So basically most (70%) 1 million Real Estate agents don’t sell ANY Real-Estate 🙈 -Now I get why so many are pushing whole life policies! https://t.co/JUtLWtnyGj
The NAR chart is brutal. Out of 1.3 million agents, 923,543 logged exactly zero MLS resale deals between Dec 2024 and Nov 2025. Real estate looks crowded from the outside, but this image shows a tiny sliver doing nearly all the work and income.
The Psychology Behind It
Most agents treat their license like a lotto ticket, not a business. The top producers in this graphic are boringly consistent: daily prospecting, tight follow-up, ruthless time blocking. The opportunity is not becoming "an agent"; it is becoming one of the few who actually sells.
What This Chart Really Screams
- Real estate is a power-law game: 0.2 percent of agents crank 100–300 deals a year.
- For consumers, hiring randomly means a 7-in-10 chance you pick someone who closed nothing.
- For agents, the bar to stand out is lower than it looks: just doing 5–9 deals puts you in the top third.
How Top Shops Respond
eXp Realty builds training and lead systems that funnel new agents quickly toward that 5–9 deal tier instead of dying at zero.
Redfin structures salaried agent teams so transaction volume is concentrated in pros who live inside their systems every day.