Most everyone likes to talk about what they do professionally. Well, maybe not lawyers worried they’ll be cornered for free legal advice. But inquire of people you meet about how they earn a living, and you’ll usually get a positive response.
What about your job as a REALTOR®? You know the deal. Anything to turn a conversation to real estate, because finding new clients any way possible is skill No. 1. So within the first few sentences after it comes up you ask if they’re interested in buying or selling. If not, but the dialog continues, what do you say these days to someone considering becoming an agent and asking for your thoughts?
No doubt these are interesting industry times. Buyer agency has changed. For the better? Who knows? Time will tell that tale. But what tale will you tell other agents when asked for a yay or nay on coming aboard?
“I have 38 years of experience selling real estate and have witnessed many changes over the years,” says Debbie Lang, a REALTOR® with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices (BHHS) Fox & Roach, REALTORS® in Princeton, New Jersey; and BHHS Florida Realty in Boca Raton, Florida. “Although the industry has its ups and downs, it brings me great joy to assist people with the largest purchase of their lives and significant lifestyle changes. Change can often be beneficial on many levels and requires a positive attitude and the ability to adapt.
“For newcomers to the industry, adapting to the new changes will be a natural part of how business is conducted. Success in this industry will depend on excellent communication and negotiation skills. Despite the challenges, it is very rewarding to help people achieve their real estate goals. In any career, success requires dedication, diligence and integrity. The results you achieve will reflect the effort you invest.”
Pam Rosser Thistle, an agent with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach, REALTORS® in Philadelphia, has a decidedly less rosy opinion, feeling that there will be too much frustration for those new to the industry.
“Now is not the time to become a real estate agent,” she cautions. “Most agents start as buyer agents. Because the buyer experience is more formal now, with a buyer agency agreement outlining the pay structure required before opening the first door, it will be harder for less experienced agents to win clients. Listings generally come later, after buyers turn into sellers. That is the side of the business that will stay robust.”
Jeffrey Decatur, a longtime broker associate with RE/MAX Capital in Latham, New York, is also realistic, but not quite as pessimistic, feeling that with the right mindset, the profession can be quite rewarding on multiple levels.
“I have had several friends and past clients get in the business,” he says. “Today I would tell someone thinking about getting into real estate sales the same things I always have, with the first point being how it is not nearly as easy as it looks. It is expensive to start. You don’t show three houses and make $100,000 like they show on TV. You don’t just fall into real estate sales, especially if you don’t live in an area with price tags that get commissions like that. You have to earn your way up to that point.”
While Decatur says he will “surely encourage” people to join the industry based on the “rewarding and challenging work,” he believes that it is becoming harder every day to practice real estate as the industry becomes “diluted.”
“TV never shows that. Imagine getting 450 texts and 37 phone calls before 1 p.m., not to mention the late ones at 2 a.m., or the super-early ones at 5:45 a.m., with 400 follow-up emails, no joke,” he says. “Clients expect our attention 24/7/365. Actually it’s more like they demand it. We work when everyone else doesn’t, and when everyone else is working, we are doing paperwork and marketing. Out of the hundreds of people that have asked me about this profession over the decades, I can think of only two that have made it.”
Anne Marie DeCatsye is the CEO of Canopy REALTOR® Association and Canopy MLS, with thousands of agents in North and South Carolina. She is positive as well as realistic about whether the profession is right for most people.
“I would say it is probably one of the most important jobs out there, helping people get into homes,” she says. “And I’m not going to necessarily call it the American Dream, but homeownership is the most effective wealth building out there still, no matter what. So helping somebody be able to buy a home is a very honorable profession.
“But I would also caution that it is not as easy as some people have made it look. And so you need to be committed that this is really what you want, and really commit to being educated on a continuous basis about the profession and the industry. But I think it can be a tremendously fulfilling profession if it’s really what you want. If you’re in it to make a quick buck, it’s not going to be for you. It just won’t.”
For Vickey Barron, a broker with Compass and author of “Every Move Matters: Unlocking Value in Life and Real Estate,” thoroughly researching the agent profession before making a decision whether or not to try it is crucial.
“Entering the real estate profession with no experience during challenging times like this is like deciding to become a pilot without ever having flown a plane,” she says. “Imagine taking off and navigating the skies thinking about how pretty the clouds are without proper safety protocols in place and knowing how to navigate turbulence. You are putting the passengers at risk. Buyers and sellers need knowledgeable advisers right now. Agents have a fiduciary responsibility to take care of their clients, and it’s not a profession where you can afford to make mistakes.”
Like Decatur, though, Barron says reality TV shows can “tempt” people into joining a career they think will be easy or intuitive, going on to argue that real estate is “no longer for part-timers wanting to flash a card at their next cocktail party.”
“With that said, if someone is passionate about becoming a real estate salesperson right now, ideally they are entering the industry with prior professional expertise and are already proficient in skills like multitasking and negotiation,” Barron says. “They should join a great team and go under the umbrella of an experienced broker who is willing to go through the trenches with them.”
