Real Estate Sales Agents
Rent, buy, or sell property for clients. Perform duties such as study property listings, interview prospective clients, accompany clients to property site, discuss conditions of sale, and draw up real estate contracts. Includes agents who represent buyer.
šKey Responsibilities
- ā¢Prepare documents such as representation contracts, purchase agreements, closing statements, deeds, and leases.
- ā¢Present purchase offers to sellers for consideration.
- ā¢Act as an intermediary in negotiations between buyers and sellers, generally representing one or the other.
- ā¢Generate lists of properties that are compatible with buyers' needs and financial resources.
- ā¢Confer with escrow companies, lenders, home inspectors, and pest control operators to ensure that terms and conditions of purchase agreements are met before closing dates.
- ā¢Promote sales of properties through advertisements, open houses, and participation in multiple listing services.
- ā¢Compare a property with similar properties that have recently sold to determine its competitive market price.
- ā¢Coordinate property closings, overseeing signing of documents and disbursement of funds.
š”Inside This Career
The real estate agent facilitates property transactionsāhelping buyers find homes, assisting sellers in marketing properties, negotiating deals, and guiding clients through the complex process of buying and selling real estate. A typical day blends client work with business development. Perhaps 45% of time goes to direct client service: showing properties, meeting with sellers, attending closings, negotiating offers. Another 35% involves prospecting and marketingāgenerating leads, marketing listings, networking, managing online presence. The remaining time addresses transaction coordination, continuing education, and administrative duties.
People who thrive as real estate agents combine sales ability with local market expertise and the service orientation that guiding clients through major financial decisions requires. Successful agents develop deep knowledge of their markets while building the networks and marketing presence that generate business. They must maintain composure during emotional transactions. Those who struggle often cannot generate the business that commission-only income requires or find the constant rejection in prospecting demoralizing. Others fail because they cannot manage the irregular hours and constant availability that client service demands.
Real estate sales represents one of the most accessible entrepreneurial opportunities, with low barriers to entry and unlimited income potential attracting many entrants despite high failure rates. The field is intensely competitive and cyclical with the economy. Real estate agents appear in discussions of housing markets, sales careers, and the independent contractors who facilitate the largest transactions most people make.
Practitioners cite the income potential and the flexibility as primary rewards. The earnings potential with successful practice is substantial. The schedule flexibility is valued despite long hours. The independence is appealing. The satisfaction of helping with major life decisions is meaningful. The networking and local knowledge are personally valuable. The entrepreneurial opportunity is real. Common frustrations include the income instability and the competition. Many find that most new agents fail to earn enough to survive. The commission-only income is feast or famine. The hours are demandingāevenings, weekends, holidays. The constant prospecting is exhausting. Competition from other agents is intense. Market downturns devastate income.
This career requires real estate licensing and often brokerage affiliation. Strong sales ability, local knowledge, and self-motivation are essential. The role suits those with entrepreneurial drive and strong networks. It is poorly suited to those needing stable income, uncomfortable with prospecting, or wanting structured schedules. Compensation is commission-only, with wide variation from subsistence to substantial earnings.
šCareer Progression
šEducation & Training
Requirements
- ā¢Entry Education: High school diploma or equivalent
- ā¢Experience: One to two years
- ā¢On-the-job Training: One to two years
- !License or certification required
Time & Cost
š¤AI Resilience Assessment
AI Resilience Assessment
High Exposure + Stable: AI is transforming this work; role is evolving rather than disappearing
How much of this job involves tasks AI can currently perform
Likelihood that AI replaces workers vs. assists them
(BLS 2024-2034)
How much this role relies on distinctly human capabilities
š»Technology Skills
āKey Abilities
š·ļøAlso Known As
šRelated Careers
Other careers in sales
š¬What Workers Say
52 testimonials from Reddit
Taught 7-8 years old kids and was hired as a realtor to buy $1.2M home
Last week, I asked in this sub how to teach real estate to my daughter's class who are 7-8 years old. My daughter's teacher asked me to talk to their class regarding real estate. They are writing a paper and there's a real estate portion. They are 7/8 years old so I had to make sure I made it entertaining for them. Thanks to your suggestions - I said that when buying a house, it's like a treasure hunt for the best home. I also told them that realtors are magicians because we can open any realtor lockbox in the area with our phone apps. During the discussion, they learned how to write a cheque and buy and sell houses in different provinces of Canada (currently, they're learning provinces and territories of Canada, they're learning to write in cursive, learn to write #s in words, learn about money which I integrated in writing a cheque). At the end of the class, I gave each one of them a certificate that says they're Real Estate Superstar. I signed the certificate with my name on it. I was in their class for 1 hour. When my daughter went home, I received a book of the compilation of the kids' dream home. Most of their dream homes are castles, with pool, with tree house. It's their way of saying thank you to me. But that's not all, A parent contacted me. They're already pre-approved for financing to buy a home - the next day, we were looking at $1.2 - $1.4M homes and few days later, found the one and already has an accepted offer. At this point, I don't see anything is gonna go wrong in our deal - clients are preapproved for much more $ (actually, they can pay cash if they want to so financing will never be an issue), house is built by a reputable builder in 2021 and the price - we got it as a deal - most listings in this area are $100k-$200k more - comparables were $50k-$100k above our accepted offer. My clients were willing to pay the asking price, I offered way less and after back and forth, our offer got accepted. EDIT: house is officially off market :) we got it!
Thinking of Becoming a Realtor? Hereās the Ugly Truth.
If youāre getting into real estate because you saw someone on Instagram driving a G-Wagon with a āJust Soldā sign, youāre already cooked. This job looks easy from the outside. Itās not. 80% of new agents quit within two years. No salary, no benefits, no safety net. You donāt close, you donāt eat. Thatās the reality. Everyone says theyāll support you. Then they list with someone else. It happens every time. Youāll beg for referrals, knock doors, cold call, and still hear ānoā more than āyes.ā Youāre not selling houses. Youāre running a one-man business. Youāre your own marketer, social media manager, admin, therapist, and punching bag. If you donāt have money to outsource, guess what, youāre doing all of it yourself. And hereās what no one tells you: marketing costs destroy you. Youāll drop thousands on photos, staging, ads, open houses, and signs before you see a single dollar back. People love to flex their listings online, but half of them are broke behind the scenes. You finally close a deal? Cool. Now wait a month or more to get paid. That one commission check has to last because you might not sell again for a while. Forget weekends. Forget sleep. Buyers and sellers hit you up whenever they feel like it. You ignore them once and theyāll move to the next agent instantly. Youāll get ghosted by clients youāve worked with for months. Deals will fall apart at the last second. People will waste your time nonstop. Youāll be stressed 24/7 pretending youāve got it together. The industryās flooded. Everyoneās a Realtor now. Most barely scrape by. The top 10% eat while the rest fight for crumbs. And with AI now writing listings, handling paperwork, and even doing virtual showings, if all you do is open doors and send comps, youāre done. Tech doesnāt sleep, and it doesnāt need a commission. If youāre chasing fast money, donāt even bother. This business will eat you alive. But if you can take rejection every day, spend money before making any, and still get up hungry to grind again tomorrow. maybe youāll survive. For everyone else, keep watching Selling Sunset. Itās cheaper. āA Realtor whoās seen too many people quit
I had an unrepresented Buyer ask for 9% in Closing Costs š and threatened me š¬
I haven't really seen an uptick in Buyers reaching out directly on my listings, but when I do most of them have simple questions and almost all "Just want to see the house" and expect me to show it on their timeframe. I obtain permission from all my sellers ahead of time, in writing, to qualify an unrepresented Buyer before the seller allows the showing, especially if it's owner occupied. A seller isn't going to just leave to allow someone "just looking" to go through their home. So I get a call, guy wants to see my 650k listing. Gives me his name, offers proof of funds ahead of time. Great! We set up a time to view the property, it's vacant. A couple days later he calls me before the showing. "Hey I'm interested in the home but I feel it's overpriced based on my research." I tell him OK, what research and data do you have access to? It's been on market less than a week with 4 showings. Of course a home is only worth what someone is willing to pay, so tell me, in your opinion what is the value? He replies with" Probably around $550,000 based on my research. " At this point I realize it's not necessarily worth my effort to continue to further educate him. I politely tell him, that unfortunately his opinion is wrong, based on my decade of experience and with local comps we're actually priced 2.5% under those comps. That I'm anticipating an offer from one of the 4 showings and he hasn't even seen the property yet to determine condition or if he likes it. He replies "I've seen enough online, I'd like to offer $550,000 and ask for 9% in Closing costs, with 3% of that being the Realtor Commission back to me". At this point I have a decision, I can discontinue the call and call my seller or have a bit of fun. So I have a bit of fun. Oh thank you for the verbal offer, unfortunately seller, per our written contract will only review offers in writing. Additionally they will only review offers from people who have seen the property. Also it is illegal to pay a non licensed individual a commission and unless you are purchasing with an FHA/VA Loan you're capped at 6% In closing Costs generally. Also you sent me proof of funds and said you would be cash. "Oh no, that's the statement from my father, we have the same name. I would be financing. You have to present my offer to the Seller." Ok so you provided me proof of funds under false pretenses to see my Sellers home? Also you apparently have either received bad advice or no advice and it doesn't sound like you've spoken with a lender to understand your limits within financing. At this time I think it best to advise you to seek proper representation and without a valid approval we won't be showing you the property, per my seller instruction. It's at this time he loses his mind š " You can't stop me from seeing it, I'll call your seller directly, you're just a greedy ba****** and I'll report you. I end the call by telling him I have no duty to him, maybe he should educate himself and based on his temper I would no longer feel comfortable meeting him. (I've been assaulted). Wished him the best and disconnected. Dude called my broker and my broker told me he almost had to call the cops because the guy threatened to break into my sellers house. People are crazy. But it amazes me the extent some people believe they know better than us.
When I pulled a listing on the day it was supposed to go live (and why it was the right call)
Just had the craziest experience I need to share in case it ever happens to you. Longtime lurker but this was too wild not to post. So I got a call last week from this sweet elderly couple wanting to sell their home of 40+ years. Classic story - downsizing, moving closer to grandkids, etc. The house was a beautiful mid-century in an area that's absolutely blowing up right now. Here's where it gets weird. When I went for the initial walk-through, the husband (let's call him Frank) was super friendly but his wife (we'll say Martha) seemed really hesitant. Like, she'd agree to everything but I could tell something was off. Fast forward to listing day. I'm there early to stage a few things and Martha pulls me aside looking totally stressed. Turns out, she didn't want to sell AT ALL. Frank had basically steamrolled her into it because their kids thought it was "time." The poor woman was in tears talking about her garden and how all her memories were in that house. I made a call I've never made before - I pulled the listing THAT MORNING. Told Frank we needed to talk. The three of us sat down and I basically mediated their first real conversation about this move in months. Turns out, they could actually afford to keep the house AND get a small condo near the grandkids (they had way more equity than they realized). Frank just assumed selling was the only option because "that's what old people do." Long story short - they're now my clients for buying a small vacation property instead, Martha gets to keep her garden, and I actually ended up with a more profitable commission structure in the end. MORAL OF THE STORY: Sometimes your job isn't just to sell houses, it's to make sure your clients are actually making the right decision. I could have pushed forward and made a quick commission on a hot property, but I'd have hated myself for it. Anyone else ever have to pump the brakes on a listing that was technically "ready to go" but just felt wrong?
Thinking of Becoming a Realtor? Here's the Ugly Truth (From Someone in the Trenches)
Let me save you some time and heartache. If youāre thinking of becoming a Realtor because you saw someone on Instagram driving a G-Wagon and holding a āJust Soldā sign, pump the brakes. Iāve been in this business for a few years now and Iām here to give you the unfiltered, no-BS version of what this career is really like. 1. 80% of new agents are gone within 2 years. Why? Because this isnāt a jobāitās a business. Thereās no salary, no sick days, no health insurance. Itās commission-only, which means if you donāt close, you donāt eat. Most people donāt have the discipline, savings, or stomach for that. 2. Nobody trusts you in the beginning. Your friends and family will say they support youāuntil they list with someone else. It hurts, and it happens more than you think. You have to prove yourself before anyone gives you a shot, which means cold calling, door knocking, begging for referrals, and hearing ānoā more times than you can count. 3. You're not selling homesāyou're running a full-blown business. Youāre the marketer, the social media manager, the customer service rep, the negotiator, the transaction coordinator, the accountant, and more. If you donāt have the money to outsource those tasks, guess what? Youāre doing all of them. And most of your day will be spent doing everything except showing homes. 4. It takes months (sometimes years) to make consistent money. Letās say you do get a listing. Congrats. Youāll work your ass off staging it, marketing it, holding open houses, then it sellsā¦ and you get paid maybe 45 days later. That one check? It needs to last, because you might not close another deal for a while. 5. Your time is never your own. Forget weekends. Forget holidays. Forget relaxing nights. Buyers and sellers want your attention on their schedule. And if youāre not responsive? Theyāll move on to the next agent who is. Real estate doesnāt care about your work-life balance. 6. The emotional rollercoaster is savage. Youāll spend months nurturing a client who ghosts you at the last second. Youāll get into escrow only to have it fall apart days before closing. Youāll have to be a therapist, a firefighter, and a miracle workerādaily. 7. The market is oversaturated. Everyone and their cousin is a Realtor now. There are 1.5+ million agents in the U.S., and only a small percentage of them are doing meaningful volume. Itās a noisy, hyper-competitive space where people will undercut you just to get a listing. 8. And hereās the kicker: AI is coming for all the weak agents. If you think this job is about opening doors and filling out contracts, youāre already replaceable. AI is getting better by the dayāautomating paperwork, analyzing property data, writing listing descriptions, and even doing showings virtually. In a few years, the agents who bring no unique value, no deep market knowledge, and no people skills will be gone. Tech doesnāt need sleep, it doesnāt take a commission, and it doesnāt forget to follow up. So if youāre thinking of jumping into this thinking itās quick money, easy sales, or a āfunā jobādonāt. This business is a meat grinder, and most of you wonāt make it. But if youāre obsessed with real estate, resilient as hell, and willing to sacrifice time, money, and comfort to build something real? Then maybeājust maybeāyouāve got a shot. For everyone else, stick to watching Selling Sunset. Itās safer. āA tired Realtor whoās still in the game (for now)
What I wish someone had told me about working with luxury clients
15 years in, mostly luxury market ($2M+), and here's what actually matters: It's not about the house. These clients can buy whatever they want. What they're really purchasing is their own story. "We found this incredible property that wasn't even on the market" hits different than "we bought it off Zillow." The weird secret? Sometimes the $10M clients are easier than the $500k ones. They're usually crazy busy and just want you to handle everything. No 2am texts about cabinet hardware. No Sunday morning panic calls about anythinggg. But here's the trap: Don't get comfortable just because they're wealthy. Had a $4M deal fall apart last week because another agent gave them a "better story" about a different property. These clients aren't buying shelter they're buying an experience. Anyone else notice this pattern with luxury clients The psychology is fascinating.
I tried something different for a stale listing and it actually worked!
Hey fellow realtors! I just wanted to share a personal story of a listing I had this year that just wasnāt moving. It was priced right, staged, had good photos, went on the MLS, and got shared on Instagram. Still, barely any traction (if any). To be honest the location was a solid 3/10 - but the development was pretty bueno. For this listing I didnāt want waste weekends hosting open houses that brought in the same unqualified buyers. So I thought of something new. At my brokers open, I hired one videographer. But instead of just filming my own video like always, I invited other agents to create theirs too, for FREE. Each broker got a chance to appear on camera, use one of a few short scripts I prepared, and walk away with a professional video they could post on their own social media. They got new content, and my listing got ten extra videos shared across different audiences. No paid ads, no begging for views. Most of them had never made a real estate video before, so it turned into a fun, collaborative thing š. And the property FINALLY got attention and managed to get a few showings in the same week. If you have a listing that has gone quiet, this might be worth trying, because it worked for my listing! Let me know if you ever tried this or if you would give it a shot.
My buyers got the deal of a lifetime and are acting like ungrateful a**hole*
Iām just venting here in hopes others can cheer me up with similar experiences. My buyers and I own condo units in a large, full-service condo hi-rise in a VHCOL city. This is a very nice building in a world-famous location, not the nicest building in the zip code, but enviable for sure. Units range from $600k-$2mm. I met these buyers two years ago when they came to one of my listings in the building. We got to know each other, and then they made a joke of an offer which my seller and I couldnāt take seriously. Nothing came of that. āāfast forwarding hereāā Last month, a unit in the building that was under contract had their deal fall apart. They dropped the price to a shockingly low number to move it quickly. We went to go look at it, and they demanded to make an offer on it that any reasonable person would be insulted by. 20% below list when the property is already listed at a very low number. Of course the listing agent called and chewed me out, angry he had to present it, sellers were pissed, blah blah blah. Eventually, I got my buyers up to a number that I deemed acceptable to present, still too low, but only because I was willing to cut my commission request to the seller, which made the offer seem sort of acceptable. After a week of fine tuning the terms, the sellers accepted our deal and I woke up to an acceptance today. We went into the unit today, and my buyers couldnāt stop saying awful, terrible things about the sellers. For no reason. I was so fucking livid that these people were so ungrateful, not to mention the stress Iāve gone through this past week. They were able to take advantage of the sellers situation to buy the property below market value, and the husband did nothing but complain when they are beyond lucky to get it for this price. I wanted to throw him off the balcony. Anyway, tell me stories about your asshole clients that were memorable.
Sellers havenāt moved out as of closing day! What can we do?
Sooo upset! Signing on a new house and the sellers still have all of their stuff in the house. This is Thursday morning and we close Friday morning. Saturday we have hired people, friends have taken off from work to help, family has taken off to help us moveā¦itās been known for 4 weeks when moving day was. Am I wrong for being livid??? Where are we supposed to put our stuff?? They knew we were moving in on Saturday and Sunday after closing, and we were JUST told late Wednesday night, 1 and a half days before closing, that they are moving out on Sunday!! So if we have to wait until the next weekend to move, but will not be able to get people to help us on so short of a notice, and we have to rent a moving company to move our stuff, upon final walkthrough, is it reasonable to ask the sellers to pay for our movers? My husband and I are very understanding people, but we are so upset about this!! My husband says weāre going to hire a company to clear their things out on the lawn and send THEM the bill. He took a week off from work to be able to pack, move and unpack. No vacation time saved up, and out $1,500 a day for each day heās taken
2 year client wants 40% of my commission
I am dealing with an incredibly annoying/dense client who is under contract, two weeks from closing my biggest deal. I have been working with this client for 2 years. He chose to work with me because Iām in his community and he heard good things about me (his words). When we started working together he kept reiterating that he was very relaxed who was fairly on top of the market and would only require showings if he couldnāt get to an open house. I was glad to hear it especially because his search is over an hour away from where I live but thought it was unnecessary as I was happy to show him homes as quickly as they were available to view. Every aspect of getting him to offer something reasonable was like pulling teeth, he argued with me about every little thing. I kept calm and explained to him that his offers were weak and he most likely wouldnāt be considered. He did not believe me but after the 14th failed offer he started to wonder if it was because we were POC, my brokerage, my age and gender. I put my foot down and I told him I would be more aggressive on my opinion since he was starting to blame me and my calm attitude was not getting through to him. Some people need to be yelled at or experience an alpha I guessā¦ 2 years in, 16 offers, over 50 showings with him and his poorly behaved children who I watched over like a babysitter because he and his wife couldnāt be bothered to keep an eye on them. The hours on hours I spent driving for these showings and with this client on the phone to give him my professional advice and opinion on price strategies, best terms to offer and explaining what highest and best meant over and over again was all finally is worth something because we are under contract. He has switched loan officers 4 times to get the best offer. Completely wasted my preferred lenderās time for 7 months, luckily the lender knows his reputation for being a professional time waster. Harassed his lawyer and me nonstop during A/I in the late evenings and weekends for answers that we were simply waiting for response on. This guy lacks boundaries or awareness of how this all works but refuses to comprehend when taught. He has a request for me now that we are finally out of A/I. He wants 40% of my commission. I audibly laughed on the phone when he asked. It was a reflex but I was shocked. He then went down to 13.5%. I told him I would give him a flat payment (I would typically give this to a client as a GIFT for way less due to the amount of time and effort I have put in) of .5% of my commission. He argued with me over this for quite some time and Iām disgusted. Itās insulting and I have never āgivenā my clients money back this way. He feels itās fair to ask since he wasnāt āthat much workā and he claims that his previous realtor gave him a similar amount. I wonder why he isnāt working with that guy if he gave him close to half of his commission. He said he was giving me a chance as a new young realtor. Iāve been doing this for 4 years and this is one of 4 closings I have scheduled for the month of November. Iām inclined to offer .5% one last time and let him know itās only as a courtesy. Take it or leave it but we arenāt arguing or talking about this again. I recognize that this is an important lesson for me and I have this client for a reason. Itās to make me a stronger realtor. Iām curious if any of you have had to navigate a situation like this and what you did. For numbers, this is about $20k commission, after split and tax Iām looking at $13k take home
I Did All the Work and Got Nothing ā Iām So Burnt Out Already
Iām a brand new real estate agent. Iāve been grinding non-stop for two months, showing hundreds of houses, spending over $1,000 in gas, paying $200/month in desk fees, plus $500 up front. Iāve had zero income during this time and was finally about to close my first deal ā or so I thought. I had two clients interested in the same rental, but because of multiple representation rules, my boss told me I had to hand one off to another agent in the office. I agreed, trying to be professional and follow the rules, and gave the second client to a colleague. This client had already seen over 10 homes with me. I built the relationship. I scheduled every showing. I did all the driving. I handled the documents. I kept the deal alive. I gave this client to her on a silver platter. My boss told me to make sure I asked for a 50/50 split. I forgot to mention it. Thatās on me. But I truly didnāt expect another agent, who closes multiple deals a month, to just take the full commission without saying a word. It was a lease, not a huge payout ā but it was everything to me. She didnāt even show the property or lift a finger. She just submitted the app and cashed the cheque. Iām not mad that she got paid. Iām mad that I worked for free. That no one said, āHey, this new guy did the work ā letās be fair.ā Instead, I got steamrolled. I know I need to learn from this. Get things in writing. Speak up. Protect my time and effort. But manā¦ it really sucks when you try to play by the rules, hustle hard, and you still get burned. Iām just tired. Iām trying not to lose faith in this industry, but this one really hit hard.
working with low-income buyers is a night-darn-mare
I have never been more frustrated in my life than working with buyers on a tight budget. Most of them refuse to get pre-approved and just start sending me random Zillow links. I have to explain why pre-approval matters over and over. Then they ignore the list of homes I send, send me impossible properties, and expect to see everything immediately. No-shows happen all the time. They are late, cancel last minute, disappear for days, and act like it is my problem. When they make an offer they lowball every time. If it fails, somehow it is my fault. When an offer gets accepted they freak out, find excuses to back out, and vanish for weeks. I do my best to set expectations, explain everything, and even give printed guides, but nothing works. Every interaction is a battle and I feel completely disrespected. Has anyone else dealt with this chaos or is it just me?
This market is terrible
Iāve been a full-time agent for almost 5 years now and Iāve never seen the market this bad. In January, about 4-5 buyers told me they were pushing off or pausing their searches. Since then, Iāve had several more buyers do the same thing. Explanations range from āpersonal reasonsā, ātariffs and interest ratesā, āchanges at work,ā and whatever else. The buyers Iāve been interacting with appear to be flakier than ever. I partly understand because most of my business is working with investors/house hackers and it can be challenging to make the numbers work, but the last few months has been eye-opening to see how much buyers are pulling back. Iām barely making money doing this now so Iām dusting off my resume and planning on transitioning from full-time to part-time. Can anyone else relate to this?
6 Days on Market, Full Price Offerā¦ and Seller Still Says No (sad face) HELP
I listed a home 6 days ago and we've already had 10 showings, good traffic! The main feedback has been that buyers donāt like that itās in an HOA or that the main road is too close. (Which makes me think... if you hate HOAs, why are you even scheduling a showing on a house in one? But I digress.) We just got an offer, yay, right? Wellā¦ not so fast. My seller doesnāt like the offer because the buyer is asking for closing cost assistance. I showed him the numbers and explained that, in our area, itās very much a buyerās market right now, and itās common for buyers to request help with closing costs. But he refuses to consider it, heās holding out for a full-price offer with zero concessions. Iāve tried to explain the reality of the market, shared comps, and talked through the pros/cons, but heās just not having it. I want to advocate for my client, but I also need to keep things realistic. How do you handle sellers who have unrealistic expectations and won't budge, even when the market clearly says otherwise? Would love to hear how others navigate this. UPDATE: I spoke with the seller last night and today. I figured out something huge, he is very emotionally attached to the home. After listening to him for over half hour without really interrupting, it was almost like he was ready to let it go. This morning his attitude was completely different and we agreed on countering at full price with 2% towards buyers closing costs and we are officially under contract š I'll keep you guys posted š« Thank you for all the help, advice and suggestions.
Fired by my sellers
Today I was fired by my listing clients. I had ran comps and presented them at the listing appointment a long with my marketing strategies, how I can sell it, and price pointā¦ Well, they wanted me to list it over the comps I ran. I did tell them that at that price point, this home will sit longer on the market, but I can market it and I will make sure to work my butt off. I did tell them that if we donāt see much action, that we can discuss future plans. They then told me no open houses, no social media posts, and no flyersā¦ So, I posted the link for the home, obviously put my sign up and I spoke to my brokerage about other ways to marketā¦ and we werenāt really sure how else to market. I did bring it up to my clients and they said they felt it was unnecessary. Fast forwardā¦ they moved to a different state (site unseen) and they are now needing the funds from this listing to redo the entire home due to rat infestationā¦ they asked me to come up with a list of how I plan to sell the home within a monthā¦ I ran comps againā¦ (home values depreciated in the area so it was lower now) and I brought the list of marketing ideas that I had brought up previously and potentially doing some video footage (100% I would pay for it). I told them that the value of the home isnāt at the price they are expecting and I gave them a rundown of the comparable homes and what the median price would be. Well, they called me a few hours after I presented it and said āhow do we get out of the contract? You arenāt what we are looking for and you are more reactive than proactive.ā I did ask what their expectations were and why they felt I was reactive. They stated because I wanted to lower the price of the home. They also stated that they felt they were constantly reaching out to me (I did check my texts and it was never like that at all), they stated that I wasnāt going to be able to sell the home due to me not doing it full-time (I have one other listing and work a full-time job that is very understanding), and they stated that they spoke to multiple other agents and dropping the home price would look tacky and cheapā¦ they were 70k over market value. I am sure I could have made more of an effort to communicate more often, but I was communicating more than 3 times a week, I constantly check on the home to make sure everything is good, and I was very diligent in giving them my comps. I ran state comps, county comps, and comps within .5 of a mile and a full mileā¦ What else could I have done?
Weāve turned down more clients this year than any year before and I donāt regret it.
When I started in the business I joined a team and my team lead told me "If you're going to take an overpriced listing, you're better off to just write them a check for $1,000 and walk away". I always took that to heart. And now with inflation, that feels like $3,000 haha I used to take listings that were maybe 5% higher than market value but lately things are so slow people seem to want waaaaayyyyy more than it's worth. (We're in Niagara region in Canada) If the trust isnāt there, or the expectations are way off, or it just feels like itās going to be chaosā¦ I walk away. And every time I have, itās made room for better clients. And lately that couldn't be more true. Saying no still feels weird sometimes, but itās been good for my sanity and my business. Anyone else gotten more selective with who theyāll work with these last few years?
Real estate brokerages are dying to a slow painful death
The old playbook isnāt working. Recruit more agents. Hope they produce. Watch them leave. Repeat. Margins are shrinking, agents are disengaged, and brokerages are bleeding cash. The ones that survive in 2026 will stop chasing headcount and start maximizing production across every agent level: ->new agents (15%) - cut ramp time by 8x and get them closing deals fast without adding overhead. -> mid-tier agents (30%) - elevate them from 3-5 transactions to 17+ with structure, accountability, and real growth strategies. -> non-producers (50%) - revive underperformers with clear, actionable steps to generate business instead of letting them fade out. -> top producers (5%) - keep your rainmakers engaged and loyal with meaningful recognition and strategic support. The future of brokerage success isnāt really in mass recruiting, itās in agent success.
BE HONEST, WORST TIME IN HISTORY TO BUY?!
Long story shortāit's going to be $3100 a month to purchase a $400,000 home in my area. I have no debt, a $94,000 base salary, $113,000 in W-2 income, and $80,000 cash, but I'm only putting down 3.5% because the difference in monthly payments is negligible. Should I back off? I feel like $3100 a month for 30 years is excessiveāit's just me making the payments...but with inflation, maybe one day $3100 won't be as much. I'm just looking for other opinions.
The Realities of a Realtor Career: Are You Ready?
This career isnāt what it used to be ā and the āeasy moneyā youāve heard about? Itās a lot harder to come by than you think. Iāve been in the industry for about 4 years now. Back in real estate school, our teacher said something that stuck with me: "Donāt quit your day job thinking youāll start making money right away." I listened. And Iām glad I did. Hereās the truth: many people wonāt make it in this business. If you could shadow a full-time realtor for even a week, most of you would probably walk away before ever getting your license. What You Donāt See Behind the Scenes: Clients ghosting you after weeks (or months) of communication Deals falling apart at the last minute Commissions are getting squeezed from all sides People wasting your time with no intention to buy or sell Endless rejection, inconsistent income, and lots of unpaid work If a deal goes smoothly, chances are you got lucky. Most arenāt. The āExpertsā Will Line Up to Sell You Success The moment you show interest in this career, youāll be flooded by: Coaches Marketers Social media āgurusā Authors and course creators All promising āthe formulaā for success ā for a fee, of course. Each one telling you to do this and avoid that. Youāll be pulled in 10 directions, and before long, youāll be second-guessing everything. What Youāre Going to Hear: āYou need to be a marketing expert.ā This should start before you even sign up for classes. āYou need to cold call 50-200 people a day and have 25+ real estate conversations daily.ā And by the way ā cold calling can get you in legal trouble. One agent was recently sued for calling someone on the Do Not Call list. Your E&O insurance wonāt save you. āYou need to constantly network.ā That means going to church events, Chamber of Commerce mixers, local meetups ā all while staying top of mind. This is a full-time job by itself. āYou need a strong social media presence.ā That means driving all over town filming live videos, property tours, branding content, and staying consistent online. Youāll Learn About Farming, Too: āFarmingā means picking a neighborhood and working it consistently. Hosting community events (taco trucks, ice cream socials, etc.) Mailing postcards, newsletters, etc. Building trust over years, not weeks Now Letās Talk Money šø This isnāt a cheap business to start. Hereās a taste of what youāll need (and this is conservative): Pre-licensing courses & test retakes: $200ā$500 MLS fees, lockboxes, signage, materials: $3,000+ Open house supplies, branded marketing: $500ā$1,000 CRM systems and ads: Easily $1,000ā$3,000/month Business license / LLC setup: $1,000ā$3,000 Accountant & taxes: 30% of every commission should go to Uncle Sam Driving / gas / car wear: $$$ adds up fast Realistically, you should have 24 months of monthly expenses plus the fees I've shared saved before jumping in ā especially if you're going solo. Joining a Brokerage or Team? Be careful. Ask why you're paying fees if you are the one generating the business. Many teams promise leads ā few deliver. If there's high turnover, run. That usually means the leads are weak and the team is disorganized. If you're giving away a chunk of your commission, make sure youāre actually getting something in return (structure, training, systems, support). Expect to Go 6 Months, a Year, Maybe Two Without a Paycheck. The first deal is always the hardest. Many new agents wonāt make it that far. The bills keep coming. Reality sets in. And people give up. Also ā most successful agents I know have another source of income or a supportive partner, especially in the beginning. One More Thing ā Safety. This is a seriously overlooked part of real estate. Youāre meeting strangers in vacant homes. You could deal with squatters. Or worse. Ask any brokerage what safety training they offer. If they donāt have an answer ā thatās a red flag. Final Thoughts: This business is not for the faint of heart. Itās high-risk, high-grind, and often low-reward in the beginning. But if you're prepared, persistent, and treat it like the real business it is ā with a plan, savings, and the right expectations ā you might just make it. But if youāre thinking this is a quick and easy money game? Youāre going to learn the hard way.
Thinking about leaving a tech job to start over in real estate
I'm in my 30s. I'm currently a software engineer in Texas, earning between $150k and $200k, and I'm satisfied with the compensation. However, I've lost passion for the work and am exploring a career change. I'm considering transitioning into real estate, but I've heard stories of new agents earning close to $0 in their first year and many leaving the industry, which worries me. Am I being unrealistic for wanting to leave a stable software engineering career to start over as a real estate agent? Iād love to hear from anyone who has made a similar transition and any advice you can share.
I just lost 3 deals in maybe the most frustrating week of my career and I just want to vent
Iām not sure what flair to use for a vent post, but this is the kind of shit that makes me want to leave this industry. I can bust my ass off and have nothing to show for it at the end of the day besides what-ifs. The most frustrating one was today, on one of my listings that I couldāve done dual agency one. I live in a very low cost of living area, which means home prices are very low. Iāve had this property listed for 2 months at $65,000. Which is a fair price, if the house was in good condition. The biggest issues with this house are moisture in the basement (common in my area), and needing a new roof. I was hoping we would get an offer that involved closing cost assistance for those items, or having the repairs done prior to closing. But that hasnāt happened in the 2 months that itās been listed. My seller lives out of state, and I assumed he would be very motivated to sell it. Well I finally found a buyer that was perfect for it. He needed a one floor home (very rare in this area and especially price range) and him and his son are contractors, so the work doesnāt scare them off. I got them pre-approved and submitted an offer at full price with 6% sellers assist. I called my seller, told him we had a full priced offer and told him what his net earnings would be. He was really excited and told me he would sign it as soon as I sent it to him. Well my seller flipped his shit about paying $3,900 in sellerās assist. Even though I told him his earnings over the phone, I guess seeing it on paper freaked him out. I did my absolute best to prepare him and tell him that after 2 months, we arenāt going to receive a full price offer anyway. Instead he insisted on the buyer raising their offer to account for it, and the buyer got cold feet and is no longer interested. There goes $5,000 in commissions because my seller is being stubborn and not understanding the market. Then I had buyers approved for $300,000, looking in a city about an hour away from me. After a couple weeks of showings, we found a house that they loved for $250,000. It had been on the market for 5 days, although showings werenāt allowed until the day that we saw it. We put our full priced offer in that night and set it to expire the next day. The next day the listing agent reaches out and says his seller is flying home that day, and asks if they can respond by noon the next morning instead of today. He also says that they have 1 other offer and will likely call for highest and best after they review them. I say of course thatās fine, we can wait until noon the next morning. I relay that info to my buyers and tell them that we will hear back by noonā¦ well that was Monday. Itās now Thursday, and the listing agent never got back to me and is ignoring my texts and calls. Now I look like an idiot to my buyers, and they said they will be using another buyerās agent. There goes anywhere from $7,000-$9,000 in commissions. So in a span of 4 days, I go from possibly making $12,000-$14,000 in June to $0. For reference, in a low cost of living area my mortgage payment is only $700. I normally average 2 deals a month, but I only make about $2,500 per deal. This wouldāve been huge for me and the best month of my 3 year career Edit- I actually lost 4 deals as one terminated literally 2 minutes ago. One of my listings, the perspective buyers are calling off their engagement and no longer buying the house together. What the fuck
My Story: Introvert Takes on Real Estate
When I first started off, I spent way too much time watching YouTube videos of successful realtors and entrepreneurs. I thought I was getting motivated but really I was just consuming content without taking any real action. I was "busy" but not productive, and I was focusing on the wrong things like creating the perfect logo and brand image instead of doing what really mattered, which was talking to people! I now feel that the key to growing your business is simple and straight forward. It's not about how polished your brand looks. It's about getting out there, making real connections and providing genuine value, whether that's face to face or over the phone. These are the real activities that actually help generate business, pay your bills and set you up for future success. I remember in the beginning I spent hours designing some door hangers and had all this excitement & motivation to get out there and hand them out to generate business. When I finally got the shipment delivered, that motivation turned into fear immediately when reality hit me that now I had to physically put myself out there and actually hand them out and have conversations with people. I remember pulling up to a neighbourhood and sitting in my car absolutely terrified and the longer I sat in my car the more negativity my brain started feeding itself. I started questioning myself and my negative thoughts literally took control of my life in that moment. All I was thinking about was "what are people going to say when they open the door, I'm brand new and I don't know anything, how am I going to deal with rejection, how do I carry a conversation forward, I'm going to make a fool out of myself doing this". It got SOO bad that when I would drive to a neighbourhood to door knock, I would literally just sit in my car for an hour trying to get ready and when I finally felt ready I would just go put the door hangers on the door knob and move to the next house to avoid conversation. When I saw people standing outside, I would purposely skip that house and move on to the next one where I knew I didn't have to talk to anyone. This happened for days and honestly I was about to give up and say this career isn't for me. I remember one night I went home, watched more YouTube videos for motivation and tips from other successful realtors but this time reality just hit me hard. I realized I can't keep doing this anymore and there is absolutely no way I'll be able to make a name for myself repeating this same pattern day in and day out, let alone pay my bills. Me being spiritual, I read a quote which I now consider the most important quote in my life and that is "Faith & Fear Cannot Co-Exist". So the next time I went door knocking I just put all my faith into god and told myself "whatever happens is going to happen for the best and I'm not going to stress about this anymore". I remember being terrified when I walked up to the first house and rang the doorbell. That suspense of waiting for someone to open the door and me having to initiate the conversation was crazy, I'll never forget it lol, I'm surprised I didn't just faint on the spot but to my surprise, the conversation went well and house after house I got more comfortable and it got to a point where I was excited to ring the door bell and see what kind of interaction I would be having. To save you some time and extra details, when I went home that night (which I considered my real first day of proper door knocking), I had someone call my phone asking about listing their home and this family ended being my first ever seller clients! I took this as god & the universe rewarding me for stepping out of my comfort zone, doing what I knew I needed to do regardless of all the anxiety and stress I was feeling, and simply just allowing me to realize that It isn't soo bad after all. I am yet to meet someone that got a client which they were able to close from their very first day ever door knocking. The universe works in amazing ways I can't even begin to describe. So if you're just starting out, don't over complicate things and just remember this one thing, stop waiting for everything to be "perfect" and simply just start. Conversations lead to opportunities and once you prioritize that day after day while improving your skills, the compounding effect will make everything else fall into place! See you all at the table of success š«”
Has being a realtor changed anyoneās life?
Iād like to make this post as a sort of feel good post but am genuinely curious if getting into real estate has changed anyone elseās life in such a positive way, the way it has mine? I want to hear other peopleās stories and where they were before being a successful realtor, versus now I grew up in poverty and my family never owned a home. I have a crazy story tbh but Iāll spare every one of that. Getting into this career literally changed my life like Iād never have believed possible. Sometimes I feel like I āgot luckyā but remember just how much hard work and sacrifice I put in everyday. Iāve been in the business 4 years and have done around 130-140 transactions as a solo agent, full time college student, husband and father. (25M) I hear so many stories of people getting into the business and not being successful and honestly just want to hear stories of people who got into young and HAVE became successful. Iām wondering if there are any specific common traits or backgrounds that we all share.
First year ; 7 closed 6 in contract
Went full time this January, first deal was in April, then momentum happened. Deals came from emails, expireds, letters, just sold mailers, door knocking, cold call, online leads, instagram, and TikTok. Just goes to show to work every avenue. I did all this while becoming a new dad in February, watching my daughter from 8am-2pm 4 days a week. Weāre getting babysitter this January so I can really hit my potential. My market is NY. If you really want to succeed in this career, you just have to hustle, thereās no excuses.
Realtor in Brazil here: some things about our market might shock you
Hi everyone! Iām a real estate agent in Brazil and our market works *very* differently compared to the US. Iād love to share a few facts that usually surprise international agents, and Iām curious about your reactions. Here are some realities of how things often work here: * Exclusive listings are rare ā the same property is usually listed with multiple agents. * Thereās no true MLS system, so agents spend a lot of time āhuntingā for listings and confirming availability directly. * **Thereās no concept of a ābuyerās agent.ā** Agents mainly represent the seller, and buyers often just reach out to whoever has the listing. Because of this, the competition to *capture and mantain listings* is extremely fierce. * Clients often contact several agents at once for the same property. * šØ **For new condo developments:** agents do āsales shiftsā at the developerās stand. Shifts are 8 hours long, no salary, only commission (\~1.5%). * At these stands, there can be 30+ agents from different brokerages working together. Potential buyers who walk in are assigned by a *daily lottery system*. If youāre unlucky and get the last spot in the draw, you might spend the whole day without speaking to a single client. Iām gathering reactions to these differences to create content for my Instagram, showing how real estate practices vary around the world. š If you reply, please note that I may share your comment (translated) on Instagram. If youād like to be credited, include your u/handle so I can tag you. How would you feel working in a market like this? What do you think would be the hardest part?
Closed my 1st Unrepresented Buyer
I'm in Texas, been licensed 24+ years. We have what's called the Intermediary, not Dual Agency. I've represented both buyers and sellers in the Intermediary many times in my career. Because I educate my clients before we go out and do anything, it's always been an easy situation to be in... I just closed my first where it was an unrepresented Buyer, and it was interesting to say the least... The buyer contacted me via Facebook, so all red flags appeared about it being a scam. He wanted to make an offer before viewing the property. I presented his "verbal" to the sellers, who laughed and said no. A couple of weeks later, the guy came back about $30k higher, which is about 10% in this area, again verbal. I asked for proof of funds and driver's license. He sent me images of 3 different bank accounts and the license. The sellers said they would entertain, but wanted the buyer/investor to view the house before hashing out a contract, the buyer refused. He ghosted, so more "scam" vibes. I mean, if you want a house for a deal, you make it a point to view it, right? Anyway, he finally decided he would view it before a contract. However, I wasn't going to dare waste my time showing this mystery scam guy the house, as I could wind up dead in a ditch and I have kids to think about... but I was willing to spend $50 to have an agent open a door for him, so that's what I did. After the showing, the agent said he seemed sketchy and rude. He texts me saying he wants the house and to "write it up"... I spoke with my sellers about how they wanted the offer written since they're the ones I represent. I wrote that offer up with every term in my Sellers's favor. I bullet-pointed the terms in an email with the offer for the buyer to sign. He's bought other houses before, so I didn't feel bad not explaining anything. He signed it. As a savvy investor, not sure why he didn't argue about Buyer paying the Title Policy and Waiving the HOA docs and financials, and no inspection period or home warranty... LOL The entire 13 days, I kept preparing my Sellers for everything to fall apart and not get their hopes up too much as it all seemed very sketch. Even the title company called me concerned about Buyer behavior. Some bumps in the road, like he didn't submit earnest on time, and he wouldn't schedule the closing timely, but we closed Cash in 13 days... It was a crazy ride!
I really want to love this job..
My mental health is suffering because of this career. Iām constantly anxious, on edge, feeling so much pressure. I hate that Iām on everyoneās schedule but my own- Iām burnt out and when I do have time to myself, I have zero energy to get anything done. I went into this career to make cash to start investing.. but got dragged into being a full-time client based agent. I hate it. I love running my own business, have no issues with drive and motivation- my issue is the stress, anxiety, navigating situations Iām not familiar with. Iāve considered going into an adjacent role- TC, title rep, new home sales, where Iām not contacted out of business hours. I feel like I have no life outside of work and Iām freaking 23. I want to feel YOUNG! The other side of me refuses to work a 9-5.. I hate running other peoplesā businesses for them. I donāt know what to doā¦ Also, I really am not looking for people to give me motivation to keep pushing through. I donāt want this life, I have no intention of being a top producer because I know I wouldnāt be happy with that. My dream life is to live on land and have no one bother me. I want privacy, and peace. I guess I more so came on here for validation of leaving the industry. Iām here to vent.
Is now a bad time to go into real estate?
Iāve always had an interest in real estate and currently am taking my NC pre-licensing course. Is this a bad time to enter the field? Iāve had a trusted friend tell me āwell thereās never a perfect marketā but I also know that finding a good mentor is key to starting off well. My background is in marketing, specifically social media / digital marketing and branding. Iām excited about applying my skillset to the industry but nervous about making the leap from my full time salaried job (but also ready for something new). Would love to hear from people currently in the field what you think and any advice you may have!
Birthday Call š
I started my career in real estate in October of 2016, and every birthday since, my broker would call to wish me a happy birthday š I was with that brokerage for 8 years. I actually left the day after my birthday in 2024, but he still called me the day before, on August 5th, to wish me a happy birthday. Honestly, heās an amazing guy. When he asked why I was leaving, I told him it had nothing to do with him that he had been nothing but great to me and that I was only leaving because I had friends at another brokerage. Fast forward just one year, and things didnāt work out at that second brokerage. My friends are still great and super supportive. But now, Iām a broker myself. Iāve opened my own brokerage with a colleague, which is something I never wouldāve imagined happening so soon. Iāve always been someone who stays at jobs for the long haul, so all of this change has been a lot. And now, tomorrow is my birthdayā¦ and for the first time in 9 years, I wonāt be getting a call from Bob š For the realtors out there: whatās something your broker does (or did) that means a lot to you? UPDATE: I just called him and he didn't answer but I left him a voicemail thanking him for everything he did for me and calling his agents every year for their birthday and how much that call meant to me š I didn't cry and now I hope he doesn't think I'm weird lol I'll let you know if he calls me back.
Getting angry with clients
Has there been any point of time in your career as a realtor that you have lost your temper with any of your clients which resulted in a verbal argument or a physical fight? If so, what lead up to that situation?
What are the things people donāt talk about with real estate careers?
I just recently started a pre-licensing course and was curious of the little details about real estate. Not the āyouāll be working 60+ hours a weekā āmost people only last two yearsā, But the things YOU wished you were told before getting your license.
If you could go back, whatās one brutally honest truth about being a real estate agent that wouldāve made you think twice about getting your license or trying to make this a career
Maybe itās constantly taking on too much. Maybe itās playing therapist to clients. Maybe itās knowing how to āclose dealsā The invisible expectations, the identity shifts, the constant pressure to be āon.ā Maybe youāve been in a situation where your brain was foggy, but you still had to sound sharp, make quick decisions, and respond to complex situations with clients or vendors? That you had to train your brain to process info faster, speak more clearly, and keep composure under pressure with things like contracts, vendors, scripts, objections, laws, personalities It could be something like technical frustrations, mental burnout, lack of control, having a underperforming cognitive ālimitā Could be the paperwork, the people, the vendors, the pressure. Whatever it was that hit different once you were in too deep. What should be talked about more?
Not for weak of heart.
So I've been a realtor for a total of 2 years and 3 months. With the first 3-4 months of my career being a learning curve afterwards amounting to collectively 21m in sales since. I have been promoting my website for 2 months now via PPC and I've received many leads but none of which has materialized just yet. Tons of people "looking" which my automated follow up will continue the drip campaigns. Also have a small budget for Zillow as I need to keep people coming in the door to keep the lights on. What has been everyone's biggest marketing ploy to get in front of more sellers ? I do cold call many days a week and while this is time consuming I've found success in circle prospecting. Especially when I have a buyer who wants a particular building or neighborhood. I would just like to start working more on the listing side so what recommendations does anyone have for marketing tactics that brings more sellers? I'd prefer not to pay a service for this pipeline so what strategy do people use to get more sellers? Market : Miami, FL
The Hardest Lesson I Learned: Most of My āBusy Yearsā Werenāt Productive
Early in my career, I worked nonstopā¦ and somehow stayed stuck. I kept telling myself I was grinding. In reality, I had become a professional wheel-spinner. Lots of motion. Almost no traction. A coach finally told me something that hit harder than anything else Iād heard in this industry: The highest performers all share one thing. They pour almost all of their energy into growing the business, and they give everything else little to no energy. Lead generation gets the focus. Everything else gets whateverās left. Once I stripped out the comfortable work and started doing the work that actually creates appointments, things shifted fast. Not because I worked harder, but because I worked on the right things. Iām curious how others figured this out. What moment made you realize ābusyā and āproductiveā were not the same thing?
Is this a scam?
Ok so hear me out. Iām a fairly new agent and my gut is telling me something isnāt right. I had my agency give me a Facebook lead for a $500k home. When I called the potential client, he said his budget was actually $3.5 million. I felt like it wasnāt real, so I asked him to jump on Zoom so we could go over everything (he was out of state). To my surprise, he did. And he was a real human who signed a buyer agent agreement. Heās a crypto investor. I sent him homes and we go over each home. But Iām also getting a little uncomfy because heās asking me personal questions like if I invest in crypto, what type of wallet I keep my crypto in, Etc. He will send me good morning texts every day. Iāll get text messages as late as 1030 at night asking about my crypto wallet, what my career goals are, etc. Yesterday, he asked me what I like to do when Iām not working to āunwind and relaxā. Of course I did not answer him. Fast forward to today, heās asking me about if he can put a pool in one of the homes that I sent him. He wants me to get a professional out there to verify this for him ā mind you heās never seen the home other than the listing I sent over. I told him at his price point and in order to move forward, we will need a bank statement showing proof of funds (cash buyer) and this is what I get back. The photo I posted was his response. Can anyone more experienced realtors in here just tell me if this seems off?
What have you guys observed about the trust and perception of realtors?
Iāve noticed a lot of people online seem to have an negative opinion of real estate brokers and sales people, or really just sales people in general. Personally, I havenāt come across anyone in person who seems to care that much. Most people in my life are supportive but Iām wondering if anyone has had different experiences Have any of you struggled to make friends (or dates) due to your career choice? Is anyone in your life against what you do, or are they mostly supportive? Are the negative feelings towards mostly overhyped online? Do you think that people make assumptions about who you are due to your career choice?
Anyone transitioned from real estate back into a corporate role?
Been a real estate agent for about 10 years and looking to move on. Been looking to get back into corporate where I started my career but not having much luck. Has anyone successfully moved back into a corporate role after being an agent for a number of years? Looking for ideas of jobs that real estate skills would be an advantage. And preferably not a sales focused role. Any advice is much appreciated!
Top Realtors- how and where did you learn?
I donāt mean where you studied for the exams, Iām talking about where you truly learned to become a top realtor. Did you have a mentor? Relevant experience from a past career? Study online training courses? There is a HUGE range in success and salaries in this industry. How do young & hungry Realtors put themselves in a position to maximise learning- and eventually earning?
Am I a fool for turning this deal down?
I was a realtor on a team 2022 to 2023. I did their showings for a portion of the team leadersā commissions and worked on my own deals. 2023-2024 I left and moved abroad. When I came back, right away the team approached me to come back, and have done so multiple times at this point. They offered to give me buyers, but the split was 50/50, and then Iād split my 50% with Keller Williams, which would take another 36% of my cut initially. I said no. Now, they approached me again and are pleading with me to come back, because theyāre moving from Philly to Florida in June and want to split all of their clients between me and another agent on the team. The terms are better now, with it being 50/50 for their leads and 70/30 for me own clients I bring in. Theyāre switching brokerages so now Iāll only have to pay $500 per transaction from my cut as far as I understand. I did the math, and they did 60 deals and $550-600k in commission the last year. If business doesnāt slow down, my cut would be around $100-125k (not counting anyone I bring in). Am I stupid for turning this down? I am 26 years old and Iām flattered that theyāre turning down the other candidates and trying to get me, but I know for a fact that I donāt want to be a full-time realtor until I retire. I absolutely hate the on-call lifestyle. Had to spend Easter Sunday doing last minute showings, and they decided not to buy, which was not great lol. Iām good with people and have always been good at the job, but I want to pursue another career, which would definitely take an initial pay cut (the starting salary would be $50,000). My biggest concern is that I take the deal for the money and then lose the years of building up another career. Do you think it would be better to take the money for now and see how it goes or turn them down? Financially it seems stupid to walk awayā¦
What was the most effective way you found clients at the beginning of your career?
Hi all! I am a new real estate agent and I won't lie, I'm struggling to get into the real estate world. I am hosting my first open house this Sunday, and I am going to tour a FSBO home next week in the hopes of working with the owners. I need to find clients and eventually get to the point where I don't need to search for clients, and they come to me because of my reputation. Obviously that will take some time, so what did you do until you got to that point? How did you build your reputation and get your name out there?
Career advice needed
I have a full time job that pays north of 100k (I'm a CPA). I'm obsessed with real estate sales. Honestly, obsessed... I love outbound prospecting, door knocking, cold calling. I've been licensed under two years and I've done a handful of deals from prospecting (not sphere or anything handed to me). I can really feel the ball rolling. I'm with an amazing brokerage with fair splits and tons of support and training. Yesterday, my full time gig told me real estate is a conflict of interest (after prior approval), and told me to quit real estate by May 21st or resign. I have benefits, pension, good salary. I have a mortgage, a wife, a 3 year old and another one the way. My wife makes 80k as a physio therapist, and we have about a year's worth of expenses in cash. It seems obvious I have to quit RE, but I just love the business so much. Advise PLEASE. Thanks so much.
Iām tired and frustrated, but refuse to quit!
Iām a year in, only closed once. I have written many offers that just didnāt make the cut whether I did or didnāt know it would. Iām stressed, wanted to save 6 months salary of my current job and quit to focus full time in real estate (which would only be $10-12,000). Iām tired, down, and close to tears. But I absolutely do not want to stop. I actually like being an agent, it feels like a game to me. I havenāt really felt like this with any job or field. Iāve seen agents who joined the team after me, working or not, already pumping out more closed deals like nothing. Iām worried my team would be tired of me not closing anything and toss me out. But until then I will commit to stick it out and make a career and future for myself. If newer agents are doing better than me. I need to get stricter with myself. I know I can do better, I blame my day job due to how much it drains me mentally and takes up prime time I could be doing anything else real estate. Any day Iām not working there, I am doing showings and following up with people. I am working on cold calling people more and trying to be more consistent. I just wish I am in the position to quit this job so I can breathe and live real estate. But I need to commit more. I really see a lot of people fizzle out because they gave up too easily. I refuse to give in, nothing great comes easy. I donāt need to be great, just great enough! Is there anyone that has been in a similar position as me? Curious to how you navigated these obstacles and made something of yourself.
Is it the brokerage or the Agent?
I got my license right out of high school and have been at the same brokerage since. It split from KW around that time and became independent. I started on a 50/50 split for my first 10 deals, then moved off that after my first year. Back then, training was greatāone of the owners was a killer salesperson and led most of it. But after a falling out, he was bought out about 3 years ago, and training quality tanked. We absorbed another brokerage, but the brokers we got in return donāt do any personal business and basically coast on salary. One of them is also our āproductivity coach,ā but honestly, he's terrible. The current owner is solidācloses 50ā80 deals a year and makes time for usābut his style isnāt replicable, so the training isnāt that useful. Recently, one of our top producers tried to help by running office-wide training since morale was low. But when they tried to figure out how to pay him, the brokerage lowballed him to keep paying the existing coach. They ended up copying his methods anyway, but the quality dropped. The comp structure also changed: * **Old (Partner Plan)**: 70/30 split, $24K cap, Realtorcom leads, paid sign installs, E&O, listing photos, RedX, CoStar (just me, since I cold call), TC, and training (though it was already getting weak). * **Now**: 80/20 split, $25K cap, no leads, no sign installs, no listing photos. Still includes E&O, TC, RedX, CoStar, training (still bad), plus free printing and paper for flyers/mailers. At the end of the day, I know Iām the one who has to make the calls, but the energy in the office sucks. Iām 22 and usually in the top 10 agents, only doing around $6M a year, but most people do their own thing. That gets tiring, especially when you're the only one door knocking or cold calling. I also feel like I shouldn't be top 10 in the brokerage with the volume Im doing I feel like we don't have enough high producers and the ones that are high producers our opinions arent valued when we share them and I feel like if there was more comradery and more top producers the brokerage wouldn't be changing up the training all the time cause we would know what works. VS rn the brokerage we absorbed was failing and now it feels like we're getting bullshit training. This was the only brokerage I interviewed with, and at the time it felt like the right fit. But with everything thatās changed, Iām not so sure anymore. I guess I just needed to ventābut Iām also wondering if Iām being realistic or falling into āgrass is greenerā thinking. Also the shitty part about leaving is I have a CRM full of around 1k leads that I generated myself through door knkcing and cold calling. I have a few listings and buyers with signed contracts and all of those would stay with the brokerage. So yeah... What would you do if you were me? I'm in UT if that helps.
LGI realty the online brokerage group scammed me out of $300 for their real estate course.
I answered an ad on LinkedIn for a job of a real estate coach, the next day they invited me to do an interview, I realized it was no actual salary for the job instead, I had to pay a joining fee of $145 plus $85 monthly fee once I was part of their team . Although nowhere on the job listing didnāt mention that you had to be a real estate broker with a real estate broker license they told me I had to get the license in order to do the job. I instantly paid $300 and started spending hours of time on the course and also joined two of their team calls. Tony Hughes interviewed me and mentor me and kept encouraging me to do the course before they could give me any coaching clients a week later after Iāve spent quite a bit of time on the course I got an email from Tony saying they no longer needed me. This is after he knew for well I had paid for the course or need to do this job. Iāve tried repeatedly to get the money back for the course, I told them I wouldnāt have done the course unless I was doing the coaching job, I have no interest in being a real estate broker and selling houses, they simply ignore me and will not return my money. This company treated me very badly. My soul cold mentor, Tony Hughes, does not answer any emails and just completely ignores me having push me into doing the real estate course. Even though Iāve threatened to post what has happened on social media they still donāt care. Buyer beware of LGI Realty.
Tax question - how screwed am I?
Hi all, I need some advice. I have been doing real estate since Jan of 2019 - my first couple of years, I filed as a sole proprietor and I had enough money to pay for my taxes as a whole at the end of the year. I started making a good amount more money and I didnāt have enough funds, come tax season, to pay for my balance in whole, so I made an installment plan. I wanted to avoid this happening again, so I met with my CPA who advised me to form an LLC/ S Corp. My CPA set that up for me, and told me that it would save me a significant amount of money when it comes to the self employment tax. This past year, Iāve been trying to pay as I have made commission, but between the cost of living and my taxes Iām already paying for my installment plan, Iāve only paid about 7% in taxes of what I made in 2024. 2024 is the first year that Iāve had the LLC/S Corp in place for the entire calendar year, but after doing more research today, I realized that I do not have a salary I am paying myself (my commission just gets directly deposited into my bank account) and Iām concerned that because of that, I will not save on the self employment tax, and that my LLC/S corp filing will basically do nothing for me in tax savings. Based on the income I made last year and being married filing jointly, my tax bracket is 22% before write offs. Guysā¦ how screwed am I? Does anyone have any advice for me? Thanks so much!
Buyers Agent Income
I see a lot of job advertisements online for Buyers Agent with OTE up to $180k and in some cases $300k/annum. Some with low base salaries or nothing at all. This may be a broad question, but what do typical buyers agents earn? If youāre a buyers agent, would love some insights.
Passed and getting with a brokerage!
Hi! I passed my exam in TX. Going to an interview with Keller Williams on Friday. I have my slacks, dress shirt and shoes ready. I have set an ambitious goal for my first year (up to 100k) but Iām aware that Iāll most be focused on learning the ropes and Iām okay with that! I have a full time job (70k salaried) and my CDL as backup but I want to leverage the big city Iām in (Houston) in this big state of TX to transition into being a full time realtor for now. My main job is super flexible and remote so I can seize the opportunity to do both, which Iām grateful for. Anyways, anyone know any mentors or have any tips/advice? Iām ready and open to anything! Thanks!
Realtors who got into property management?
Hi All, I am studying for the license exam and I have been trying to get prepared as to what jobs I can get when I'm done. The real estate industry seems daunting now and I need a base salary. Has anyone gotten into property management after being licensed? If so, what helped to get you hired after getting licensed? Thanks!
First realtor job
Hey so bit of context I'm getting my license and would like to find a salary job, where should I look I can't seem to find anything. I eventually want to do commercial but am in a pitch of money right now. Im 21 and in South Carolina. I'm thinking trying to sell brand new homes but I'mm quite young (20) and think maybe folks wouldn't want me selling them their house? not sure yea basically just where should I look for a good salary builder job.
New Home Sales Job?
Interviewing for a job selling new homes for a builder. 1099 and 1% of sale price. Working 10-6 and working weekends with 2 days midweek off. Avg price in the community is $400-$700k and commissions are paid 0.5% on signing and 0.5% on closing. Iāll have someone paid to schedule appointments with real estate agents and customers for me like a call center. Builder is projecting 60 homes in the next 12 months. Does this sound like a good opportunity? This will be my first real estate job and with real estate being my passion Iām inclined to take it but Iām not 100% sure being 1099. Iāve been in sales for 3 years but always with some kind of draw or salary although Iāve never had to take draw for a month.
Transaction manager role. Work structure and pay questions
So I recently had a screening with a recruiter for a transaction manager role supporting a singular realtor that can be summarized as being too busy to handle the backend processes. I have some stuff I was wondering if youāve A) ever been in the role or B) hired someone for this role. The structure is majority setting up the legal documents/contracts and coordinating new build stages with buyers. Some trickling in of market analysis and potentially house showings/open houses. Overall it feels like he just needs a second-in-command to help run his business which I get as Iāve been in project management for a few years now. My questions are, is it normal to get a % bonus with each deal closed? (Not % of the transaction, but rather a % of my salary pay). If so what would I actually expect if they say they close around half a dozen homes a month? My second question is, is it normal for me to have to do showings/open houses? Iām very familiar and comfortable with the operational and coordination side to it, however Iām not exactly an extroverted ārealtorā type (I am easy to get along with and most of my coworkers always like to hang out with me after work FWIW) but I just feel slightly uncomfortable I might not be a good fit in that area, although he did say it was minimal, itād still be there. Appreciate the insight.
A Few Things That Helped a Realtor I Work With Get More Leads
Iāve been working with a real estate client for a little while, and we made a few small changes that ended up making a huge difference in their business. Figured Iād share in case it helps anyone else. 1. Making It Easy for Clients to Leave Reviews This one was simple. They were closing deals, people were happy, but almost no one was leaving Google reviews. We set up a system to remind clients to leave a review at the right time, and the number of 5-star ratings basically doubled in a couple of months. What changed? Now, when someone searches for an agent in their area, they show up with the highest rating and the most reviews. No ads, no crazy marketing budgetājust making it easy for past clients to vouch for them. 2. Fixing the Website So It Actually Gets Leads A lot of realtor websites look nice but donāt really do much. Their old site had plenty of info, but there was no clear next step. We made a few tweaks: ā¢ Added a āBook a Callā button on every page ā¢ Created neighborhood-specific pages that attract buyers searching in those areas ā¢ Set up a simple form to collect leads instead of just showing listings Now, instead of people browsing and leaving, they actually reach out. 3. Showing Up in Google for the Right Searches Instead of trying to compete with Zillow and Redfin for the big āhomes for saleā searches, we focused on the searches where people actually need a realtor: ā¢ āBest realtor for first-time buyers in [city]ā ā¢ āHow to sell a house fast in [city]ā ā¢ āClosing costs for sellers in [city]ā It took some time, but now their site is getting leads without paying for ads. None of this was a crazy overhaul, just a few small things that added up. Anyone else tried similar things? Whatās been working for you?
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