experiences increased. 22.4% of agents reported sexism (up from 18%), with 34.5% of women reporting it versus 8.9% of men. 38% of non-white agents reported racial discrimination (up from 32%), often citing other agents/industry professionals (28%).
- NAR & Commissions: Views towards NAR turned significantly negative (51% unfavorable, up from 19% in 2023), likely linked to the commission settlement. 38% felt the changes negatively impacted their business, and 54.4% observed more commission negotiation. While Redfin states its data shows limited buyer commission changes yet, 51.2% of surveyed agents expect commissions to decline within 12 months. Most agents (74.8%) believe withholding listings from the MLS is rarely best for sellers. (Note: Survey conducted before the March 25 NAR rule update).
Source: Internal Redfin analysis of its 2025 Industry Survey by Jason Aleem. The anonymous survey was conducted via email by Ipsos between Dec 2024-Jan 2025, involving 500 non-Redfin agents across 46 states with at least one transaction in the prior 12 months.
