A residential or commercial real estate team can only grow so big in one area. To expand, a successful team will take its business model to other locations (ideally no more than 30 minutes apart) and form real estate expansion teams.

These expansion teams can then quickly duplicate the parent team’s success. The main office can continue to be home to the administrative staff, transaction coordinators, marketing personnel, and inside sales agents. And the sales team members occupy expansion offices.

Luxury real estate teams specialize in high-value properties. While there is no standard minimum sales price, most teams only list and sell property priced at $1 million and above. Their agents know how to market to high-income buyers who have differing reasons for buying real estate than do less affluent buyers.

A commercial real estate team specializes in the sale or lease of commercial property. The value of the transaction can vary from the lease of a small office space to the sale of a multi-million dollar commercial development. A commercial real estate team has additional skill sets and experience to help both the buyers and the sellers of income-producing properties.

Real estate teams work as a unit when listing and selling a property. Each team member has unique qualifications and responsibilities. One agent might be in charge of handling buyer phone calls generated by current advertising campaigns. Another agent might be responsible for showing properties or conducting open houses. Drawing up purchase orders, attending home inspections, and other areas of expertise can be assigned to specific agents.

The team leader generally handles the listings for the team. While all team members are encouraged to pursue new listings, the team leader typically has the responsibility for bringing in new business. In turn, the team leader then assigns the remaining responsibilities, such as working with buyers or marketing to the various team members.

To work solo or as a part of a team can be a difficult decision for any real estate agent.

As an individual agent, you have the independence that a team agent cannot have. You can come and go as you please, and make as much or as little money as the amount of effort you want to put forth. And if you work through a brokerage firm, as long as you satisfy their minimum requirements, you will not be held accountable by the firm.

Extremely ambitious individuals, who become impatient when surrounded by individuals who don’t share their motivation, are best-suited to work as individual agents.

But some agents don’t like working alone. Instead, they thrive in a team environment. They enjoy the accountability and the motivation that comes with being a part of a team. The team approach has numerous benefits. Instead of the agent needing to wear many hats, a team agent has the advantage of a lead generation department and a marketing department.

Also, the agent can concentrate solely on the listing and selling of properties, handing off administrative responsibilities to other team members.

Real estate teams emphasize training for new agents as essential for the team’s performance and continued growth. The team will most likely provide training materials—in the form of webinars and other study materials—to each new agent. Also, experienced agents can pass along the tips they have developed for successful sales. The benefit of successful, veteran agents coaching new agents should not be underestimated.

The compensation model for a real estate team differs from that of a real estate group. The compensation structure for real estate teams is based on total yearly sales volume and net income more than it is on commission splits.

Agents working with a team generally receive less commission per individual sale than does an agent working independently. But the administrative support and lead generation received from the team allows a team agent to typically sell more properties and produce more income than can an independent agent.

As of November 8, 2019—according to job listings on Indeed—the average real estate team leaders' annual salary was a little over $100,000 per year.

But some teams, such as Duncan Duo & Associates in the Tampa Bay, Florida area, operate with the same commission splits for every member of the team. The only commission increase exception is reserved for extremely high achievers. In such cases, the salary of the team leader is commensurate with the profitability of the entire team.

An agent working on a real estate team typically makes around $50,000 per year. But that number can vary widely, based on the compensation model of the team—and the team’s success as a whole. If the compensation model splits commissions equally with all team members, an agent’s salary can vary greatly—depending on the talent and drive of the other members of the team.

A real estate team is made up of real estate professionals who work together for a common goal. In general, the team works as a cohesive unit to list, market, and sell a property.

A real estate group is made up of individual real estate agents who share office space and administrative expenses. Agents in a group work independently of the other agents and administration.

Each member of a team generally shares in commissions from completed real estate transactions.

Each agent in a group retains commissions from their sales—minus a portion for the overhead and profit of the group.