Part II: Toronto’s Real Estate Workforce by the Numbers- People, Places, and Firm Size

Only 47 offices citywide have 10-19 employees, and just 30 offices employ between 20-49, the kind of mid-sized firms that might have a dedicated marketing person or office manager but are still tight enough to feel like family. And if you’re looking for offices with 100+ staff? You can count them on one hand.

For jobseekers, especially those fresh out of licensing programs or looking to pivot into real estate, this means you’re likely entering a world where your network matters more than your resume, and where most opportunities are found through relationships and not necessarily job boards.

For those in workforce development or training, it’s a reminder: Toronto’s real estate sector is built on micro-enterprises. That means training for business skills, digital marketing, self-employment tax basics, client management software, and entrepreneurial mindset isn’t a bonus- it’s essential.

But this autonomy comes at a price. There’s no guaranteed paycheck at the end of the month, no employer-sponsored dental plans, and no built-in vacation days. Many rely heavily on their own ability to generate leads, close deals, and manage finances. It’s not uncommon for new agents to take on side gigs while they work to establish themselves in the market. Anecdotal evidence from the industry itself suggests that this juggling act is especially common in the early years, when commissions are sporadic and marketing costs are high.

From a workforce development lens, real estate agents aren’t just workers they’re business owners. Job seekers must prepare for the realities of entrepreneurship, and training programs must go beyond licensing to include financial literacy, marketing, and business planning. As one agent candidly put it in a recent webinar: “You don’t just sell homes- you sell yourself every single day.”

Anecdotally, more and more women are entering the field often drawn by the promise of flexibility, entrepreneurial freedom, and relationship-building that real estate offers. You’ll find women balancing showings with school pick-ups, or turning part-time real estate into full-time careers. While women are clearly a strong and growing force in the industry, a gender gap remains. As the industry evolves in response to changing market conditions and client expectations, increasing female participation could also contribute to greater diversity of perspectives and a more inclusive workforce.

While definitive data is limited, there is a widely held and consistent anecdotal understanding both in Toronto and more broadly that women are more likely to work in residential real estate, whereas commercial real estate continues to be male-dominated. In Toronto, this distinction may be even more relevant given that the city accounts for nearly half of all office space in the CMA, suggesting a higher concentration of commercial activity and by extension, commercial agents within the city.

In the U.S., the gender imbalance in commercial real estate is well-documented[i], with women making up a much smaller share of commercial agents compared to residential. While we don’t yet have robust Canadian data to confirm a similar pattern, early observations and industry conversations suggest that a comparable dynamic likely exists here.

The majority of real estate agents, about 72% fall between the ages of 35 and 64. The largest concentration is in the 45 to 54 age group, where 26% of agents land, compared to 22% across all occupations. These are prime working years where people may be transitioning from other industries, have built up savings to take on the risks of self-employment, or finally feel confident enough in their networks and local knowledge to make real estate work. It’s also likely when professional confidence and life stability are highest and when many are buying or selling their own homes, making them more personally invested in the real estate ecosystem.

Here’s where things get even more interesting: 10% of real estate agents are 65 to 74 years old more than double the share across all occupations. Real estate allows older professionals to work part-time, stay connected to their communities, and draw on decades of experience without the constraints of a 9-to-5 job. In a market like Toronto where trust, reputation, and referrals go a long way, these late-career professionals often have the edge. It’s also worth noting that 2% of agents are over 75, a number small on paper but meaningful in what it says about longevity and flexibility in this field.

Other groups: West Asians (9.4%) and Black real estate professionals (5.8%) bring rich perspectives and strong networks, especially in diverse corridors like Thorncliffe Park, Etobicoke, and York South-Weston. And while smaller in proportion, we also see dedicated representation from Arabs (3.8%) and Latin Americans (2.8%), Southeast Asians, Koreans, Filipinos, and even those identifying as multiple visible minorities[iii] . But some communities, like Japanese Canadians (0.3%) or those grouped under other visible minority[iv], barely register in the stats.

But what happens when we zoom out and compare this to who’s working across all occupations in the province’s visible minority workforce? South Asians still lead at 33% of all visible minority workers in Ontario, and Chinese workers come in at 16%. So both groups are actually overrepresented in real estate compared to their overall share of the visible minority workforce.

Black workers, for instance, make up a significant 15% of all visible minority workers across Ontario but only 5.8% of visible minority real estate professionals. Filipinos make up 9% of the visible minority labour force, but just 2% in real estate. Similar underrepresentation exists among Latin American, Arab, Southeast Asian, and Korean communities. These gaps raise important equity questions: are some groups facing barriers to entry in the industry whether due to limited access to start-up capital, or mentorship opportunities? Or is real estate simply not seen as a viable or attractive career path in some communities, perhaps due to a lack of visible role models or perceptions of risk?

One group that stands out in the opposite direction is West Asian professionals. Though they represent just 4% of visible minority workers across all occupations, they make up a higher 9.4% of real estate agents more than double their general labour force share. This could be a reflection of concentrated settlement patterns and the power of hyper-local networks in neighbourhoods like Don Mills, or parts of Willowdale, where trust and shared cultural identity are strong drivers of business success.

In reality, the share of Ontario’s real estate workforce is quite concentrated. South Asian and Chinese professionals make up the bulk of that diversity leaving many other communities underrepresented or missing altogether from the sector’s public face. In a city like Toronto where over half the population identifies as a visible minority this concentration matters. The real estate workforce may mirror some aspects of the city’s population, but there’s still room to grow when it comes to truly representative diversity, especially in leadership roles, boutique brokerages, and luxury segments. Because behind every “For Sale” sign is a person and in a multicultural city like ours, who gets to hold that sign (and the keys) matters.

Of course, smaller places like Mono, Bradford, and Uxbridge each have fewer than 10 offices not because they’re any less important, but because the volume of listings, density of population, and demand for brokerage services are simply on a different scale in Toronto. For anyone eyeing a career in real estate especially fresh grads from programs like Humber College’s Real Estate Salesperson Program, the implication is clear: Toronto offers the deepest pool of potential employers, colleagues, mentors, and clients