Real Estate Brokers and Sales Agents. What Real Estate Brokers and Sales Agents Do. Real estate brokers and sales agents help clients buy, sell, and rent properties. Although brokers and agents do similar work, brokers are licensed to manage their own real estate businesses. Sales agents must work with a real estate broker. Most real estate brokers and sales agents are self-employed. Although they often work irregular hours, many are able to set their own schedules. How to Become a Real Estate Broker or Sales Agent. Every state requires real estate brokers and agents to be licensed. Requirements vary by state but generally require candidates to be at least 18 years old, complete a number of hours of real estate or college courses, and pass a licensing exam. The median annual wage for real estate brokers was $56,790 in May 2016. The median annual wage for real estate sales agents was $44,090 in May 2016.
Employment of real estate brokers and sales agents is projected to grow 6 percent from 2016 to 2026, about as fast as the average for all occupations. Employment generally follows the overall health of the economy and the real estate market. Explore resources for employment and wages by state and area for real estate brokers and sales agents. Compare the job duties, education, job growth, and pay of real estate brokers and sales agents with similar occupations. More Information, Including Links to O*NET. Learn more about real estate brokers and sales agents by visiting additional resources, including O*NET, a source on key characteristics of workers and occupations. What Real Estate Brokers and Sales Agents Do About this section. Real estate brokers and sales agents help clients buy, sell, and rent properties. Although brokers and agents do similar work, brokers are licensed to manage their own real estate businesses. Sales agents must work with a real estate broker. Real estate brokers and sales agents typically do the following: Solicit potential clients to buy, sell, and rent properties Advise clients on prices, mortgages, market conditions, and related information Compare properties to determine a competitive market price Generate lists of properties for sale, including details such as location and features Promote properties through advertisements, open houses, and listing services Take prospective buyers or renters to see properties Present purchase offers to sellers for consideration Mediate negotiations between buyer and seller Ensure that all terms of purchase contracts are met Prepare documents, such as loyalty contracts, purchase agreements, and deeds. Because of the complexity of buying or selling a residential or commercial property, people often seek help from real estate brokers and sales agents. Most real estate brokers and sales agents sell residential property. Others sell commercial property, and a small number sell industrial, agricultural, or other types of real estate.
Brokers and agents can represent either the buyer or the seller in a transaction. BuyersЂ™ brokers and agents meet with clients to understand what they are looking for in a property and how much they can afford. SellersЂ™ brokers and agents meet with clients to help them decide how much to ask for and to convince them that the agent or broker can find them a qualified buyer. Real estate brokers and sales agents must be knowledgeable about the real estate market in their area. To match properties to clientsЂ™ needs, they should be familiar with local communities, including knowing the crime information and the proximity to schools and shopping. Brokers and agents also must stay current on financing options government programs types of available mortgages and real estate, zoning, and fair housing laws. The following are examples of types of real estate brokers and sales agents: Real estate brokers are licensed to manage their own businesses. As independent businesspeople, brokers often sell real estate owned by others. In addition to helping clients buy and sell properties, they may help rent or manage properties for a fee. Many operate a real estate office, handling business details and overseeing the work of sales agents.
Real estate sales agents must work with a broker. Sales agents often work for brokers on a contract basis, earning a portion of the commission from each property they sell. Work Environment About this section. Real estate brokers held about 95,300 jobs in 2016. The largest employers of real estate brokers were as follows: Real estate sales agents held about 348,800 jobs in 2016. The largest employers of real estate sales agents were as follows: Workplace size for real estate brokers and sales agents can range from a one-person business to a large firm with numerous branch offices. Many brokers have franchise agreements with national or regional real estate companies. Under this arrangement, the broker pays a fee to be affiliated with a widely known real estate organization. Some real estate brokers and sales agents work in a typical office environment, while others work out of their homes. In both cases, real estate workers spend much of their time away from their desks, showing properties to customers, traveling to see properties for sale, and meeting with prospective clients. Many real estate brokers and sales agents work more than 40 hours per week. They often work evenings and weekends to accommodate clientsЂ™ schedules. Many brokers and sales agents spend a significant amount of time networking and attending community events to meet potential clients.
Although they frequently work irregular hours, many can set their own schedules. Some brokers and sales agents work part time and may combine their real estate activities with other careers. How to Become a Real Estate Broker or Sales Agent About this section. Real estate brokers and sales agents typically must complete a number of real estate courses and pass a licensing exam. Real estate brokers and sales agents must complete some real estate courses to be eligible for licensure. Although most brokers and agents must take state-accredited prelicensing courses to become licensed, some states may waive this requirement if the candidate has taken college courses in real estate. As the real estate market becomes more competitive and complex, some employers are preferring to hire candidates with a college degree. Some community colleges, colleges, and universities offer courses in real estate. Some offer associateЂ™s and bachelorЂ™s degree programs in real estate, and many others offer certificate programs. Courses in finance, business administration, economics, and law also can be useful. Brokers intending to open their own company often take business courses, such as marketing and accounting. In addition to offering prelicensing courses, many real estate associations have courses and professional development programs for both beginners and experienced agents. These courses cover a variety of topics, such as real estate fundamentals, real estate law, and mortgage financing.
Licenses, Certifications, and Registrations. All real estate brokers and sales agents must be licensed. Licensing requirements vary by state, but most have similar basic requirements: be 18 years old complete a number of real estate courses pass an exam. Some states have additional requirements, such as passing a background check. Licenses typically are not transferable among states. However, some states have reciprocity agreements in that they will accept some requirements used to get a license in another state (such as course hours). To obtain a brokerЂ™s license, individuals generally need 1 to 3 years of experience as a licensed sales agent. They also must take additional formal training courses. In some states, a bachelorЂ™s degree may be substituted in place of some experience or training requirements. State licenses typically must be renewed every 2 to 4 years.
In most states, brokers and agents must complete continuing education courses to renew their license. To verify exact licensing requirements, prospective brokers and agents should contact the real estate licensing commission of the state in which they wish to work. Work Experience in a Related Occupation. To get a brokerЂ™s license in most states, real estate brokers must have experience working as a licensed real estate sales agent. Requirements vary by state, but most require 1 to 3 years of experience. Real estate sales agents improve their skills through practice and repetition. Training varies depending on the real estate company. Some provide formal training, while others allow their agents to enter the field immediately after obtaining their license. In some states, agents must be sponsored by a broker while they are working to get their license. Because of the sales environment and the complexity of real estate deals, new agents may observe and work closely with more senior agents. Larger real estate companies may provide formal classroom training for new agents as a way to gain knowledge and experience, while others provide training to employees studying for their real estate licensing exam. Sales agents who earn their brokerЂ™s license may open their own offices.
Business skills. Because most brokers are self-employed, they must manage every aspect of their business. This task includes reaching out to prospective clients, handling their finances, and advertising their services. Interpersonal skills. Strong interpersonal skills are essential for real estate brokers and sales agents, because they spend much of their time interacting with clients and customers. To attract and keep clients, they must be pleasant, enthusiastic, and trustworthy. Organizational skills. Real estate brokers and sales agents must be able to work independently, managing their own time and organizing, planning, and prioritizing their work. Problem-solving skills. Real estate brokers and sales agents need to be able to quickly (sometimes immediately) address concerns clients or potential customers may have with a property.
They also mediate negotiations between seller and buyer. Pay About this section. Real Estate Brokers and Sales Agents. Median annual wages, May 2016. Real estate brokers. Note: All Occupations includes all occupations in the U. S. Economy. Source: U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment Statistics. The median annual wage for real estate brokers was $56,790 in May 2016. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $24,370, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $162,260. The median annual wage for real estate sales agents was $44,090 in May 2016.
The lowest 10 percent earned less than $22,230, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $112,570. In May 2016, the median annual wages for real estate brokers in the top industries in which they worked were as follows: In May 2016, the median annual wages for real estate sales agents in the top industries in which they worked were as follows: Brokers and sales agents earn most of their income from commissions on sales. The commission varies by the type of property and its value. Commissions often are divided among the buying agent, selling agent, brokers, and firms. An agentЂ™s income often depends on economic conditions, the agentЂ™s individual motivation, and the types of property available. Income usually increases as agents become better and more experienced at sales. Earnings can be irregular, especially for beginners, and agents sometimes go weeks or months without a sale. Some agents become active in community organizations and local real estate organizations to broaden their contacts and increase their sales. Many real estate brokers and sales agents work more than 40 hours per week. They often work evenings and weekends to accommodate clientsЂ™ schedules. Many brokers and sales agents spend a significant amount of time networking and attending community events to meet potential clients.
Although they frequently work irregular hours, many can set their own schedules. Some brokers and sales agents work part time and may combine their real estate activities with other careers. Job Outlook About this section. Real Estate Brokers and Sales Agents. Percent change in employment, projected 2016-26. Total, all occupations. Note: All Occupations includes all occupations in the U. S. Economy. Source: U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program. Employment of real estate brokers and sales agents is projected to grow 6 percent from 2016 to 2026, about as fast as the average for all occupations. There will be a continued demand for real estate brokers and sales agents, since people turn to them when looking for a larger home, relocating for a new job, and for other reasons. Employment is projected to grow along with the real estate market. The millennial generation will be entering the prime working-age and household-forming age cohort over the next decade. This generation has delayed home ownership because of financial and personal considerations. Therefore, their entry into the housing market should increase demand for real estate agents and brokers.
An improving job market and rising consumer spending also will drive demand for brokers and agents to handle commercial, retail, and industrial real estate transactions. However, tighter credit regulations and increasing real estate prices may cause some people to continue renting as opposed to entering the housing market. The real estate market is highly sensitive to fluctuations in the economy, and employment of real estate brokers and agents will vary accordingly. In periods of economic growth or stability, employment should grow to accommodate people looking to buy homes and businesses looking to expand office or retail space. Alternatively, during periods of declining economic activity or rising interest rates, the amount of work for brokers and agents will slow and employment may decline. It is relatively easy to enter the occupation, but getting listings as a broker or an agent depends on the real estate market and overall economic conditions. As the economy expands and more people look to buy homes, job competition may increase as more people obtain their real estate license. In contrast, although the real estate market declines in an economic downturn, there also tend to be fewer active and licensed real estate agents. New agents will face competition from well-established, more experienced brokers and agents. Because income is dependent on sales, beginners may have trouble sustaining themselves in the occupation during periods of slower activity. Brokers should fare better because they generally have a large client base from years of experience as sales agents. Those with strong sales ability and extensive social and business connections in their communities should have the best chances for success. SOURCE: U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program.
Real estate brokers and sales agents. State & Area Data About this section. Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) The Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program produces employment and wage estimates annually for over 800 occupations. These estimates are available for the nation as a whole, for individual states, and for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. The link(s) below go to OES data maps for employment and wages by state and area. Occupational employment projections are developed for all states by Labor Market Information (LMI) or individual state Employment Projections offices. All state projections data are available at projectionscentral. com. Information on this site allows projected employment growth for an occupation to be compared among states or to be compared within one state. In addition, states may produce projections for areas there are links to each state&rsquos websites where these data may be retrieved. CareerOneStop includes hundreds of occupational profiles with data available by state and metro area. There are links in the left-hand side menu to compare occupational employment by state and occupational wages by local area or metro area. There is also a salary info tool to search for wages by zip code.
Similar Occupations About this section. This table shows a list of occupations with job duties that are similar to those of real estate brokers and sales agents. Advertising Sales Agents. Advertising sales agents sell advertising space to businesses and individuals. They contact potential clients, make sales presentations, and maintain client accounts. Appraisers and Assessors of Real Estate. Appraisers and assessors of real estate provide a value estimate on land and buildings usually before they are sold, mortgaged, taxed, insured, or developed. Insurance Sales Agents. Insurance sales agents contact potential customers and sell one or more types of insurance. Insurance sales agents explain various insurance policies and help clients choose plans that suit them. Loan officers evaluate, authorize, or recommend approval of loan applications for people and businesses. Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Managers. Property, real estate, and community association managers take care of the many aspects of residential, commercial, or industrial properties. They make sure the property is well maintained, has a nice appearance, and preserves its resale or leasing value.
Sales engineers sell complex scientific and technological products or services to businesses. They must have extensive knowledge of the productsЂ™ parts and functions and must understand the scientific processes that make these products work. Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents. Securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents connect buyers and sellers in financial markets. They sell securities to individuals, advise companies in search of investors, and conduct trades. Wholesale and Manufacturing Sales Representatives. Wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives sell goods for wholesalers or manufacturers to businesses, government agencies, and other organizations. They contact customers, explain the features of the products they are selling, negotiate prices, and answer any questions that their customers may have about the products. Retail Sales Workers. Retail sales workers help customers find products they want and process customersЂ™ payments. There are two types of retail sales workers: retail salespersons, who sell retail merchandise, such as clothing, furniture, and automobiles and parts salespersons, who sell spare and replacement parts and equipment, especially car parts.
Personal Financial Advisors. Personal financial advisors provide advice on investments, insurance, mortgages, college savings, estate planning, taxes, and retirement to help individuals manage their finances. Contacts for More Information About this section. Information on licensing requirements for real estate brokers and sales agents is available from most local real estate organizations and from the state real estate commission or board. For more information about opportunities in real estate, visit. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U. S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook , Real Estate Brokers and Sales Agents, Last Modified Date: Tuesday, October 24, 2017. The What They Do tab describes the typical duties and responsibilities of workers in the occupation, including what tools and equipment they use and how closely they are supervised. This tab also covers different types of occupational specialties. The Work Environment tab includes the number of jobs held in the occupation and describes the workplace, the level of physical activity expected, and typical hours worked. It may also discuss the major industries that employed the occupation. This tab may also describe opportunities for part-time work, the amount and type of travel required, any safety equipment that is used, and the risk of injury that workers may face.
The How to Become One tab describes how to prepare for a job in the occupation. This tab can include information on education, training, work experience, licensing and certification, and important qualities that are required or helpful for entering or working in the occupation. The Pay tab describes typical earnings and how workers in the occupation are compensatedЂ”annual salaries, hourly wages, commissions, tips, or bonuses. Within every occupation, earnings vary by experience, responsibility, performance, tenure, and geographic area. For most profiles, this tab has a table with wages in the major industries employing the occupation. It does not include pay for self-employed workers, agriculture workers, or workers in private households because these data are not collected by the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey, the source of BLS wage data in the OOH. The State and Area Data tab provides links to state and area occupational data from the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program, state projections data from Projections Central, and occupational information from the Department of Labor's CareerOneStop. The Job Outlook tab describes the factors that affect employment growth or decline in the occupation, and in some instances, describes the relationship between the number of job seekers and the number of job openings. The Similar Occupations tab describes occupations that share similar duties, skills, interests, education, or training with the occupation covered in the profile. Contacts for More Information. The More Information tab provides the Internet addresses of associations, government agencies, unions, and other organizations that can provide additional information on the occupation. This tab also includes links to relevant occupational information from the Occupational Information Network (O*NET). The wage at which half of the workers in the occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. Median wage data are from the BLS Occupational Employment Statistics survey.
In May 2016, the median annual wage for all workers was $37,040. Additional training needed (postemployment) to attain competency in the skills needed in this occupation. Entry-level Education. Typical level of education that most workers need to enter this occupation. Work experience in a related occupation. Work experience that is commonly considered necessary by employers, or is a commonly accepted substitute for more formal types of training or education. The employment, or size, of this occupation in 2016, which is the base year of the 2016-26 employment projections. The projected percent change in employment from 2016 to 2026. The average growth rate for all occupations is 7 percent. Employment Change, 2016-26. The projected numeric change in employment from 2016 to 2026. Entry-level Education. Typical level of education that most workers need to enter this occupation.
Additional training needed (postemployment) to attain competency in the skills needed in this occupation. Employment Change, projected 2016-26. The projected numeric change in employment from 2016 to 2026. Growth Rate (Projected) The percent change of employment for each occupation from 2016 to 2026. Projected Number of New Jobs. The projected numeric change in employment from 2016 to 2026. Projected Growth Rate. The projected percent change in employment from 2016 to 2026. The wage at which half of the workers in the occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. Median wage data are from the BLS Occupational Employment Statistics survey. In May 2016, the median annual wage for all workers was $37,040.
Find a REALTOR ® Search for your agent from more than 1 million REALTORS ® nationwide. We did not find agents for. Check the spelling. It's easy to swap two letters around or forget the state. When possible, we'll give you a list of locations that you might have meant. Check the formatting. There are several ways to search for agents or companies. Here are some examples: Use location names recognized by the postal service. We cannot find agents or companies using informal location names like "Maui" or "bay area". Limit searches to inside the United States. At this time, the vast majority of our agents or companies are within the United States.
City, State ZIP Code Neighborhood. las vegas, nv 90210 wall street, new york, ny. Agents Teams Companies. If you want to buy a home, you need the assistance of real estate agents and brokers. They're the professionals who can help you find a home, sell your home, make an offer on a home, deal with buyers, and more. They'll help you every step of the way. 2017’s Best Places to Be a Real-Estate Agent. Feb 9, 2017 | Richie Bernardo , Senior Writer. “Location, location, location” might be the most hackneyed expression in the real-estate profession, but the principle applies just as much to realtors as it does to their clients. After all, success in the industry hinges on both an agent’s work ethic and area of operation. Indeed, a career in real estate offers abundant perks.
You can be your own boss, determine your own schedule, earn a potentially high income, and be ready to help your clients buy, rent or sell properties in just a few weeks or months, depending on your state’s licensing requirements. With time and experience, you could even build your own real-estate brokerage and hire your own agents. But the job isn’t always a bowl of cherries, especially at the onset, as most established agents are inclined to admit. It requires real commitment, work outside normal business hours, a likeable personality and financial stability — in case of a tough season. To determine the best markets for this particular profession, WalletHub’s analysts compared 150 of the largest U. S. cities across 14 key indicators of a healthy real-estate environment. Our data set ranges from “sales per agent” to “annual median wage for real-estate agents” to “housing-market health index.” Read on for our findings, advice and insight from experts, and a full description of our methodology. Best Places to Be a Real-Estate Agent. ‘Job Opportunity & Competition’ Rank. ‘Real-Estate Market Health’ Rank.
The real-estate market is often unpredictable. For advice and insight on the current and future conditions shaping the industry, we turned to a panel of experts for their thoughts on the following key questions: Should real-estate agents feel threatened by new apps and other online tools offering services to potential homebuyers? How can real-estate agents protect themselves from the “boom-bust” cycle of the housing market? What tips do you have for a young real-estate agent? What does he or she need to do in order to get ahead in the current marketplace? In evaluating the best cities for real estate agents, what are the top five indicators? How likely is it that the Federal Reserve would increase interest rates again in the coming months? How would that impact real-estate agents? Tammie X. Simmons Mosley. Jason Howell. David Turnquist. Methodology.
In order to determine the best cities for real-estate agents, WalletHub’s analysts compared 150 of the most populated U. S. cities across two key dimensions, including “Job Opportunity & Competition” and “Real-Estate Market Health.” Our sample considers only city proper in each case and excludes cities in the surrounding metro area. We evaluated the two dimensions using 14 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with 100 representing the most favorable conditions for real-estate agents. Data for the metrics marked with an asterisk (*) were available at the state level only. We then calculated the overall score for each city based on its weighted average across all metrics and used the resulting scores to rank the cities accordingly. Job Opportunity & Competition – Total Points: 60. Sales per Agent: Full Weight ( 7.50 Points) Median Home Price: Full Weight ( Note: Real-estate agents are typically paid a commission based on the value of the home sold. Annual Median Wage for Real-Estate Agents: Full Weight ( 7.50 Points) Real-Estate Employment Attractiveness: Full Weight ( Note: This metric measures both real-estate job density (number of real-estate agents per working-age population) and competition (number of real-estate job openings per résumé). Real-Estate Employment Growth (2013–2015): Full Weight ( 7.50 Points) Annual Median Wage Growth for Real-Estate Jobs (2013–2015): Full Weight ( 7.50 Points) Unemployment Rate: Full Weight ( 7.50 Points) Projected Number of Real-Estate Jobs Needed by 2020 per Capita*: Full Weight ( Real-Estate Market Health – Total Points: 40. Home Turnover Rate: Full Weight ( 6.67 Points) Housing-Market Health Index: Full Weight ( 6.67 Points) Days on Market: Full Weight ( 6.67 Points) Average Ratio of Home Sale Price to Home List Price: Full Weight ( 6.67 Points) Building-Permit Activity: Full Weight ( Note: This metric measures the number of unit permits pulled per capita. Percentage of Home Flips: Full Weight ( Note: RealtyTrac defines a home flip as “a property that is sold in an arms-length sale for the second time within a 12-month period based on publicly recorded sales deed data.” Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U. S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Zillow, Indeed, Projections Central - State Occupational Projections and ATTOM Data Solutions (RealtyTrac). Was this article helpful?
Disclaimer: Editorial and user-generated content is not provided or commissioned by financial institutions. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and have not been approved or otherwise endorsed by any financial institution, including those that are WalletHub advertising partners. Our content is intended for informational purposes only, and we encourage everyone to respect our content guidelines. Please keep in mind that it is not a financial institution’s responsibility to ensure all posts and questions are answered. Ad Disclosure : Certain offers that appear on this site originate from paying advertisers, and this will be noted on an offer’s details page using the designation "Sponsored", where applicable. Advertising may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). At WalletHub we try to present a wide array of offers, but our offers do not represent all financial services companies or products. How to choose your first real estate brokerage. Future-Proof: Navigate Threats, Seize Opportunities at ICNY 2018 | Jan 22-26 at the Marriott Marquis, Times Square, New York. So you’ve just passed your real estate salesperson’s test. Congratulations! Real estate sales can be the most rewarding journey that you’ll ever embark on — or it can also be the biggest cause of stress you can imagine.
You’ve got a few upcoming decisions that might define your entire career, so pay attention closely. As a new agent, you’ll have to decide which brokerage is best for you. Most states require new agents to work under an established broker for a minimum time frame (two years in California) before they’re able to get their broker’s license and work alone. These first two years is also where you’ll learn your craft and, according to the National Association of Realtors, either sink or swim. Over 80 percent of new real estate agents exit the business in their first two years, and it’s easy to see why. Real estate is a very “relationship-oriented” business. A good portion of a successful agent’s business comes from past clients and referrals, of which a new agent wouldn’t have. During the first couple of years, new agents have to earn their business through “sweat equity,” which means a lot of cold-calling expireds, door-knocking and open houses. Because these activities are more of a numbers game, they tend to take longer to pay off, and new agents can go months without a commission check. That’s why it’s so important to select the right brokerage from the start. When you’re ready to start working, make sure that you interview with at least two or three different brokerages. Unlike a traditional job environment, where the employer is interviewing you to see if you’re a good fit for them, you should be interviewing the brokerage to see if it’s a good fit for you. This process is where you’ll start discussing commission splits, lead generation options and training support.
If you’re starting the brokerage search from scratch, you’ll want to decide whether you’d like to work for one of the national chains (ReMax, Keller Williams, etc.) or join up with a boutique brokerage in your local market. The paths are different, and both offer pros and cons. Deciding to hang your license at a national brokerage from the start is a great way to expose yourself to other experienced, successful agents. Most nationals also offer fantastic training classes for new agents. Working with a national brand will also give you some great name recognition that you need because you will not have any experience to lean on. Many national brands also will get new buyerlisting leads simply because of their name, which might be passed on to their agents, as well. The con to working at a national brokerage from the beginning is that often a new agent will get the initial classroom training, but very little in the way of lead generation and support after that. It’s in the national brokerage’s best interest to bring in as many agents as possible and see who sticks. You might have the option to do floor time (working the front desk hoping for walk-in clients) at your office, but that floor time is generally split among the other multitudes of agents, as well. If you’re a total self-starter and don’t mind the lone wolf approach, a national brokerage might be a great fit for you.
If working for one of the nationals doesn’t seem like a good fit, you might consider joining with a local boutique brokerage. Boutique brokerages are usually much smaller offices that specialize in a specific, local market. Due to smaller offices, boutique offices are often a little bit more picky about who they bring on to their team. Generally, you’re going to be working directly with the broker and all of the experienced agents. The level of hands-on, on-the-job training is what will stand out. Because there are fewer agents around, you’ll have a shot at more of the office leads generated, as well. Many boutique brokerages are going to have a tougher time organizing “classroom”-type training classes, which could be a turnoff to some new agents. Also, because the brokerage’s name doesn’t have the branding power of a ReMax, KW, etc., you might find yourself at a disadvantage to another agent who is working with a big name. I’m sure that the broker at a smaller brokerage has handled that objection multiple times and will have a good method to teach you.
Many new agents will also opt to join a “team,” in which they will work under a successful agent at either a national chain or a boutique brokerage. They will get a little bit less of a commission split initially in return for some of that successful agent’s buyer, or smaller, leads. Many new agents are focused too much on their “split” when they start out but forget to realize that 100 percent of zero dollars is still zero dollars. Working on a team is a solid way for new agents to pick up leads that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to access. Generally, all of the deals that the new agent does will go under the name of the team leader, which helps the team leader with their marketing. It’s a great way for new agents to start making money sooner, but they’ll be giving up their name recognition during this time, which is important to establishing themselves later on. No matter which route that you choose, be ready to work hard. Many new agents will work a second job during their first year or two to help make ends meet. Like any other professional job, if you’re willing to put in the sweat equity in the early stages, you’ll be rewarded with a long and successful career down the line. Jason Cassity is a real estate professional at City Consulting Group in San Diego and specializes in the downtown San Diego real estate market. The Best Real Estate Technology of 2017: Business Apps, Tools, and Software for Agents and Brokers. By Matthew Bushery. A new year means it’s time to examine new real estate technology that could benefit your brand in 2017 and beyond.
From helpful time and finance management software to customer satisfaction and review platforms, there are plenty of mobile and desktop options at your disposal that can simplify and enhance not just your day-to-day, but also your long-term business goals. Discover many of the cream-of-the-crop real estate tech tools and apps you ought to use for your online marketing and sales efforts in the year ahead — some of which are dedicated entirely for agents and brokers, others that are helpful for professionals at large, and all of which can provide some much-needed organization and assistance for your various real estate business needs and objectives. (NOTE: You already know the most popular tech tools. These options, in comparison, are ones many Realtors may not be aware of, but can be just as resourceful — or even more so — than some of the most well-known choices out there. Having said that, don’t expect to see Dropbox, Evernote, or the like listed below. We hope you find these apps, tools, and software helpful for your real estate marketing plans!) Instant messaging apps are definitely “in,” as of us writing this — and not just for teens and Millennials. Numerous industries have shown they need a communication system for their employees to conduct meetings, share ideas, and have a myriad of other essential business discussions. Whereas most chat-based software offers only the ability to talk one-on-one with others in a text-based format, Slack has broken all of the rules, so to speak, by offering a multimedia-focused, multi-room communication platform. Within the feature-rich tool, you can chat with single individuals, specific groups of people (you can add and remove members to the conversations, as you see fit), and channels (e. g. departments within your company, like agents only) via text, phone calls, and video streams. What’s more is there are countless apps that can be integrated into your Slack account, all of which can improve your communications and team productivity in one facet or another.
So, if you need to constantly be in touch with fellow colleagues to monitor ongoing conversations — everything from sharing leads with agents at your firm to setting up meetings with your assistant — this is the ideal instant messaging software for you. Ask dozens of other real estate agents and brokers how they organize their schedules, and general business priorities, and you’re likely to get a different answer from each and every one of them. That’s because no two professionals work alike. Everyone has their own particular organizational systems that keep them focused on the tasks at hand. Having said that, there are certain software programs out there many of these pros use that provide a visual framework that helps them ensure they are able to distinguish various marketing and sales activities, prioritize which ones to handle first, and essentially categorize all of the daily and weekly duties associated with their real estate business. One such program — and a very handy one, at that — is OmniFocus. This software affords you the chance to see every element of your job at a glance: projects you’re working on (like revising your listing presentation), high-priority emails (like those from prospective clients), and long-term marketing and sales agenda items you need to handle over time (like building your real estate blogging method). With apps available for iOS on top of the desktop version, OmniFocus is the premier solution for the modern agent. Not every industry pro is willing to shell out $50 for content marketing tools like Adobe’s Creative Cloud solution (Photoshop, InDesign, etc.). The good news is there are plenty of free and more affordable options available to agents and brokers that provide just as helpful design resources as that software suite — one of which also happens to belong to the Adobe family: Spark. With Adobe Spark, you can create unique graphics, animated videos, and pages, each of which can become brand new — and high-performing — real estate marketing collateral for your business: an explainer video for your agency, a lengthy infographic about your local market, buying and selling stats you can plaster on images and post to Facebook.
The design possibilities are literally endless with Spark — which, did we mention, is free! That’s right: Simply create an Adobe account, and you have access to this top-of-the-line program at no cost. Think of the innovative platform as a means to develop creative collateral that can tell your brand story and even generate and nurture new leads (just be sure to promote the heck out of any assets you create to maximize their effectiveness!). Video editing tools like iMovie, Adobe Premiere, and Final Cut Pro can cost you a pretty penny, if they don’t already come with your computer or your broker hasn’t already purchased them for your agent team. But this is 2017: Look through the App Store and Google Play Store, and you’ll find hundreds of apps for your real estate video marketing method. The problem with many of these resources, though, is they require a hefty amount of your time so you can organize, edit, and optimize your recordings. There is one app, however, that does all of the nitty-gritty work for you. All you have to do is upload the photos and videos you want featured in video montage, select some background music and a scene transition style, and boom — just like that, you have a marketing video you can share on your site. The app in question? Quik, by GoPro. In addition to creating one of the most unique cameras in the marketplace today, GoPro has also crafted a few bonus video production tools for consumers and brands alike. Quik is one such solution. Simply play around with the types of videos you can create and customizations the app provides, and, in a matter of minutes, you can have an amazing-looking real estate video that shows off your latest buyer client’s new home, a celebration of a closed deal with a seller client, or even a tour of your latest listing or the local neighborhood.
Whether you’re a solo agent looking to discover where you are and aren’t spending your time wisely or the head of an agent team aiming to ensure your sales squad is aptly making the most of their meetings with leads and clients, chances are the Hours time-tracking app is something that can improve your efficiency as a real estate pro. There are a handful of distinct features Hours offers users. For starters, you can track every activity you perform on a daily basis to see how long it tends to take you to complete certain tasks. After monitoring this time usage over … well … time, you can run reports that explain to you in detail where you tend to allocate most of your minutes and hours and, in turn, how you can modify your schedule to become a more orderly and adept agent. Moreover, you can use this time-tracking method with your fellow team members, each of whom can figure out where they can afford to cut back on certain duties, like catch-ups with the managing broker or open houses. Once each agent has an idea as to how they should be spending their time at work, they can use the timeline feature to plan out their revised schedules. In other words, you can save a day or two’s worth of time over the course of a year using Hours. In the market for comprehensive and intuitive real estate CRM software that makes lead management a cinch? Look no further than our very own real estate marketing solution for agents and teams … and our dedicated iPhone app that makes organizing, prioritizing, and contacting prospects and clients on the go easy. With Placester Mobile, you can collect all of your leads’ information in one place. Create lead profiles that feature your prospects’ primary contact information and housing preferences in a matter of minutes, then use that information to dictate the notes, tasks, and reminders you can set using the app as well.
What’s more is Placester Mobile allows you to email your contacts right from the app, so you don’t have to worry about going back and forth between the app and your iPhone email client just to send a message to your top leads or current clients. The features and functionality of Placester Mobile continue to grow each month, so download the app today to access these essential lead management features — or sign up for a Placester real estate marketing subscription, so you can sync the lead and client details in your app with your desktop account. Once you create custom content for your real estate website, one of your next moves — in this case, before your start promoting the pages in question — you should set up UTM parameters that will allow you to track all of the content you craft in Google Analytics. The downside of these parameters is they make your site links super-long and, in turn, look a little suspect in the eyes of anyone who clicks them. The solution to prevent any click-through issues from occurring with these links is to use a link shortener, like Bitly, that can transform your 250-character URL into a brief, 40-character version. These link shorteners essentially act as a 301 redirect for your site links, meaning they still direct clickers right to the appropriate page. While this is the main functionality of Bitly, the link-shortening platform now offers a wealth of analytical data associated with all of the links you create. So, if you produce an area page for a local neighborhood in your market and create different UTM links (for example, one for Twitter and one for Facebook, so you can see which source generates the most traction) and Bitly them (yup, it’s a verb as well as a noun), you can see which link “wins” — that is, which source earned you the most traffic. There are plenty of other data-based use cases for Bitly as well, so it’s highly recommended you give the service a try so you can more easily ascertain what types of content (e. g. buyer and seller resources), sources (social media channels, email), and mediums (blog posts vs. pages) garner the most traffic to your IDX site. Clients who want to know about the best nightlife options around town, coffee shops that are open 247, music festivals that tend to tour the area annually: These are just some of the requests your buyer clients may ask of you anytime. To ensure you’re able to be the one to provide the answers and info they need before anyone else, use Gboard: a fantastic smartphone keyboard from Google. Instead of having to open up a browser on your phone, enter in your search terms, and try to find the most applicable link to share with your clients, Gboard makes it easy to search within your texting app on your iPhone or Android, meaning you can find the details you need to share with clients and send them their way, all in the matter of a minute.
While you may not save tons of time with Gboard, the convenient app can definitely help position yourself as a local thought leader and authority who can fill in clients and leads about the best stores, venues, entertainment options, and other locales around the community — something that can distinguish you from other agents in your market. Canva and Piktochart have long dominated the DIY design space. Other options, with just-as-simple functionality and a plethora of pre-made templates, though, are certainly optimal options for agents looking to take on their own visual branding efforts and create some original content pieces to share in their digital outlets — and that includes DesignBold. Whether you want to fashion some fancy images to use on Instagram and Pinterest, construct a direct mailer that can double as an infographic, or craft the imagery for a long-form asset, like an ebook or guide, DesignBold offers the resources you need to get the job done right (a. k.a. build some bold and beautiful marketing materials). You can even create your own event invitations, postcards, and print ads using the design service — content that will resonate with clients of months and years past and help you earn new business in the future — so spend some time getting to know this polished platform and start crafting some amazing graphics you can leverage online and offline in not time. “The detailed insight required to ensure consistent, long-term success.” That’s what RealSatisfied states it offers real estate professionals on its homepage, and that’s exactly what it delivers: the optimal medium for collecting customer satisfaction data from buyer and seller clients that can be leveraged as social proof for their real estate marketing plans. Sending surveys to clients using the real estate software is beyond simple, and the reporting capabilities featuring the survey findings are comprehensive and can give you the requisite information you need to both understand what you did well for clients and to inform (and impress) your audience online by publishing said feedback data. Sharing your real estate success stories with your audience through your IDX site and other digital channels is what will help you ultimately generate high-quality real estate leads for the foreseeable future and build your brand to the heights you want to reach. Creating and promoting a wealth of valuable content is needed too, but the feedback you secure via RealSatisfied is what can put your real estate business over the top, so to speak, with visitors considering hiring an agent soon. Facebook Ads Manager. Once you’ve mastered your organic real estate marketing on Facebook, you can afford to spend some time, energy, and money with advertising. There are few better ad options for Realtors today than Facebook, thanks in large part to its hyper-targeted audience options, which can get your ads in front of only the right individuals: those who are likely to convert into leads. But you’re out of the office much of the day, so how you can efficiently oversee your ads’ performance and, when needed, edit them before they go live?
With Facebook Ads Manager for iPhone and Android, creating, adjusting, and analyzing your ads on the social network is a cinch (just make sure you only link to your highest-converting real estate website pages to maximize ad success — your lead gen). Without a doubt, Google Keyword Planner is the premier SEO keyword research tool today. Having said that, there are dozens of lesser-known options that can also give you a glimpse into what kinds of locally focused terms and phrases you should be incorporating in your content, based on their relevance and popularity (that is, their monthly search volume), and KWFinder is one such tool. This keyword research solution can instantly give you hundreds of similar terms to main keywords along with their monthly search volumes so you can build or enhance your real estate SEO method in no time at all. The paid option definitely provides a much clearer view of what keywords will likely work best with your online content, but the free insights the site provides can still deliver the keyword details you need to build a strong SEO plan. Knowing who’s opening your emails and when they do so may seem impossible, but in actuality, there are several tools that can give you email marketing insights just like these, including Bananatag. The funky - (and fruity-) named email software tells you when your recipients open and engage with your messages and provides other key resources to help you boost your campaigns, such as email scheduling, so you don’t have to send each one manually. What’s more is you can even determine which members of your email list open attachments in your messages, meaning you can easily discern which leads and clients check out your home buying best practices guides, home seller resources, homeowner checklists, and other nurturing content you share with your audience regularly. Don’t get us wrong: Having a real estate YouTube channel is essential, nowadays — but that doesn’t mean every video you create needs to be published to the most popular video marketing outlet. Video hosting services, like Wistia, also afford you the chance to post recordings you can later embed to your site and share on social media and via email. Where Wistia and YouTube differentiate, though, is in the analytics. Yes, YouTube offers its own brand of proprietary analytics that can give you key insights into how your videos perform. With Wistia, however, you get even more granular data you can use to enhance your video method: average engagement (e. g. how much of a video viewers watch), play rate (e. g. how many people watched a video who loaded it on a page), and heatmaps (where in the world your videos were viewed). This tool is optimal for large teams and brokerages at large, given Wistia’s relatively pricy plans, but that’s not to say it’s not potentially the right video marketing solution for your real estate brand.
For instance, you and fellow agents at your firm who also produce videos routinely for their personal brands could use a single account to organize your videos and measure your clips’ performance. What other relatively new apps, tools, and software do you use for your real estate marketing? Share your suggestions with us below! Published on February 14, 2017. I'm the Sr. Content Creator for Placester, where I educate real estate professionals about modern marketing and, in turn, help agents and brokers make the most of their online presence, earn more traffic, and generate more leads and business. 100 High Street, 7th Floor. © 2017 Placester, Inc. Reproduction without explicit permission is prohibited.
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