Interested in a career in real estate? Expect to cut your teeth in the industry as a real estate sales agent.
But what exactly does it mean to be a real estate sales agent? I’m glad you asked. Called by many names - realtor, real estate agent, sales agent, real estate salesperson, etc. - a real estate sales agent generally rents, buys, or sells property for clients. Performing duties such as studying property listings, interviewing prospective clients, accompanying clients to property sites, discussing conditions of sale and drawing up real estate contracts, also tend to fall within the job responsibilities.
If you care to learn more, read on. Here are further details on a career in real estate as a real estate sales agent (thanks go out to the Bureau of Labor Statistics and O*NET Online for their thorough research):
- Employment Trends - Employment of real estate sales agents is expected to grow 14-19% (from 2008-18), faster than average for all occupations. Moreover, a large number of job openings - an estimated 130,000 - will arise over the same time period. [More on the real estate sales agent job outlook...]
- Earnings - The median annual wages, including commissions, of salaried real estate sales agents were $40,100 in 2009, with average hourly wages around $20. [More on real estate sales agent wages...]
- Job Tasks - Real estate sales agents tend to be responsible for presenting purchase offers to sellers for consideration; acting as an intermediary in negotiations between buyers and sellers, generally representing one or the other; comparing a property with similar properties that have recently sold to determine its competitive market price; among others. [More on the tasks of real estate sales agents...]
- Work Activities - From a general perspective, real estate sales agents will participate in information gathering, performing or working directly with the public, selling or influencing others, and making decisions and solving problems. [More on real estate sales agent work activities...]
- Tools & Technology - Common tools used by real estate sales agents include digital cameras and measuring wheels. Common technology used by real estate sales agents include customer relationship management (CRM) software and financial analysis software. [More on the tools and tech used by real estate sales agents...]
- Education & Knowledge - Here’s where Hondros College makes its impact. From sales and marketing to customer and personal service, real estate sales agents tend to have a solid educational foundation. [More on real estate sales agent knowledge...]
- Skills & Abilities - The education of real estate sales agents (hopefully by Hondros College) leads to development of skills in active listening, time management and negotiation, among others. Underlying abilities of successful real estate sales agents include information ordering, deductive reasoning and far vision. [More on real estate sales agent skills and abilities...]
- Work Values - For individuals seeking professional independence, achievement and relationships, a career as a real estate sales agent is right up your alley. [More on real estate sales agent work values...]
- Related Occupations - Other occupations requiring the knowledge and skills of real estate sales agents include: appraisers and assessors of real estate; property, real estate, and community association managers. Other sales workers who need these character traits include: insurance sales agents; securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents. [More on occupations related to real estate sales agents...]
- Additional Information - We encourage you to visit the Hondros College website and browse our real estate education and career information. Additional insight can be found on the National Association of Realtors’ website.
Has this insight piqued your interest? Got questions? Connect with Hondros College via phone, email, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or by simply leaving a comment on this post. Trust me, we’re listening. What say you?
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Tags: career, careers in real estate, college, community, Hondros College, real estate sales, real estate sales agent, realtor
This article is very informative for anybody seeking a real estate agent position. Not only does it touch on every aspect of being an agent, but it provides accurate information in a clear and concise manner. I bookmarked this article for further use.
I appreciate the comment. The goal of all of our posts is to either provide the most useful, relevant career-related information or a glimpse into the goings-on at Hondros College. This one is packed full of information for potential students to understand what to expect and for current professionals to compare to what they have experienced.
I’m a bit torn. I think you presented a lot of useful info here for people considering a career as a real estate agent but one of the key abilities/skills I’ve found that are crucial is the ability to promote/market yourself. In my experience, it doesn’t matter how good of a realtor you are if you don’t adequately promote/market yourself (even if it’s just asking for referrals). The reason I’m torn is because I’m not sure if this article/post would be the right place to bring this up. Possibly the subject for another article.
One of the more important things for a Realtor to learn is how to manage their money. Say you need to make $50,000 to pay your bills and taxes and you do enough sales in a year to make $50,000. But can you make it if you do 1/4 of your sales in January, then no sales until June, then 1/4 of your sales in June and July, then no sales until November, then 1/2 of your sales in November and December. It’s not like a salaried job where you can do a budget knowing you’ll be getting in a certain amount each month. As a realtor you have to set money aside to prepare for those periods where you may go months without a sale.
Hey can I copy and paste this post on my web site? What references must I give? You might give this info for other people too.
This really helped me a lot! Just keep posting!
Thank you for the comment. We’ll keep posting if you keep commenting! Which portion of the this post helped you the most?
After reading the article, I was impressed with how many topics were touched on and gave a great picture of the RE agents occupation. One thing that I would suggest is that in this rapidly changing market, a new agent should also focus on the tech side. More than ever an agent must be able to transition from one innovation to another as the flow of clients redirects itself to different mediums.
Interesting article
I think the part about having a training in sales and marketing is very important.
I am a REALTOR based in Paradise Valley and Scottsdale, Arizona. One of the things that really jumps out to me is the lack of basic marketing skills of many real estate agents have.
Creating a strong brand is extremely important for REALTORS in my opinion.
I’m glad to see Ohio is on the mend. I am from Maine and I have to say, it still does not look good. I own two homes there and I am selling both at Short Sale. I hope this housing slump doesn’t last much longer. I have moved down to Florida because my husband got a job in Clearwater. I sell women’s motorcycle boots and riding gear online but if this economy doesn’t change soon I won’t be doing that either. However if it does change, a career change into real estate might not be a bad thing. I will definitely keep Hondros Collage in mind.
Real estate agents for the most part don’t come from a marketing background, creating that lack of basic skills, Marta. I thought this was very informative and conveyed everything clearly. Nicely written.
Great blog! Interesting article with some great comments.
Great article, the Real Estate market seems to be trending up, and with that more Realtors that left during the down time will start to be coming back to the Real Estate market.
I always thought commission sales people in real estate earned more commissions than the average worker, but 40,000 is a lot lower than I ever figured.
Good post.