Helped by rising home prices, Realtors saw their incomes jump for the third straight year in 2013, but an even bigger jump in expenses ate into their take-home pay, according to an annual member survey from the National Association of Realtors released today.

Realtors’ median gross income was $47,700 in 2013, up 9.7 percent from $43,500 in 2012, according to the NAR 2014 Member Profile, which includes the results of a 91-question survey answered by 6,462 Realtors. The median number of transactions for Realtors last year stayed flat at 12, but home prices rose 11.5 percent, according to NAR.

Despite the $4,200 increase in gross income in 2013, Realtors’ take-home pay after taxes and expenses was just $2,500 (or 9.1 percent) more than it was in 2012, totaling $29,900. By contrast, gross income rose by $8,600 (25 percent) and net income rose by $4,200 (18 percent) in 2012.

Profile metric 2013 2012
Median gross income $47,700 $43,500
Median business expenses $6,560 $4,900
Median age 56 57
Female/male breakdown 57%/43% 57%/43%
Median technology spend $760 $690

Source: 2014 NAR member profile

Business expenses rose nearly 34 percent last year to a median $6,560, compared with $4,900 in 2012. That increase was partially due to a 10.1 percent rise in the amount spent on technology services and products, a median $760 from $690 in 2012. Vehicle costs — Realtors’ largest expense — also rose nearly 4 percent to $1,860.

Realtors spent a median $620 marketing their services in 2013, up from $590 in 2012. But they spent only a median 5 percent of that money on online marketing and promotion, down from 10 percent in 2012.

While members cited difficulty in obtaining a mortgage as the biggest closing challenge faced by their clients in 2011 and 2012, members said difficulty in finding the right property was their No. 1 challenge in 2013, likely due to tight inventory.

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