By Jason Bulloch, Offerpad Research Team
Around 4 million homes have been sold in the U.S. each year going back to 2023, which might superficially suggest that the real estate agents overseeing this vast volume of transactions are overburdened. But this huge industry includes more than 1.5 million members of the National Association of Realtors (NAR). In that context, learning that 49% of licensed real estate agents sold one or fewer homes in 2023 becomes an easier fact to grasp.
Of course, the data tells a more complex story, and while that top-level figure might look like a sector in crisis, it’s worth understanding where the misconceptions come from. Offerpad, a real estate technology company, put together an analysis to examine this frequently cited figure and see whether it’s truly as worrying as it first appears.
The state of play in real estate sales
The Consumer Federation of America (CFA) highlighted the low-or-no-sales gap in its 2024 report, which based the 49% figure on a random sample of 2,000 agents at large, reputable brokerages across various states and regions. On top of that, 70% of the agents in the study had five or fewer home sales during the 12-month period.
Since then, the CFA has found the same consistent pattern of very small sales figures for what is effectively the majority of licensed agents. Its 2026 report on the impact of referral fees confirms it, and hints at the main reason behind the trend. With too many agents and brokers serving too few clients, the focus shifts to earning commission from referrals rather than from sales.
Referral-related commission earnings averaged between $10,000 and $50,000 a year for 42% of registered agents. And with 80% of home sales relying on some form of referral, the market mechanics that enable this are easy to understand.
Also known as a finder’s fee, a referral payment can equal up to 50% of the total commission the agent who actually sells the house will earn. And with 87% of agents signed up to networks that facilitate referrals between agents and brokerages in different regions, there’s clear mutual benefit to the current setup.
The debate around referral fees is encouraging homeowners to explore their alternatives when selling. Growing demand for transparency into how referral fees affect selling prices will push more people to consider options beyond the traditional real estate agent model.
An NAR counterpoint
Not every real estate agent is an NAR member, and this body holds the exclusive right for its members to call themselves a “Realtor.” It also publishes annual data on a random sample of members, which is a useful counterpoint to the CFA’s figures.
The most recent NAR Member Profile shows that in 2025, the median number of transactions handled by members was nine, while the median number of properties managed over the 12-month period was 32. A median sales volume of $2.5 million suggests that, on average, those nine transactions were for properties priced below the roughly $400,000 national median home price.
The NAR Member Profile has historically been consistent with this, showing a median of roughly 10 to 12 transactions per year for members, so 2025 was not an outlier. But because the survey is voluntary, it carries a heavy selection bias: highly successful full-time agents are far more likely to complete it than the thousands of inactive or part-time agents.
What it means for consumers
Whether you lean on the CFA’s data or the NAR’s Member Profile, the real takeaway is the same: how referral fees shape property transactions.
Buyers and sellers deserve clarity on how agents get paid, whether they’re the ones selling the home or referring clients to someone better positioned to help. Critics argue that some agents keep commissions high by charging steep referral fees without being transparent about them, and that an oversupply of licensed agents makes it harder for consumers to find experienced, effective help.
Other pressures, including higher interest rates and home prices, add to already challenging conditions. The best move for homeowners is to research prospective agents carefully and ask directly about referral fees, so you go in fully informed before committing.
This story was produced by Offerpad and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
