Commercial real estate work has a quiet but brutal statistic attached to it.
Roughly 80% of new commercial real estate agents will leave the business within two years. Eight out of ten will not make it. The number surprises newcomers, but it should not. When compared with new business startups, the attrition rate is nearly identical.
And that comparison is appropriate because a commercial real estate brokerage is akin to a startup. Every new agent is essentially launching a small business without a guaranteed salary, without a defined strategy and often without the infrastructure needed to survive the early years.
Yet we rarely talk about it that way.
Instead, the industry continues to recruit aggressively, vet loosely and train inconsistently. The result is predictable: churn.
Recruiting is easy, development is hard
Most brokerages are very good at recruiting but far less effective at developing their teams. That is not a criticism; it is a structural reality.
Recruiting is scalable. Mentoring is not.
Training programs often focus on mechanics. Contracts, terminology, databases and market reports. Coaching, when it exists, is frequently episodic rather than systematic. True mentoring, where an experienced professional is invested in another person’s long term success, is increasingly rare.
But even if those gaps were magically filled, the attrition rate would still be high. Because the real issue is not spreadsheets, scripts or sales techniques. It is purpose.
The missing ‘why?’
Most new agents enter commercial real estate without a clearly articulated “why?”
They can explain what they want to do. They can describe what they hope to earn. They often talk about flexibility, upside or entrepreneurship.
But ask them the why of this business, and the answers are usually vague.
Barbara Corcoran, founder of The Corcoran Group and longtime investor on Shark Tank, once said she can tell within five minutes whether someone will succeed in real estate.
It’s not because of experience.
Not because of intelligence.
Not even because of personality.
It’s because of their why.
When the market turns, when deals fall apart, when commissions are delayed, when prospects stop returning calls and when months go by without a paycheck, talent alone does not carry you through. Purpose does.
A weak “why?” folds under pressure. A strong one adapts.
What survivors have in common
Those who survive the first two years and eventually thrive tend to share a few characteristics.
They understand that early income volatility is part of the price of admission.
They treat the business like a profession, not a job.
They are willing to learn slowly while working relentlessly.
And most importantly, they have a reason for being there that goes beyond money.
For some, it is building long-term client relationships. For others, it is autonomy. For some, it is legacy. For still others, it is proving something to themselves or to someone else.
The specifics vary. The clarity does not.
Attrition isn’t failure, but ignoring it is
High attrition in commercial real estate is not inherently bad. This business demands resilience, delayed gratification and personal accountability. It is not for everyone, and it should not be.
But pretending the problem is purely technical misses the point.
Until companies recruit more thoughtfully, mentor more intentionally and help new agents articulate a real why, the numbers will not change. And they should not.
Because the goal is not to reduce attrition at all costs.
The goal is to make sure the right people stay.
Allen C. Buchanan is a principal with Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services in Orange. He can be reached at abuchanan@lee-associates.com or 714-564-7104.
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