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Job outlook for real estate loan officers in the United States
Are real estate loan officer jobs in demand?
Real estate loan officer job and salary trends over time
Real estate loan officer jobs over time
Real estate loan officer job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1,216 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 1,104 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 1,103 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 1,090 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 1,099 | 0.00% |
Average real estate loan officer salary over time
Real estate loan officer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $90,206 | $43.37 | +1.1% |
| 2024 | $89,233 | $42.90 | +0.4% |
| 2023 | $88,908 | $42.74 | --2.5% |
| 2022 | $91,193 | $43.84 | +1.6% |
| 2021 | $89,769 | $43.16 | +0.3% |
Real estate loan officer jobs by state
Most common states for real estate loan officers
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 1,858 | 27% |
| 2 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 814 | 26% |
| 3 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 239 | 23% |
| 4 | Vermont | 623,657 | 136 | 22% |
| 5 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 278 | 21% |
| 6 | Arizona | 7,016,270 | 1,372 | 20% |
| 7 | Idaho | 1,716,943 | 341 | 20% |
| 8 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 666 | 19% |
| 9 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 1,554 | 18% |
| 10 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 987 | 18% |
| 11 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 134 | 18% |
| 12 | Alabama | 4,874,747 | 846 | 17% |
| 13 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 328 | 17% |
| 14 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 944 | 16% |
| 15 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 904 | 16% |
| 16 | Delaware | 961,939 | 150 | 16% |
| 17 | Pennsylvania | 12,805,537 | 1,860 | 15% |
| 18 | New Jersey | 9,005,644 | 1,354 | 15% |
| 19 | Georgia | 10,429,379 | 1,488 | 14% |
| 20 | Tennessee | 6,715,984 | 960 | 14% |
Most common cities for real estate loan officers
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meridian | 1 | 1% | $82,764 |
| 2 | Chicago | 1 | 0% | $87,650 |
| 3 | Fresno | 1 | 0% | $103,894 |
| 4 | Miami | 1 | 0% | $86,307 |
Real Estate Loan Officer job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of real estate loan officer experts
California State University, Northridge
Arkansas State University
UNC Charlotte
Georgia State University
Florida State University
University of Alaska Anchorage
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Ray Calnan Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Real Estate, Director of Learning AssuranceCalifornia State University, Northridge
Department of Business Law
What skills stand out on Real Estate Loan Officer resumes?
Ray Calnan Ph.D.: Having a broad knowledge of the market and understanding the changes and requirements of real estate law. Soft skills are very important. Knowing how to communicate, negotiate, and interact with people is important in residential and commercial real estate. Commercial brokers will also require the ability to use high-level quantitative skills.
What skills will help Real Estate Loan Officers earn the most?
Ray Calnan Ph.D.: Communication and critical thinking will help the most. These skills are what get the opportunity and help you discover how to be successful.
Dr. Bert Greenwalt
Professor of Agricultural EconomicsArkansas State University
College of Agriculture
What skills stand out on Real Estate Loan Officer resumes?
Dr. Bert Greenwalt: -Familiarity with farm businesses and rural culture
-1-3 yrs. experience in the agribusiness sector
What soft skills should all Real Estate Loan Officers possess?
Dr. Bert Greenwalt: -Effective interpersonal communication
-Ability to explain complex concepts
What hard/technical skills are most important for Real Estate Loan Officers?
Dr. Bert Greenwalt: -Analytical and problem-solving skills
-Critical thinking skills
-Understanding of farm business management and finance
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Real Estate Loan Officers?
Daniel Wright: New graduates will face the issue of in-person mentorship. It will be a challenge for graduates to understand the company culture, observe the key company players, get a sense for the company brand, and have one-on-one help as they start out. The flip side is they may have access to a broader array of people which could prove beneficial. New graduates will have spent a year in the virtual environment, so depending on the company this may be business as usual or the new graduates may find themselves "unpracticed' in social interaction within a professional environment.
There may be a bit of a rude awakening if students were used to hybrid type courses that afforded maximum flexibility and then need to shift to a fixed schedule with their employer.
How have salaries changed over time for Real Estate Loan Officers?
Daniel Wright: -Real estate companies and transactions have become quite complex overall, so salaries continue to increase reflecting the needed education to make real estate deals successful.
-However, there continues to be a ton of small real estate companies which often pay lower salaries.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Real Estate Loan Officer job market given the pandemic?
Lynn McKee: The job market was very active in 2019 and early 2020 and then shut down in March as the pandemic spread. Many employers laid off employees, particularly junior level analysts and associates for lack of work and budgetary constraints. We are now seeing these employers starting to rehire the laid off employees and considering new employees.
We've seen the number of job postings increase and a few grads from last year have received offers in late 2020 and so far in 2021. However, our entry level grads must often compete with laid off analysts and associates which already have a few years of experience under their belt. This makes for a still challenging job market for entry level grads. We expect this dynamic to improve as the pandemic wanes, the economy comes back and companies decide to grow to meet future investment opportunities as the year progresses.
What skills stand out on Real Estate Loan Officer resumes?
Lynn McKee: From entry-level grads, employers are looking for hard skills, like Argus certification, proven Excel skills and CoStar proficiency. Some experience from internships is also important to get a grad over the "no CRE experience" hurdle.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Real Estate Loan Officers to find work opportunities?
Lynn McKee: We believe the most promising job markets will be the growth markets of the Southeast and Southwest (Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville, Tampa, Orlando, Miami, Dallas, Houston, Austin, etc...). These markets are positioned to receive company and population relocations out of the extensive coastal markets as companies disperse their workforce and talent pools. Real estate demand and therefore job opportunities will follow this relocation pattern. More difficult markets will be these large coastal markets (New York, San Francisco, Boston, Washington, LA, etc...) which have existing deep pools of real estate talent but potentially diminishing real estate demand and therefore job opportunities.
What experience really stands out on Real Estate Loan Officer resumes?
Mariya Letdin Ph.D.: Experience in the area where graduates are seeking employment is, of course, best. That said, any work experience that demonstrates discipline, achievement, and drive to succeed is very valuable.
How do you envision technology impacting Real Estate Loan Officers in the next 5 years?
Terry Fields: Technology has been a tool for this field in development, marketing, facilities management, financial analysis, and administration. In the next five years, there will be a continued shift toward electronic signatures and document solutions, artificial intelligence and virtual/augmented reality in marketing, and smart building systems, including sustainability, security, monitoring, and unit amenities. One of the trending topics today is how the COVID-19 pandemic might reshape the landscape for how employees work moving forward and the implications that would have on the commercial and residential industries. If employees can be as productive working remotely as they can in an office, why should companies carry the overhead of commercial leases or assets? Similarly, if people are not tethered to their employer and office location, how might their housing decisions change?
Another popular topic that has been developing, well before the pandemic, is the role of retail property in the rise of e-commerce. Most people agree that retail property has a place in the omnichannel of retailers, but how it looks and functions moving forward will be impacted by the digital space. In the end, people need a place to live, and companies need space to operate, manufacture, store, distribute, and sell goods/services. What that space looks like, how it is owned and operated, and where it is located will shift as technology and the general economy shift. Five years is a short timeline for real estate, but current trends may start the progression toward larger shifts in the industry.
What type of skills will young Real Estate Loan Officers need?
Terry Fields: In my experience, the attribute that will dictate the future success of a graduate most accurately is strong emotional intelligence. This has been the case in the past, and it will continue to be critical to the success of real estate managers. Inherent in this skill is the ability to know yourself, to know your audience (clients, co-workers, supervisors, vendors, etc.), and to most effectively deliver communication that is clear, considerate of the audience, and empathetic. Employees that have this skill are better practitioners, better team members, and better leaders. They form stronger relationships, manage conflict more effectively, and grow their circle of influence. In competitive markets, if the "tide goes out," these are the individuals that build a personal reputation and loyalty that make their presence even more critical to the success of the organization.
In addition to emotional intelligence, two hard skills that will benefit young graduates are financial and technical competencies. The ability to comprehend the big picture of their role, expressed in dollars and graphs, will enable them to more effectively communicate with supervisors and correlate their daily activities with the mission and objectives of the organization. Being able to identify trends, variances, correlations, and causations in the spreadsheets will make their work as practitioners more effective and signal to their supervisors the higher level of thinking required for promotions in this industry. Technical competency will also continue to play a critical role in moving forward. Communication and financial skills are often expressed through the use of technical tools, including spreadsheets, virtual communication apps, presentation and design software, and property management and marketing solutions. Graduates with a strong grasp of technology and an ability to quickly learn new systems will be better able to demonstrate and communicate their value in a professional way.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Real Estate Loan Officers to find work opportunities?
Terry Fields: One of the wonderful things about working in real estate is that it is literally everywhere. Furthermore, real estate management involves the overseeing of existing real estate assets that require management, despite conditions in the general economy (within reason). Therefore, positions in this industry tend to be less cyclical or location-dependent. The real estate market lags behind the general economy, so real estate growth will tend to follow in areas of job growth, population growth, and the subsequent real estate development to meet the business and housing needs. Over the past several years, development phases have been seen all over the country, including Seattle, Austin, Nashville, and Boston. The industry consistently posts more career availability than candidates, and a graduate that is flexible and able to remain mobile is more likely to see their career progress more quickly and with greater options.
Julienne Joseph
Associate Director of Government Housing ProgramsU.S. Customs and Border Protection
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Real Estate Loan Officers?
Julienne Joseph: Loan origination is a challenging yet rewarding career. While many loan officers wander into the field, by way of some other career path, others start on the journey earlier in life. Before investing in the steps needed to generate business, it's imperative that new loan officers thoroughly understand each phase of the mortgage process and the nuances that make each program different. Any loan officer will admit that unexpected obstacles are guaranteed to arise, but what separates the good from the great originator is the ability to anticipate and provide effective solutions when faced with an unforeseen issue. Not only does being prepared help make the process run more smoothly, but it also gives the loan officer the opportunity to educate their borrowers along the way, which builds trust.
Having a deep knowledge of the mortgage process and programs has proven to be invaluable, given the impact COVID-19 has had on the industry. Government agencies have continued to publish temporary guidance designed to address the unintended consequences that the mortgage industry has faced as a result of the pandemic. Keeping that in mind, mortgage professionals must be able to adapt-quickly- to the industry's ever-changing landscape, and the only way to do so is to have a command of how mortgages actually work.
As I mentioned earlier, being a loan officer can be rewarding. LOs literally help borrowers navigate one of the largest transactions of their lives, which can create an asset that will benefit families for generations. That can't be overstated. Yes, the work is hard, but few professions afford someone the opportunity to observe their efforts in improving the lives of their clients.