How much do leasing brokers make?
Let’s say you’re in your mid to late 20s, and you absolutely crush it as an office or industrial leasing broker. How much are you making each year?
Does it rival REPE, like in the 300s?
Trending Content
Career Resources
Top brokers in leasing make multiple millions per year, $300k is in the top to mid range (how one splits with broker and who pays expenses can make “net” earnings tough to estimate).
Regardless, “top brokers” will out earn “repe” until you get to very senior roles. Just that being a “top” broker is tough, especially in 20s or even 30s, as you may need to “inherit” a book of business from a senior broker to get to top level.
Yeah I know what senior leasing guys make. More so asking about guys in their 20s. What’s feasible at that level. Trying to figure out if my nemesis makes more than me.
I’m guessing no, but curious what’s reasonably possible when you’re in your 20s.
No one can really tell you because the questions are 1) how much can you sell and 2) what market are you in?
In NYC, it’s feasible, though hard, to make $250,000 in 3 years. In Nashville, it might be much more difficult.
LOL... trying to figure that out will drive you insane! Just be happy knowing your job is probably more interesting than this "nemesis" (leasing brokerage seems like a shit job to me imho, but some do love it!).
A quick example... lets say your friend gets a 10% cut of all commissions, and they are on some super-mega deal that nets like $3 million to the firm (yes that can happen, I work for a developer that has had to cut those fucking checks...)... your "nemesis" could literally rake $300k of that one deal alone, and probably do some more in the same year!
now, those deals are rare, but they happen (more often in NYC and SF than in Fargo lol), hence, why you are stuck on this.
As someone smart once said.... "comparison is the thief of joy!"
The "top" brokers that I know pull in $2+ million "net" pretty frequently. Some years it can be 5x that, some years it can be l<$1 million.
My good friend from college, his uncle is a tenant rep office guy in Socal. Met with him when i was looking for internships before i graduated. He made multiple millions a year and had a couple record years that put him in the low 8 figures. Guys a stud though and is definitely top tier, works at one of the big shops (cush/CB/JLL/Colliers).To the question i know some great rising stars on the leasing side around 28-35 that are close to a million (net).Hope this helps
Damn that’s some serious Keesh. Kinda scary to think a 28 year old leasing broker could F my B even though I work at a top tier REPE fund
"net" of what? Taxes? Splits? And you know this because.... they told you? The first rule of any business, ever, is to never trust a broker. A middleman will never be honest with you, because that defeats the purpose of their existence.
This would be net of their splits. Considering my good friends uncle who has no reason of lying, I definitely believe him and especially with the lifestyle they live, but who knows.
For the "rising stars" I mentioned, this is all anecdotal but one of them works at my firm, but I'm on the cap markets side. They are definetely doing well and one of them closed a massive deal last year with his team which was a couple million in fees, but it will be paid out over 3 years. Other than that, it is verbal so I cannot know for sure as you mentioned.
The good ones. A LOT. millions a year.
Maybe a small number. Most of the "good ones" won't come close to this. If you're in the top 0.1% of brokers you might be pulling in 7 figures a year. Might. Before taxes.
Yes, I am talking very senior, big swingin' sticks of the world. Ones that will fight you on having to pay NNNs on an already multi million dollar commission w/o them.
Buddy of mine is an early-30s industrial leasing broker in a major market (does some sales here and there as well). He's raking in 750 or 1m maybe.
Gross commission or take home? How long has he been doing it?
Gross Commission so gets killed with taxes. Assume he has an S corp set up to shield
why don't more people consider leasing brokerage as a career path? everyone always talks about REPE / development / REIB / brokerage, but if the above is true, leasing brokerage can be very attractive
It’s boring AF work, hard to differentiate yourself, highly volatile pay (ask office brokers in 2020), doesn’t teach you skills to do your own deals, you’re thrown right into it when you’re young - no getting paid a six figure salary to learn and do grunt work
Office brokers: how many ppl per SF, what’s the ceiling height, how tall are the windows, how efficient is the floor plate, how many parking spaces per 1,000SF, how much TI are you offering, any free rent. Is this location walkable to amenities, all while juggling the CEO, CFO, and HR director of a company.
industrial: clear heights, dock doors, levelers, sprinkler systems, lighting, TI, how high can I rack my product, how’s trailer access/parking
retail: emotional as shit small business owners that seem to care about the dumbest things. Only the top TOP retail brokers are really working with sophisticated tenants that know what they’re doing. Otherwise this might as well be similar to residential brokerage with the occasional cool deal/tenant sprinkled in.
In review: Great money, if you’re good, but do all of that a dozen times and it’s starts to get pretty freaking boring. REPE, Development, REIB, Cap Markets, is just more interesting IMO.
Will say that a lot of the top leasing brokers in my market transitioned into selling the same assets they are leasing. IE. Office leasing broker ends up selling buildings in the downtown core.
Doesn't matter. Brokers don't make that much.Yes there's like 5 per region that are making 1mil+ consistently, but understand every broker will tell you their commissions in Gross, and not net.
Some major dings to a broker's paycheck include:
-Taxes are 🥜
-Money is paid to the brokerage who's % is 🥜
-Team member pay is 🥜 and comes out of brokers commissions…
Let's say a broker brings in $1MM gross in fees ($33MM in transaction value simply assuming 3% brokerage fees on each deal):
-$340k goes to the brokerage (assuming 66/34 split for people with the top title)
-$100k goes to the team if you have a runner and/or a transaction coordinator (generously assuming $50k/year each)
….With that you have $560k remaining….
Then 50% goes to taxes
Leaving you with $300k Net.
Not bad. Just remember, this is a GOOD year! Next year you could make half of this. This also assumes that you don’t have a partner on your team which would cut all of this in half.
In the mean time, during down years you still have to float your team as well as yourself!
So much variability here. And just know that these splits are based on very real numbers.
Dolorem et consequatur laboriosam aut nisi dicta. Eligendi unde corporis provident eius. Ipsa voluptatem repellat rerum. Eum impedit earum voluptatem voluptatibus corrupti. Cupiditate laboriosam asperiores rerum.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Et commodi ab et ut corrupti ea voluptas. Autem ratione sit quibusdam odit voluptate ipsa consequatur.