Help people buy and sell homes for a commission. Licensed in about a year, paid only when a deal closes.
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Pay, the path, pros and cons and the facts on one printable page. Good for a wall or a guidance counsellor.
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What you earn and what it costs to get there.
Typical
$58,000
First years
$25,000
Top producer
$178,000
Job Bank's national median is about $58,000 a year. Job Bank lists the low end at $32,867, which is just the floor of the census data. Real first-year earnings are often lower, sometimes zero, because you are paid only when a sale closes. We show $25,000 as a more honest starting point.
$0 to $40,000
Before expenses, and only if you close deals
Most new agents sell a handful of homes in their first year and many quit within two. Keep savings or a part-time job while you build a client list.
$178,000 and up
Agents who close dozens of sales a year
A typical total commission in Canada is around 4 to 5% of the sale price, split between the buyer's and seller's agents and then again with each agent's brokerage. In Toronto or Vancouver one sale can still pay $10,000 or more to the agent.
Tuition, fees, exams and kit. Not rent, food or travel
The low end is the pre-registration course package plus your first licence and registration. The high end adds the first year of board and MLS (Multiple Listing Service) dues, errors and omissions insurance, and the signs, photos and business cards you need before a first commission arrives. Agents are self employed, so all of it comes out of your own pocket with no salary behind it. Budget several months of living money as well, because the first cheque is often six months away.
Agents are almost always self-employed, so these costs come off the top before you see any income. Do not skip this math.
None from an employer
No pension, no health plan, no paid vacation. You buy your own coverage.
Uncapped income
No salary ceiling. Your effort and your market set the number.
Flexible schedule
You choose your hours, but clients choose evenings and weekends.
Tax write-offs
Car, phone, home office and marketing are business expenses.
The exact path from high school to qualified.
Courses, exams, then join a brokerage. Ontario's path is shown; other provinces are similar.
High school diploma
Grade 12
Ontario requires a Canadian high school diploma or GED (general educational development) certificate, or an equivalent, plus English proficiency.
Pre-registration program
6 to 12 months
In Ontario: five courses with exams plus two simulation sessions, offered by Humber Polytechnic, Algonquin, Fleming and one private provider. Real estate essentials, residential and commercial transactions, then a career launch course. Must be finished within 24 months.
Register with the regulator
Weeks
Apply to RECO (Real Estate Council of Ontario) within one year of finishing. You must be employed by a registered brokerage to register.
Post-registration program
First 2 years
More courses in your first two years while you work under a broker.
Continuing education
Ongoing
Ongoing courses every renewal cycle. Later, a broker's licence lets you run your own brokerage.
Math
Mortgages, commissions, land transfer tax.
Business
You are running a small business from day one.
English
Contracts and listings are written documents.
Law
Property law, contracts and disclosure rules.
You cannot trade in real estate without a provincial licence. Ontario's regulator is RECO (Real Estate Council of Ontario). Alberta's is RECA (Real Estate Council of Alberta). BC uses the BC Financial Services Authority. Each province has its own courses and exams, and licences do not automatically transfer, though experienced agents can usually skip some courses when moving. 'Realtor' is a trademark of the Canadian Real Estate Association; only members may use it.
Things you don't need, but that help.
Commercial real estate
Offices, warehouses, retail. Bigger deals, longer to close, higher commissions.
Broker's licence
Extra courses and experience. Lets you own a brokerage and earn a cut of every agent's deals.
Pre-construction and condos
Working with developers on new builds.
Property management
Steady monthly income managing rentals, separately licensed in some provinces.
Savings for the first year
Six months of living costs. Most failed agents ran out of money, not skill.
A car and a phone you like
You will live in both.
A second language
Many buyers prefer an agent who speaks their language.
Social media skills
Listings and personal branding now live on Instagram and TikTok.
Day to day, pros and cons, where you'd work.
Morning checking new listings and messaging clients. A showing or two mid-day, often with a buyer who is not ready to decide. Afternoon paperwork: offers, disclosures, chasing a mortgage approval. Evening showings because clients work during the day. Saturday and Sunday are open house days. Between all of that, the real work is finding the next client: calls, coffee meetings, social posts, referrals.
The good
The hard parts
Things people don't tell you.
In Canada the word Realtor belongs to the Canadian Real Estate Association. A licensed agent who is not a member of a local board cannot legally use it. Most agents join so they can use the MLS (Multiple Listing Service), the shared database of homes for sale.
RECO (Real Estate Council of Ontario) requires all pre-registration courses and both simulation sessions to be finished within 24 months of starting. Then you have one year to register before the credits expire.
Job Bank reports real estate pay per year instead of per hour because so many agents are self-employed. There is no hourly wage when you are paid per sale.
Last checked September 2026. Pay figures are typical full-time annual amounts in Canadian dollars, based on Government of Canada Job Bank wage data and published salary grids. They vary by province, employer and experience. Tuition is for domestic students.