Also, what side costs? Seems to me like the cost of marketing is near $0. A physical store front or location is not required, and other expenses like phone, internet access, metrocard are likely to be incurred whether there is deal flow or not.
"(significant) downtime between clients" - Are you saying the agent should be compensated for the down time when not working?
I'm not implying that agents are churning out deals every waking minute in the same way that an Uber driver probably doesn't have one customer after another. There is too much competition and too little inventory for that scenario to be realistic. But the time they are working, the amount earned is not proportionate to hours contributed. And I don't doubt that some top tier agents are bringing in 6 figure incomes.
This business is a popular profession for part timers, moms, aspiring actors. My argument is that for the time they are working, its disproportionate to other occupations, because they earn a commission on a very high figure.
Is there more 'work' or hours involved renting a 2 bedroom for 8k vs. a 1br for 4k? Seems to me like the process is identical.
Working at the Apple Store is also a sales job. Why is there no commission then? Because the product sells itself. Manhattan apartments are in the same arena - the virtue of it being on the tiny island sells itself, if priced properly. Even the best salesman could never close the same deal if the identical unit were across the river in NJ.