Real estate offices in Hawaii County, HI are tiny: 71 of 81 offices of real estate agents and brokers had fewer than five employees in 2023 (CBP, NAICS 5312).
Funding for Hilo, HI real estate agents and offices: leases, movable office furniture, marketing, software and buyouts, never property purchases.
At a glance
- Offices of real estate agents and brokers, Hawaii County, HI
81 employer establishments with 581 employees (CBP 2023, NAICS 5312)
- Offices of real estate agents and brokers with fewer than five employees, Hawaii County, HI
71 of 81 (CBP 2023)
- Offices of real estate agents and brokers, ZIP 96720
16 employer establishments (ZBP 2023)
- Offices of real estate agents and brokers with no paid employees, Hawaii County, HI
793 (Nonemployer Statistics 2024)
Commission loans for realtors around Hawaii County, HI: commissions, listings and cash flow
A commission advance and a business loan are different products. An advance company buys part of a commission on a sale that is already under contract and collects it at closing; that product is not offered through this site. What a funding partner can consider here is money for the business itself: a line of credit or working capital for the listing photos, marketing and office costs an agent pays before any commission arrives.
Each listing costs money before it earns: photography, printed and online marketing, yard signs and lockboxes, and the time spent showing the property. An agent with several listings at once carries all of those costs together, and a credit line can be drawn for them and paid down as closings come in.
Real estate agent business loan for Hawaii County, HI: transaction software and gaps between closings
Transaction management software, an e-signature service, a CRM and a showing scheduler are monthly costs that keep running whether or not anything closed that month. Gaps between closings are the cash problem in the trade: income arrives in large pieces at uneven times, while rent and subscriptions arrive every month.
Illustration only, invented figures: an office with $6,200 a month in rent, software and staff costs goes 2 months with no closings, and draws $12,400 on a line of credit to cover them. When the next two commissions are paid, the line is paid down and can be drawn again. A partner reviewing the line can ask for the office’s commission record over the past one or two years.
Business loans for realtors in Hilo, HI: buying out a retiring agency owner
An agent buying out a retiring owner’s office takes over the lease, the furniture and systems, the office name if the sale includes it, and the agents who already work there, who may or may not stay. Illustration only, invented figures: the $90,000 buyout has 60 installments of $1,979.33 at 11.5% on a term loan, totaling $118,759.80 and $28,759.80 of interest.
A partner can ask for the selling office’s revenue history and how much of it came from the seller’s own sales, since that part may leave when the seller retires. The sale contract and the lease assignment are the documents that set the amount.
Costs a Hilo, HI real estate office carries before a closing pays: desks, dues and training
Before a commission is paid, an office still pays for desks and chairs for new agents, board and MLS dues, continuing education and license renewal courses, errors and omissions insurance and the training a new agent needs. Those costs fit working capital or a line of credit; the desks and computers can also go on an equipment request when the order is large.
Most real estate offices in Hawaii County, HI are tiny: 71 of the 81 offices of real estate agents and brokers with paid employees had fewer than five in 2023, or 87.7% (County Business Patterns, NAICS 5312). Payroll for those offices came to $44.6 million for 581 employees, about $76,709 per employee by our arithmetic. ZIP 96720 addresses held 16 offices of real estate agents and brokers that year (ZBP).
Budgeting office leases, movable furniture and conference equipment for Hilo, HI real estate offices
An office lease, movable furniture and conference equipment can be priced together when an office moves or expands. Here is an invented budget for a Hilo, HI real estate office; it is not an offer:
| Item | Quoted price |
|---|---|
| Movable conference-room furniture and partitions | $18,500 |
| Reception and desk furniture | $7,800 |
| Exterior and window signage | $4,600 |
| Network, phones and conference display | $5,300 |
| Total | $36,200 |
Illustration only, invented figures: a term loan for the $36,200 at 10.9% a year over 60 months runs $785.27 a month; the 60 payments total $47,116.20, with $10,916.20 of interest. The money pays for the office, never for buying or holding property for sale.
Many offices have no payroll at all: the 2024 Nonemployer Statistics counted 793 offices of real estate agents and brokers in the county with no paid employees, with receipts averaging about $95,798 by our arithmetic. For trades outside real estate, see the industries page, and for the request steps, the Hilo, HI page.
By Tealvale Capital Group · Updated
