There’s nothing quite like a new career in luxury real estate. The opulent homes, the high-profile clients, the bigger commissions—sounds exciting, doesn’t it? For the right person, it absolutely is.
A new career in luxury real estate doesn’t have to mean a straight path to the traditional market—or even property management. Both brand-new and experienced real estate professionals can create their own real estate success story in the luxury real estate market. Often, it’s the smartest choice for those looking for a bigger return on their time spent in the field.
So if you’re thinking about a new career in luxury real estate, the good news is that there’s plenty of opportunity and plenty of other real estate agents who are happy they made the switch. But if you’re on the fence, here are five signs you’d love a new career in luxury real estate:
1. You Like to Problem Solve
Most people think a new career in real estate is simply just networking and selling homes. If you know people and can sell, it’s easy right? Not quite…
While those are essentially the two main functions of a real estate professional, there’s a lot of problem solving involved as well. For instance, every client is different—especially in the luxury real estate market. Affluent clients often have unique financial situations, work and travel often, and have teams of people helping them with everything from caring for their children to helping them with real estate transactions.
That means things like scheduling, negotiating and even working around privacy concerns require strong problem-solving skills.
Working with these kinds of clients is highly rewarding, but the unique needs and demands of these more discerning clients does call for a luxury real estate professional who not only can solve problems, but also likes to solve problems.
2. You’re Passionate About Unique Homes
A new career in real estate is fun, but a new career in luxury real estate earns you an exciting opportunity to gush over some of the most unique homes on the market. So if you’re just looking for a new career in real estate because you absolutely love learning about architecture, amenities and even art, then you’ll love luxury real estate.
Unlike the traditional real estate market, luxury real estate allows for taking more risks in staging and marketing. Historically, successful clients like to “stand out” a bit more than traditional clients. They tend to appreciate more individuality in their home’s design and often look for properties they feel have an “unforgettable” quality to them.
This can make for some truly fun opportunities getting homes prepared for listing and helping these buyers find their next dream home.
3. You Love to Learn
Truth is: Many luxury real estate clients are real estate savvy themselves. In fact, many of them have made their money investing in real estate and know almost as much as the professionals they hire.
That means a luxury real estate professional’s job is always to stay a few steps ahead—always learning and growing professionally as a result. Otherwise, you simply can’t offer the type of expertise these clients are looking for.
In other words, if you love to learn, the upper tier may be a great choice for your new career in luxury real estate.
What’s more? The Institute offers a wide range of training, resources and even done-for-you marketing tools to help luxury real estate professionals stand out in their field and attract the right clients.
4. You Want to Make More Money
Notice this is not the first sign on the list. There’s no question that luxury real estate professionals receive a higher return on their investment out in the field than professionals in the traditional market, but it doesn’t happen overnight.
Luxury real estate professionals who are passionate about what they do naturally tend to make more money than those who are simply looking for a bigger paycheck.
Why?
Because luxury real estate does require a bit more legwork at times (again, for a bigger payoff), and money alone isn’t always the best motivator. That said, a 5% commission on a $1,000,000 home is significantly more than a 5% commission on a $100,000 home—with only slightly more work involved.
So if one of your goals for a new career in luxury real estate is to make more money, it makes sense to consider the upper tier.
5. You Enjoy and Understand Marketing
Marketing a luxury home is different than marketing a traditional home, as you may have guessed. Luxury real estate clients are driven more by “desire” than “need,” and marketing in this industry reflects that. Similarly, marketing unique homes also often requires a higher marketing budget.
While you don’t need to know all the answers right now, you’ll want to invest in a high-level marketing education specific to luxury real estate if you haven’t already.
If you’re looking for a fast and flexible way to get up to speed with the marketing skills needed for a luxury real estate career, the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing is the leading choice for top-tier luxury real estate professionals.
– Self-paced or live online training
– The internationally recognized Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist™ designation
– An elite network of luxury real estate professionals and top producers
– Done-for-you marketing tools and strategic marketing partnerships
And so much more, no matter where you are in your luxury real estate career.
When you’re ready, your new career in luxury real estate starts here:
– Subscribe to our Estate of Mind podcast and/or Estate of Mind video series on YouTube for monthly deep-dives into specialized luxury real estate topics with industry experts.
– Take our Luxury Livestream or Luxury Online training to qualify for The Institute membership and its many member benefits.
– Visit your Membership Portal for brand-new training sessions, as well as our book, “Rich Buyer Rich Seller: The Real Estate Agents’ Guide to Marketing Luxury Homes,” which is available for free to all members of The Institute and also available on Amazon.
Diane Hartley is the president of the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, the premier independent authority in training and designation for real estate agents working in the upper-tier residential market. The Institute’s Designation, Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist™, is recognized around the globe as the gold standard in luxury designations. Institute training and membership is open to all real estate agents, regardless of firm, experience level or brand affiliation.
How much are these courses? I am I Richmond B.C.
please provide me costs as well. I am with Remax.
Thanks, Dolores