jobfacts

Estate agent

Estate agents and auctioneers — SOC 2020 3555

Estate agents and auctioneers arrange for the valuation, sale, purchase, rental and leasing of property on behalf of clients, as well as the auction of livestock and antiques.

Also calledProperty agentLetting agentRental agentNegotiatorAgentRelocation agentand 34 more titles
Typical full-time pay£30,6002025 Provisional
People in the job53,000across the UK
Demand for workersElevated
New adverts a month1,900↓ 8.5%on last year · 98th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025

Half of full-time estate agents earn between £25,900 and £38,100 a year.

What full-time estate agents earn, 2025
£30,600 typical£23,000lowest 10%£25,90025%£38,10075%n/ptop 10%
Middle half (£25,900–£38,100)n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less than£23,000
Lowest 20% earn less than£25,100
25%£25,900
Median£30,600
75%£38,100
Top 20% earn more thanNot published
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Many (23%) of estate agents work for themselves. These pay figures only cover employees, so they may not reflect what self-employed estate agents earn.
Typical pay by regionUK median £30,600
Wales!£36,500
South East!£33,400
Scotland!£30,900
North West!£30,800
East of England!£29,900
West Midlands!£26,700
South West!£25,900
East Midlands!£23,700
North EastNot published by ONS–
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS–
LondonNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £30,600
Wales£36,500 (small sample)
South East£33,400 (small sample)
Scotland£30,900 (small sample)
North West£30,800 (small sample)
East of England£29,900 (small sample)
West Midlands£26,700 (small sample)
South West£25,900 (small sample)
East Midlands£23,700 (small sample)
North EastNot published by ONS
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS
LondonNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 2 years
  • 2024 £28,400
  • 2025 Provisional£30,600
↑ 7.9% since 2024Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 1,900 jobs for estate agents are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as elevated.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (1 in all)
Show as table
Aug 20261,787
Jul 20262,694
Jun 20262,579
May 20261,621
Apr 20261,355
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 20261,472
Jan 20261,850
Dec 2025934
Nov 20251,838
Oct 20252,139
Sept 20252,228
Aug 20252,131
Jul 20251,918
Jun 20252,767
May 20253,346
Apr 20252,751
Mar 20251,859
Feb 20251,917
Jan 20251,647
Dec 2024986
Nov 20241,437
Oct 20241,757
Sept 20241,734
Aug 20241,824
Jul 20241,940
Jun 20241,717
May 20242,117
Apr 20242,073
Mar 20241,591
Feb 20241,630
Jan 20242,217
Dec 20231,351
Nov 20231,483
Oct 20231,598
Sept 20231,597
Aug 20231,708
Jul 20231,937
Jun 20232,544
May 20232,418
Apr 20232,203
Mar 20232,340
Feb 20232,278
Jan 20232,423
Dec 20221,704
Nov 20222,105
Oct 20222,285
Sept 20222,419
Aug 20222,572
Jul 20222,553
Jun 20222,718
May 20223,199
Apr 20222,354
Mar 20222,970
Feb 20222,824
Jan 20223,179
Dec 20212,103
Nov 20212,411
Oct 20212,614
Sept 20212,930
Aug 20212,672
Jul 20212,759
Jun 20212,754
May 20213,051
Apr 20212,289
Mar 20213,268
Feb 20211,741
Jan 20211,875
Dec 20201,521
Nov 20201,669
Oct 20202,002
Sept 20201,864
Aug 20201,688
Jul 20201,628
Jun 20201,086
May 2020802
Apr 20201,501
Mar 20202,830
Feb 20203,214
Jan 20202,708
Dec 20192,147
Nov 20192,231
Oct 20192,741
Sept 20192,397
Aug 20192,632
Jul 20192,785
Jun 20193,133
May 20192,588
Apr 20192,186
Mar 20192,190
Feb 20192,033
Jan 20192,673
Dec 20181,771
Nov 20182,394
Oct 20182,643
Sept 20182,650
Aug 20182,517
Jul 20182,235
Jun 20182,470
May 20182,464
Apr 20182,045
Mar 20182,642
Feb 20182,088
Jan 20182,516
Dec 20171,741
Nov 20172,079
Oct 20172,102
Sept 20172,383
Aug 20172,555
Jul 20172,474
Jun 20173,225
May 20172,985
Apr 20173,448
Mar 20173,877
Feb 20172,814
Jan 20173,769
Is there a shortage of estate agents?
Elevated

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment; in 2024 it was not high.

  • Visas grantedAbove usual
  • Online job advertsWell above usual
  • Wage growthAbove usual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedUsual
Note: uncertainty in change in hourly wage.
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
35%against 27% for all jobs
DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London1,146
Manchester140
Birmingham119
Bristol, City of108
Leeds87
Cardiff52
Nottingham52
South Oxfordshire50
Southampton46
Liverpool46
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where estate agents are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. 10 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026, most to people from United States, Bangladesh, China, ranking it 213th of 313. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
Age of estate agents
20%!
26%!
17%!
14%!
17%!
6.4%!
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
16–2420% (small sample)
25–3426% (small sample)
35–4417% (small sample)
45–5414% (small sample)
55–6417% (small sample)
65+6.4% (small sample)
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent31%
Higher education below degree!2.2%
A levels or equivalent39%
GCSEs or equivalent!19%
Other qualifications!5%
No qualifications–
Not published
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent31%
Higher education below degree2.2% (small sample)
A levels or equivalent39%
GCSEs or equivalent19% (small sample)
Other qualifications5% (small sample)
No qualificationsNot published

Main employers: real estate agencies (60%), management of real estate on a fee or contract basis (9.9%), combined facilities support activities (6.7%), renting and operating of own or leased real estate (5.8%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
31%
as their highest qualification
Most common qualification
A levels or equivalent
held by 39%
Apprenticeships
1
from level 2
Apprenticeships take
1 year
typically
Self-employed
23%
of people in the job

Routes in

You can get into this job through:

University

It may help when looking for work if you have a foundation degree, higher national diploma or degree in a subject like:

  • surveying
  • business studies
  • estate management
  • property development or management
  • urban and land studies
Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 1 or 2 A levels, or equivalent, for a foundation degree or higher national diploma
  • 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree

Apprenticeship

You could become an estate agent by doing an apprenticeship, for example:

  • Junior Estate Agent Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship
  • Housing and Property Management Assistant Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship
  • Housing and Property Management Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship

These can take 1 year to 1 year and 6 months to complete.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship

Other ways in

Work your way up

You could work as a trainee sales negotiator or letting agent assistant and learn on the job.

You could also start as an administrator with an estate agent or lettings company and work your way up through training and promotion.

Local knowledge of the area where you'll be working would be an advantage.

Other routes

You could take a course through an industry body like Propertymark or the Chartered Institute of Housing.

There are courses for people looking to take their first steps in the industry as well as professional development courses for those with experience.

What you’ll need

  • have a full driving licence

Registration and professional bodies

Career tips

Estate agents often work on commission. This means that you have a basic salary and also earn a percentage of the sale or rental price of any property you sell or rent.

You may also have the chance to add to your earnings through bonuses linked to meeting individual or company sales targets.

Further information

You can find our more about working as an estate agent or letting agent from Propertymark.

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for estate agent. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Apprenticeships

1 for this job

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • discusses client’s requirements and may advise client on the purchase of property and land for investment and other purposes
  • conducts or arranges for structural surveys of properties and undertakes any necessary valuations of property or agricultural land
  • advises vendors and purchasers on market prices of property, accompanies clients to view property
  • markets the property on behalf of the vendor, prepares written information and press advertisements
  • negotiates land or property purchases, sales, leases or tenancy agreements and arranges legal formalities with solicitors, building societies and other parties
  • makes inventories of property for sale, advises vendor of suitable reserve price, issues catalogues, conducts auction, notes bids and records sale

Skills

  • create a financial plan
  • examine the conditions of buildings
  • organise a damage assessment
  • provide information on properties
  • advise on financial matters
  • advise on property value
  • analyse financial performance of a company
  • analyse market financial trends
  • compare property values
  • enforce financial policies
  • follow company standards
  • inform on renting agreements
  • liaise with managers
  • manage contracts

Knowledge

  • property law
  • real estate market
  • corporate social responsibility
  • financial analysis
  • financial management
  • financial statements
  • building codes
  • building construction principles

Suits people who like

  • Leading and persuading
  • Organising and following procedures

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for business and public service associate professionals, a group of 26 jobs that includes estate agents.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↑ 1.2%about 26,000 more jobs
Workers needed by 20351.1 millionincluding people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

jobfacts is independent. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Education, Skills England, the National Careers Service, the Home Office, the European Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor.