Business phone system for offices of real estate agents and brokers

Offices of real estate agents and brokers in the United States

County Business Patterns counted 163,894 offices of real estate agents and brokers in the U.S. in 2023 (NAICS 531210, Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers). They employed 395,264 people in mid-March and paid $31.3 billion in annual payroll. The average establishment has 2.4 employees. That is 48.2 establishments for every 100,000 residents.

California has the most (22,558), followed by Florida (21,144), Texas (11,405), and Colorado (7,456). Relative to population, Colorado leads with 125.2 per 100,000 residents, and West Virginia has the fewest at 15.6.

Why the phone matters for offices of real estate agents and brokers

Real estate agents work on their cell phones from showings and open houses, and a missed call from a buyer can go to another agent. A business number that rings their cell, and that stays with the brokerage, keeps leads in one place.

Calls offices of real estate agents and brokers commonly handle:

• A buyer calls about a listing they saw online.
• A seller calls to ask about a market valuation.
• Another agent calls to schedule a showing.
• The agent calls a buyer back after an open house.
• A lender calls about a buyer's financing.

Texting and after-hours calls

Agents text showing confirmations, offer updates and listing links.

Buyers and sellers call evenings and weekends, so a quick callback or text reply often decides who gets the business.

Marketing calls and texts to prospects require consent, and numbers on do-not-call lists must be respected.

How big offices of real estate agents and brokers are

92.2% of U.S. offices of real estate agents and brokers with employees had fewer than five people in March 2023. 97.1% had fewer than ten. Most phone decisions in this industry are made for small teams, where one shared number and sensible routing matter more than a desk phone per person.

Offices of real estate agents and brokers by state

Establishment counts for the 51 states (and DC) where Census published a figure, with the rate per 100,000 residents.

Largest metro areas for offices of real estate agents and brokers

Census published real estate office counts for 885 metro and micropolitan areas. The 25 largest:

Phone system pricing for a 2-person real estate office

The average U.S. real estate office has 2.4 employees, so the comparison uses a 2-person team. Priced per seat, 2 users would run $60.00 a month on RingCentral RingEX Core and $49.90 on Ooma Office Pro (month-to-month list prices, checked September 28, 2026). Callata is $99.00 a month with 5 users included, which is more than either per-seat plan for 2 people; it becomes the lower price at 4 users or more.

At this team size the per-seat plans cost less than Callata's $99 base price, which already covers 5 users; Callata becomes the lower price from 4 users.

How Callata works for offices of real estate agents and brokers

For $99 a month, Callata puts a team of up to 5 on one plan ($20 for each person after that): up to 3 local numbers, unlimited inbound calls, a pooled allowance of 1,500 outbound US and Canada minutes per user, browser and cell calling, voicemail transcription with urgency triage, recorded calls with AI summaries and business-hours routing, with E911 on every number.

Existing numbers can be ported at no charge, and team texting turns on after the one-time $49 carrier registration (10DLC) is approved.

Optional AI agents (receptionist, sales, support or scheduler) can answer calls after hours or when nobody picks up, take messages, text, email and transfer to your team. They are billed from prepaid AI minutes at $0.25 per minute, identify themselves as AI, and may only place outbound calls to people who consented, between 8am and 9pm.