How Does Your Salary Compare to Other Real Estate Executive Assistants?

Our culture is so interesting when it comes to money. We typically don’t ask each other how much money we’re making. And that’s why I put together a survey of real estate executive assistants and administrative professionals. To find out approximately what those admins in real estate are earning. Let me share my findings.

I received 162 responses to my survey.

How many years have you spent as an administrative or executive assistant?

(The yellow wedge is also 7.4%)

I’m not too surprised by these numbers. More and more agents are learning the value of employing assistants which means the majority of us are new(ish) to the role. A round of applause goes to the truly dedicated who have spent 20+ years as an assistant!

What is your annual salary including base pay and bonuses?

($60,001 – $70,000 is 6.2%, $70,001 – $80,000 is 1.9%, and $80,000+ is 2.4%)

While the vast majority of us earn $30,000 to $50,000, I’m pleased that there are executive assistants in real estate earning over $50,000. I know some of it depends on what part of the country you live in, but most of us don’t live in areas where the cost of living is extremely high.

Because my survey isn’t exactly scientific, we don’t know if those earning $30,000 or less are part time. I hope so, because no matter where you live, that’s not exactly a wage you can live on for full time work.

What bonuses, gifts, incentives, benefits (including health insurance) or other rewards have you received as an administrative or executive assistant?

Answers to this question were all over the place, as I expected! Some of the cool perks on the list are a one year gym membership, cell phone bill paid, a Michael Kors clutch, Christmas bonus, per transaction bonus, a wedding dress, and even “all expenses paid week vacation (airfare, lodging, food, park tickets) to amusement park with my family of 7.” How cool is that!

Tell me about your last raise:

The answer I forgot to include was “I asked for a raise and didn’t get it.” There was a response that said this person had asked but didn’t receive a raise because the agent was following the MREA model and the profit wasn’t there to support a raise. Which I can totally understand. The question then becomes, “What do I have to do to earn a raise?” The answer to that question makes the business more profitable and thus gets the assistant the raise.

You are paid:

(The orange section is “hourly or by the project or transaction as an independent contractor” at 7.4%)

I am happy to see that the vast majority of us are being paid as employees. Agents try to skirt paying employment taxes by hiring a full-time assistant and paying them as an independent contractor. Independent contractors have their role, but if you are expected to work 40 hours a week and show up and leave at the same every day, you are an employee and should be paid as such in my opinion.

The other responses included some form of hourly or salary or with a hybrid of the two.

Click Salary Survey Results to download all the responses and see for yourself what you could be asking for and getting!