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The differences between home inspectors and real estate agents can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a real estate agent has an average salary of $91,788, which is higher than the $51,264 average annual salary of a home inspector.
The top three skills for a home inspector include crawl spaces, pest control and plumbing. The most important skills for a real estate agent are customer service, real estate license, and excellent interpersonal.
| Home Inspector | Real Estate Agent | |
| Yearly salary | $51,264 | $91,788 |
| Hourly rate | $24.65 | $44.13 |
| Growth rate | -4% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 55,491 | 41,399 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Average age | 50 | 49 |
| Years of experience | 6 | - |
A home inspector is primarily in charge of performing inspections and assessments to identify problem areas and potential risks. Although the extent of their responsibilities depends on their line of work or company of employment, it usually includes studying and assessing the structural elements of houses such as its floors and ceilings, testing the alarm or fire detecting equipment, inspecting drainage and pipe systems, and checking appliances should there be any. Moreover, a home inspector produces detailed reports along with recommendations to help the clients in making decisions.
A real estate agent helps owners in the selling or renting of houses, land, offices, buildings, or any piece of property. They should be knowledgeable in the area they work in, which local properties are in the market, and the competitive prices for various properties. It is their responsibility to either market or sells in the best possible and reasonable price and conditions. Negotiating is a vital skill for real estate agents as they act as the middleman for buyers and sellers. Most agents bill the client with a percentage of the final sale price as the fee, but some would get a fixed commission for every sale.
Home inspectors and real estate agents have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Home Inspector | Real Estate Agent | |
| Average salary | $51,264 | $91,788 |
| Salary range | Between $32,000 And $82,000 | Between $66,000 And $126,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Long Beach, NY |
| Highest paying state | - | West Virginia |
| Best paying company | - | Santa Clara Valley Water District |
| Best paying industry | - | Finance |
There are a few differences between a home inspector and a real estate agent in terms of educational background:
| Home Inspector | Real Estate Agent | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | San Diego State University | - |
Here are the differences between home inspectors' and real estate agents' demographics:
| Home Inspector | Real Estate Agent | |
| Average age | 50 | 49 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 85.7% Female, 14.3% | Male, 43.4% Female, 56.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.1% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.8% Asian, 3.4% White, 69.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% | Black or African American, 5.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 13.0% Asian, 6.8% White, 70.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 13% |