I have the same problem on my realms, and so far, no work arounds. Basically, nothing on realms saves and all work done is reverted. It has been this way since the last game version update, and a lot of people have the same issue.
I've been reset twice before realising the realms world hasn't been saving. Each time that happens it's often 20-30 minutes worth of resource collecting that has been reverted. Not only is the realms been in a version update for nearly 48 full hours, but I've now annoyed at the 'being able to play but nothing saves' situation for another 2 days.
@Natalie Have you tried getting back into the realms after 30-60 minutes after it seems to have saved? I once tried saving the world, it worked, but after about 30 minutes I rejoined that world, everything has been reset again.
I was so happy to tell the members of my realm that it has fixed too — just to find out that the issue is still persistent and the realms world is still un-playable.