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For real estate agents

Before you sign that brokerage agreement, check these three things.

An agent's agreement with a brokerage sets the split, the fees and the rules. It can also decide who keeps pending deals and listings when you move, and what you pay on the way out.

Brokerage Contractor Agreement.pdfPage 1 of 6
Example
Medium risk— a few terms deserve a closer look

This brokerage agreement keeps pending deals and their commissions with the brokerage when you leave.

Lower riskHigher risk
Against youHigh · Termination

Deals you started stay behind, unpaid

A deal you took to contract that closes the week after you leave pays you nothing.

Ask for

Look at what happens to pending deals and commissions earned before you leave, and ask for your share on deals already under contract.

  • Desk and transaction fees can changeMedium · Payment
  • Clients and agents off-limits for a yearMedium · Restrictions
See the full sample analysis →

The numbers

In May 2025, there were 193,370 wage and salary jobs for real estate sales agents in the U.S., with a median annual wage of $52,830.

Median hourly wage, U.S., May 2025: real estate sales agents ($25.40) and 28 other occupations these pages cover. Each dot is one occupation's median.

These figures count jobs, not people, and do not include self-employed work — so they say little about how many real estate sales agents work freelance or run their own business.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025, national estimates for SOC 41-9022. Public domain.

Splits, leaving the brokerage and client lists

  1. Split and fees — Desk fees, transaction fees and caps change what the split is worth. Check each, and whether they can change during the agreement.
  2. Leaving the brokerage — Look at what happens to pending deals, listings and commissions earned before you leave.
  3. Non-solicitation — Check whether you may take clients or other agents with you, and for how long any restriction applies.

Check the agreement before you hang your license

A brokerage agreement is the contract behind every commission. Free: one analysis every 30 days, no card. Each analysis gives a risk read of the key clauses, quotes the contract's own words for its findings, and turns each flagged clause into a specific ask.

Analyze my contract — free
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  • Files auto-deleted after 30 days
  • Never used to train models
  • Informational — not legal advice

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