Software
Houzz Logo Print
katclaws_mo

Real Estate as a Career in these Times - Opinions?

17 years ago

I notice a few post from people who are thinking of become agents or just got their RE License.

For experienced agents, how is your business doing right now? Sucess or Struggling?

This is my story...

I honestly wish RE newbies & wanna-bes good luck & I don't want to discourage anybody from following their dream.

I got my license in October 2006 & signed on with Coldwell Banker Gundaker. I took advantage of as many free & paid classes/seminars as I could, did open houses (trying to get a bone thrown my way) and went to all the weekly office meetings & tours. 10 to 13 homes on a 110 degree day was NOT an unusual occurrance.

It really helps to have a good SOI (sphere of influence) list, which I didn't have, having been a full-time caregiver for 6 years for my elderly parents. I am originally from Chicago, so most friends, family & close neighbors are from there. Also, my son is now grown, so no more school, PTA, or sports, or even church events to draw in potential clients or contacts.

Since the market has taken a down turn, most of the newer agents started slowly dissappearing. The agents that are doing alright/OK have been in the business for a long time and many are getting repeat clients. Many new agents (and some experienced agents) are taking on 2nd part-time jobs. Also, 2 offices here have closed and we lost a full time secretary, & office manager within two months. They also moved US Title into our building, I assume renting space from us. They were located right next door prior to the move. Even the elaborate annual Christmas party was cancelled this year.

Right now my Broker is have "Prospecting Nights" to call people on their SOI lists, but honestly how many times can you call someone to see if anything has changed or if they know someone looking to buy or sell.

We have a new Mortgage Specialist who is trying her darndest to come up with bowling nights, happy hours, and other events, to keep up morale.

I am retaining my license so that I will be able to sell my own home, hopefully within this year and at least recoup some of my expenses for Realtor Association Dues/ Supra-Key & Insurance, and E&O insurance etc, etc. That doesn't include marketing things like calendars, car magnets, extra business cards, promotional give-aways, fliers plus postage. I've put more money onto my business credit card, than making any money. Some things can be a tax write-off, but no where near break-even.

Right now, I am looking for a job with a "guaranteed" paycheck. I'll miss RE, but it just doesn't make sense while the market is so slowed at this time. Eventually I hope to return to it because I did enjoy it. I guess timing IS everything! I swear I got my license and the market bottomed out the next day! :)

Not telling you all this to discourage anyone, but this is just my story. Also, really take a good look at your local market's "DNA". I'ts supposed to be better here in the Midwest, so I can't even imagine what it's like on the East & West coasts.

Best of luck to the newbies in your career & I hope you can keep up your enthusiam & perseverence.

And current agents, is it business as usual or has the blood letting hit you too???

TIA

Comments (7)

  • 17 years ago
    last modified: 10 years ago

    katclaws: Why don't you stay in real estate and go to the rental side instead of the sales side? You could work directly for a property management firm that specializes in rentals (homes, condos, duplexes). Standard real estate agencies often have one person handing rentals in their office also (with sales being their key business), but in this case you probably need experience. Working in a larger "rental only" agency would allow you to work closely with the more experiences rental specialists. Also their is a commercial arm to property management too, where they rent out strip malls and office space and even industrial space to businesses.

  • 17 years ago
    last modified: 10 years ago

    Also, don't overlook the lenders. They often hire agents to assist with REO marketing. A lender doesn't need to have a licensed agent selling REO because it's an owner sale but many large lenders use agents for their experience. It's worth picking up the phone & calling a few...work up a little 'speech' telling HR why they should hire you for their REO department.

    Good luck with future endeavors. True enough, it's tough times in the industry now.

    /tricia

  • 17 years ago
    last modified: 10 years ago

    I was one of the recent posters that was looking for info. regarding Real Estate as a career. Everything you mentioned is a definite concern of mine. That aside, I've decided to take the class and go for my license. I have full intention of signing on with a local agency.

    My thoughts are that this may be the perfect time for me to get my foot in the door.

    My DH is the bread-winner and I am currently a stay at home Mom. My youngest is going to school full-time in the fall so I am looking for something that has some flexibility, as I still want to be available for my children.

    I am on the East Coast and the market is not great, but I'm sure that things will turn around eventually.

    My sister is a Rental agent in Boston and for her things are slower than prior years but still steady. I am not in an area where rentals are common so my focus will be sales.

    I hope everything works out for you.

  • 17 years ago
    last modified: 10 years ago

    I work in a real estate related industry (virtual tour provider), and I deal with realtors on a daily basis. I personally know dozens of realtors that have left the industry in the past six months, and anecdotally, the word on the street from speaking to other realtors is that times are getting tough, especially for "newbies" who just don't have the built up clientale or experience. When your entire salary is based on the sale/purchase of a house, and sales of houses are dropping like a stone lately, is it any wonder that realtors are leaving the industry in droves?

  • 17 years ago
    last modified: 10 years ago

    The major exodus of REAs happens everytime we have a Recession.
    I used to be in RE part-time during the last Recession 1980's-1990's. I kept my real job(I was single). TG I did, because the RE really did not pan out. I left the industry, like many newbies. That was a blow to my ego because I always succeded in everything I attempted. I couldn't control the RE market. I genuinely loved it. I love helping people & love RE. I didn't go into it for the money, but geez Louise, you gotta pay your bills...

    If you are in the position where you are not the breadwinner, I think NOW is great time to get your feet in the door & learn slowly. When it gets busy again, you'll be all set.

    Hang in there. The Re market ALWAYS comes back.

  • 17 years ago
    last modified: 10 years ago

    Without the write offs, many agents who just dabble in Real Estate and are not "Real Estate Professional", will have to rethink if it's worthwhile to continue doing it.

    Here is a link that might be useful: IRS is Eyeing Real Estate Practitioners

  • 17 years ago
    last modified: 10 years ago

    Starting a career in any field is difficult with a lot of setbacks and investment (in time, energy, and money) along the way. There is also a bias against training older people in a totally new line of work for a lot of reasons (valid or not). I would say that the deck was pretty well stacked against someone choosing to be a real estate *agent* as a career with existing experienced agents filling any niche or new position that they can trying not to be squeezed out (it would be kind of like trying to find a new job at a GM plant). If someone was thinking about going into the real estate industry in IT and had the ejoyment and aptitude for it (a fairly unusual techie type person, sorry but its true) I would say that would be an excellent choice.

    The real estate industry is changing very rapidly whether it wants to or not and real estate agents dont have as much control over it as they would like. The main reason that I see for this is the ability to control and distribute information on the net. The downturn (the bubble that everyone saw but didnÂt believe) may accelerate the process but it was coming anyway - the money has to come from somewhere and it is not going to come from the people that manage the system and control the information - they will look to streamline the process cutting out middlemen (remember door to door salesmen or Âma and pa stores?) lowering costs to consumers *while* making larger profits for themselves. This is a process that they could not stop even if they wanted to because someone else would come in and "eat their lunch" if they did not (kind of like what WalMart or Amazon did).

    Not very long ago there was no practical way (imo) to find a house to buy without a real estate agent (other than happening to drive by a sign or seeing an ad in a local paper). It wasnÂt until 5 years ago that you could even have mls data online - let alone find it or have it in a useful format. Just a few years back there werenÂt even serious debates over the value or need for an agent to sell your house - which is generally still considered to be a good idea- but in the near future conventional wisdom could change.

    There is always a place for those who can adapt to change and are willing to make sacrifices to do what they need to succeed at or enjoy doing. Going into any field just because it is seen as an easy or quick way to make money is a mistake when choosing a career (which by definition is not temporary). I know that this is not why all people who have became realtors in the recent past have done so but in my limited exposure I would say that it is fairly obvious that its a rather large percentage.

Sponsored
Boss Design Center
Average rating: 5 out of 5 stars33 Reviews
Reputable Home Renovation Company Serving Northern Virginia