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Real estate attorney vs broker

The differences between real estate attorneys and brokers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a broker has an average salary of $124,861, which is higher than the $98,016 average annual salary of a real estate attorney.

The top three skills for a real estate attorney include law firm, litigation and legal advice. The most important skills for a broker are brokerage, financial services, and insurance products.

Real estate attorney vs broker overview

Real Estate AttorneyBroker
Yearly salary$98,016$124,861
Hourly rate$47.12$60.03
Growth rate7%5%
Number of jobs22,4442,770
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeDoctoral Degree, 53%Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Average age4949
Years of experience--

What does a real estate attorney do?

Real estate account executives manage the logistics of commercial or residential real estate accounts. Responsibilities include understanding prospective deals, as well as presenting them to the investment committee, and negotiating and closing transactions. They typically have a solid background in math and computer skills and a good sense of integrity.

What does a broker do?

Brokers can either be a firm or an individual acting as an intermediary between a securities exchange and an investor. They often provide services to individual investors and traders who cannot engage directly with security exchanges, which only accept orders from their members. They provide investors and traders with an investment plan, market intelligence, and research. They may cross-sell some financial services and products offered by their brokerage firms. They are also typically classified as discount or full-service brokers.

Real estate attorney vs broker salary

Real estate attorneys and brokers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Real Estate AttorneyBroker
Average salary$98,016$124,861
Salary rangeBetween $67,000 And $143,000Between $68,000 And $227,000
Highest paying CitySeattle, WANew York, NY
Highest paying stateWashingtonNew York
Best paying companySullivan & WorcesterChild Guidance & Family Solutions
Best paying industryEnergyInsurance

Differences between real estate attorney and broker education

There are a few differences between a real estate attorney and a broker in terms of educational background:

Real Estate AttorneyBroker
Most common degreeDoctoral Degree, 53%Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Most common majorLawBusiness
Most common collegeStanford UniversityUniversity of Southern California

Real estate attorney vs broker demographics

Here are the differences between real estate attorneys' and brokers' demographics:

Real Estate AttorneyBroker
Average age4949
Gender ratioMale, 51.1% Female, 48.9%Male, 63.8% Female, 36.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.5% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 6.7% Asian, 2.9% White, 81.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%Black or African American, 5.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 13.2% Asian, 6.9% White, 70.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage8%13%

Differences between real estate attorney and broker duties and responsibilities

Real estate attorney example responsibilities.

  • Manage sales staff inside of the branch to proper real estate loanorigination, servicing, cross-selling and follow-ups.
  • Manage outside counsel for representation and litigation on various matters including leasehold disputes.
  • Prepare probate documents including filing necessary appointments, notice and assents, and powers of sale.
  • Prepare construction loan status reports, develop new business opportunities, and engage in cross-selling of products.
  • Present at seminars to local professionals on foreclosure and short sale topics
  • Negotiate alternatives to foreclosure with bank lenders on behalf of low-income persons facing foreclosure.
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Broker example responsibilities.

  • Manage, lease and sell office condominiums on site.
  • Retail trader, fix income securities; manage client account activity; properly allocate client funds to appropriate investment options
  • Manage indexes, options, foreign equities, and short-selling positions that are compatible with clients' long-term investment goals.
  • Expand and maintain professional relationships with trading accounts including banks, hedge funds and portfolio managers.
  • Specialize in finding undervalue and/or overbought commodities by using fundamental and technical analysis that exist throughout the markets.
  • Install the oracle client for windows.
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Real estate attorney vs broker skills

Common real estate attorney skills
  • Law Firm, 15%
  • Litigation, 11%
  • Legal Advice, 6%
  • Due Diligence, 6%
  • Legal Research, 5%
  • Sale Agreements, 5%
Common broker skills
  • Brokerage, 17%
  • Financial Services, 9%
  • Insurance Products, 7%
  • Risk Management, 6%
  • Client Relationships, 6%
  • Real Estate Transactions, 5%

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