Key Takeaways
- See article for key data points
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Real estate virtual assistant hiring cost: what agents actually pay in 2025
Most real estate agents don't have a staffing problem -- they have a math problem. The typical NAR member closed 10 transaction sides in 2024 and earned $58,100 in gross income (NAR 2025 Member Profile). That leaves almost no margin for a U.S.-based assistant at $4,000-$5,500/month all-in. It does leave room for a virtual assistant at $800-$2,000/month, if you know what you are buying.
Three variables move the price: where the VA is based, what they do, and whether you go through a managed agency or hire directly. The spread is wide. A U.S.-based real estate VA averages $24.40/hour (ZipRecruiter, 2025). The same skill set from the Philippines costs $7-$12/hour. Get the geography or model wrong and you will either overpay by 3x or inherit an HR headache you did not budget for.
Hourly rates by location
| Location | Typical hourly rate | Full-time monthly cost |
|---|---|---|
| U.S.-based | $20-$40/hr | $3,200-$6,400/mo |
| LATAM managed agency | $10-$28/hr | $1,600-$4,400/mo |
| Philippines managed agency | $7-$15/hr | $735-$2,500/mo |
| Philippines direct hire | $4-$10/hr | $400-$1,200/mo |
Sources: ZipRecruiter (2025), Virtual Latinos (2024), ShoreAgents (2025), VA Masters (2025)
The gap between U.S. and offshore pricing is real, but the comparison is rarely clean. A managed Philippine agency at $1,700/month typically includes infrastructure, HR, a dedicated account manager, and a replacement guarantee. A direct hire at $600/month means you are the HR department.
Transaction coordination fees
Per-file fees are the most common pricing model for TC work. What you pay depends heavily on your market:
| Metro area | Average per-transaction fee |
|---|---|
| New York | $750 |
| Los Angeles | $650 |
| Seattle | $550 |
| Atlanta | $500 |
| Denver | $450 |
| Chicago | $350 |
| National average | $542 |
Source: AgentUp, 2025
For agents closing 15 or more deals a year, a monthly TC retainer often makes more sense. A retainer-based TC VA runs $1,000-$1,500/month and handles 8-15 active files (ShoreAgents, 2025). At the $542 national average per file, that retainer pays for itself after two closings.
Specific provider pricing (Paperless Pipeline, 2024; AgentUp, 2025):
- AgentUp: from $399/file, listings from $249
- Paper Pushers: $499-$699/transaction
- TC Advantage: $199-$800/transaction
- Empower Transactions: $400/file contract-to-close
Lead generation and ISA work
Inside sales VA work has the widest price range in this category. U.S.-based lead gen services from REVAS run $25-$30/hour, or $1,200-$4,000/month. Offshore ISA VAs through ShoreAgents cost $900-$1,500/month for 150-250 dials/day and 40-60 qualified appointments/month (ShoreAgents, 2025).
The cost difference between U.S. and offshore ISA work is steep. Whether it matters depends on your script, your market, and how much accent sensitivity your prospect pool actually has.
Admin and general support
General real estate admin -- CRM updates, email triage, listing coordination, scheduling -- costs $12-$20/hour on freelance platforms. Agency plan pricing for comparison:
- AgentUp: $595/month (2 hrs/day), $995/month (4 hrs/day), $1,695/month full-time
- Elevated Remote Services: $547/month (40 hrs/mo), $1,997/month (160 hrs/mo)
- MyOutDesk: from $1,988/month full-time all-inclusive
(AgentUp, 2025; Elevated Remote Services, 2025; MyOutDesk, 2025)
Social media management
A VA dedicated to social media -- content creation, posting, and engagement across Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and LinkedIn -- runs $900-$1,400/month through a Philippine agency (ShoreAgents, 2025). Freelance rates on Upwork or OnlineJobs.ph are lower at $10-$20/hour, though you manage the relationship yourself.
Full-time vs. part-time vs. per-transaction
The right model depends on volume.
At 5-8 closings per year, per-transaction fees ($400-$700/file) run $2,000-$5,600 annually with no ongoing commitment. At 15-25 closings, a part-time retainer ($800-$1,100/month) beats per-file fees by a comfortable margin. At 30 or more closings, or with a team, full-time support at $1,400-$2,200/month makes the most sense per-deal.
Virtual assistant vs. in-house assistant
Hiring a local real estate assistant in the U.S. carries costs agents often undercount:
| Cost component | Monthly estimate |
|---|---|
| Base salary | $2,800-$3,500 |
| Payroll taxes (~15%) | $420-$525 |
| Health insurance | $400-$600 |
| PTO allocation | $215-$270 |
| Office space and overhead | $200-$400 |
| Equipment and supplies | $100-$200 |
| Total | $4,135-$5,495/month |
Source: Elevated Remote Services (2025)
A full-time managed offshore VA at $1,700-$2,200/month covers the same hours at roughly 40-60% of that all-in cost. That works out to $25,000-$42,000 saved per year -- enough to cover your marketing budget or absorb two slow months without panic.
What a VA actually gets you
The productivity claims in this category are mostly self-reported by VA agencies, so treat them as directional rather than audited figures. With that in mind:
- Teams that delegate routine work to VAs report a 35% workflow efficiency gain (MyOutDesk, cited by thereistalent.com, 2025)
- Agents with support staff reclaim 13-15 hours per week on average (Virtual Assistance Institute, cited by thereistalent.com, 2025)
- Teams using VA-powered follow-up systems have reported 25% faster lead response times and 20% higher conversion rates (World Metrics, cited by thereistalent.com, 2025)
The more practical ROI test: the NAR 2025 Member Profile shows the typical agent had median business expenses of $8,010 for the year. A part-time VA at $800-$1,100/month adds $9,600-$13,200 in annual overhead. If it enables two additional closings at $5,000 net commission each, the expense is covered before Q2.
Quick math: At the national median of $58,100 gross income across 10 transaction sides, each side is worth roughly $5,810. A VA that frees you to close one or two more deals per year pays for itself -- often within the first quarter.
Where to hire
Managed agencies handle recruiting, onboarding, HR, and replacement coverage. You pay 30-60% more than direct hire, but you are not managing a solo contractor abroad.
Notable options: MyOutDesk (from $1,988/month, 7,500+ real estate clients including KW, RE/MAX, and eXp), ShoreAgents (from $735/month, office-based Philippines), REVA Global (approximately $1,696/month), Elevated Remote Services ($547-$1,997/month), AgentUp ($595-$1,695/month), Virtual Latinos ($1,600-$4,400/month, bilingual English/Spanish).
Freelance platforms like Upwork and OnlineJobs.ph let you hire directly at lower rates -- typically $10-$20/hour on Upwork, $4-$10/hour on OnlineJobs.ph. Quality control and replacement are on you.
Per-transaction services like Transactly, AgentUp, and Paper Pushers work for agents who want TC coverage without a recurring monthly commitment.
For more detail on what these roles actually involve, our guide to hiring a real estate virtual assistant covers task delegation, onboarding timelines, and how to structure the working relationship. If you want to see current service options, our real estate virtual assistant services page has specifics.
What to budget
Solo agent with moderate volume (10-20 closings per year): $800-$1,500/month for part-time offshore support covers 40-80 hours of admin, TC, or lead-gen work and is where most agents start.
Team leaders run the math differently. Three support VAs at $1,700/month each costs $61,200/year. The equivalent in-house headcount runs closer to $150,000-$200,000 annually once you factor in benefits, office space, and turnover costs.
Real estate virtual assistant hiring cost is ultimately a volume and time-allocation question. The right number is not the lowest number -- it is the one that makes sense given your current close rate and where your time is actually going.