Is a Career in Real Estate Right For You?
A career in real estate is an attractive prospect from the outside. What could be easier than playing matchmaker for house-hunters? With a national average of a 2.22% commission on every real estate sale (depending on the state), the paydays are tempting, too.
Despite this, a career in real estate has its own set of challenges. Before you enter into the field, consider if it is the right one for you. What are the traits that a real estate agent needs?
A Will to Study
In countries such as the United States and Australia, real estate agents need to pass state licensure exams before they can practice. In Australia, aspiring agents need to acquire at least 2 licenses. One is the Certificate of Registration, or Agent’s Rep Certificate from the state. There are some educational courses you need before you can get those.
Second is the Real Estate License, also known as the CPP40307 Certificate IV in Property Services. You can either take a qualification course or a government trainee program. It does not stop there–if you are considering a career in the Australian Capital Territory or New South Wales, you will need an annual Continuing Professional Development course.
A Love of Constant Activity
Compared to being a real estate agent, matchmaking is a sedentary lifestyle. Because real estate deals with physical property, agents should be prepared to travel around all parts of the city to match their clients with the houses they are looking for.
An agent should also enjoy a certain level of flexibility and unpredictability in her activities. A client may call out of the blue, with free time and an itch to visit some houses, and without a very good reason it is unprofessional to say no. However, if the lifestyle agrees with the agent, she is bound to enjoy herself.
Passion for Communication
The best real estate agents are not only well-informed, they are passionate. This means that before they bring a client to a house, they will have already inspected it from front step to back porch, and every inch of the floorboards and ceilings. Agents learn for themselves who would best suit the house, and what makes the property the right place to live. It means walking around the neighborhood to see the nearest stores and study the neighbors.
Real estate agents tend to be people-persons. Without personal enjoyment of speaking to brokers, property neighbors, and clients, their passion would fall short at application. Agents not only are good at communication, they enjoy it.
Ease Using Technology
Some real estate agents underestimate how online the entire industry has become. Clients can now sit down at their computers and click through different real estate sites like iBuyNew to find houses for sale in preferred locations, with specific amenities, and even within specific price ranges. Agents should be on board with this trend to stay in the competitive game.
The new technology available to real estate agents also makes staying in contact with clients a breeze. With real estate crm almost all of the followup is automated. You can stay in touch with previous customers, as well as keep track of leads and prospects. That helps grow your business and your income.
Even if it does not mean maintaining a website, the least it requires is a constant social media presence. With the clients online, agents should know how to interact naturally through chat functions of social media platforms, and to do simple things such as upload pictures and post them or send them directly to current or prospective clients.
Is a Career in Real Estate Right for You?
Certainly there are challenges to having a career in real estate. The question is if they are your kinds of challenges. If the aforementioned suits you, then we may have just helped you in matchmaking your life with your new career.
