Chefs had their moment in the reality TV spotlight. Models, too. But from where we sit, the 2020s is very clearly the decade of the real estate agent. They’re all over your favorite streaming platforms: bickering in Tampa, stealing houses out from under each other in LA, competing to be the biggest of the big dogs in NYC. The cameras haven’t come for the Portland players—yet—so we did a deep dive for them, to get the facts on what real estate life is really like in the Rose City. You’re welcome, Hollywood.

$114,960:

The average take-home pay of Portland real estate brokers (A broker is licensed to start their own firms and hire other agents to work for them.)

$57,720:

Average yearly take-home pay of Portland real estate agents

9,000+:

Estimated number of real estate agents in the metro area

5.1% :

Average commission rate for a home sale in Oregon (That’s below the national average of 5.5 percent.)

7:

Average time, in months, it takes to earn a real estate license

$2,286.25:

Minimum cost for becoming a real estate agent in Oregon, including dues to the Portland Realtors Association, fees to take state and national licensing exams, application fees, and getting homes listed for sale via the Multiple Listing Services website. 

$536,921:

Median home sale price in 2021 in the Portland metro area (That’s a 33 percent increase over the median price in 2016, which was $356,700.)