Real Estate Agents, Brokers and Brokerages
*Note that each state has its own real estate laws. This summary is a general view that may not exactly reflect the laws in your state.
In the United States a real estate agent is an individual who has passed a state mandated class on real estate and who is employed by a real estate broker or brokerage.
Real estate agents work in many different areas, from apartment leasing to commercial and shopping center development to time share sales, but the majority are involved with residential homes.
Real estate agents are often members of the National Association of REALTORs. This is the national trade association for residential real estate. The vast majority of residential home transactions involve REALTORS and most Exclusive Buyer’s Agents are members of the REALTOR organization.
A real estate broker is a higher level of licensing. A broker typically must have at least three years of experience as a real estate agent, then has taken additional classes. A broker can legally be paid by a consumer for real estate services. An individual real estate agent can’t contract directly with consumers and can’t be paid directly by consumers.
A real estate brokerage is a company. Each brokerage must have an associate broker who is the responsible individual. Often brokerages might have hundreds of real estate agents.
A buyer’s brokerage is a real estate company who specializes in representing buyers. If a company never represents sellers and never has listings it is termed an exclusive buyers brokerage or exclusive buyer’s agency. The national trade association for buyer’s brokerages is The National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents (NAEBA).
via What is a Real Estate Buyer Agent?, Real Estate Broker, Buyer’s Agent.