Becoming a Real Estate Agent in 2023

Is it really the right time to become a real estate agent?

After all, house prices are falling. Interest rates are increasing. And pundits keep saying that the next “housing crash” is approaching.

Maybe all those things are true. It’s more likely that some of those things are true. But what will always be true is that real estate is a good business.

Before you ask how to become a real estate agent, you have to answer another question: why become a real estate agent? And you have to ask yourself whether those benefits still stand today.

Let’s talk about why to become a real estate agent and why you might not want to.

What We’ll Cover:

The Real Estate Market Is Always Changing

2008 was also a crazy time to get into the real estate market. The real estate market has its ups and downs. But ultimately, there are few things as valuable as real estate — and the market always rebounds. Getting in when there’s chaos means more opportunities.

You’ll find that when the market becomes crazy, older professionals retire. And when they retire, that frees up their books for people willing to learn in a hectic, fast-paced arena. So, you can become a sales agent quite quickly if you get your real estate license, especially in a faster market like New York.

You’ll also find that there’s just no perfect time. Maybe prices are inflating — and it’s so fast that people aren’t able to get into the market. Maybe prices are dropping — and it’s so severe no one wants to buy.

Real estate is important. It’s an essential part of our society. Because it’s so essential, it’s always going through something. It would be a mistake to think, “I’ll get in when things are better.” You start today to establish a career by the time it gets better.

Being An Agent Is A Great Way To Earn A Good Income While Still Having Flexible Hours

As a real estate agent, you can set your hours. You can work part-time or full-time and easily adjust your schedule as your life changes. Plus, you can earn a very good income if you’re good at what you do.

What are the benefits of having flexible hours?

Control your work-life balance. Take time off when needed, and don’t worry about asking for permission or finding someone to cover your shift.

Easily adjust your schedule as your life changes. If you have a family, you can take time off to attend your child’s soccer game or take a vacation when convenient.

Choose the days and hours you want to work. If you want to work four 10-hour instead of five 8-hour days, most real estate teams can easily accommodate you. If you’re working for yourself, you work when you want to.

Have you ever wished that you have “more time?” Being in real estate is hard work. But it’s work you can do when you want to, rather than doing it when you have to. And that makes all the difference.

Some days you wake up, and you think, “Not today.” Imagine if you had that option.

It's A Recession-Proof Career Really

There’s always a demand for housing. People will always need somewhere to live. And as the population grows, the demand for housing will continue to increase. Real estate increases during recessions as people look for safer, low-risk places to park their money.

Yes, many real estate tech companies out there are trying to automate buying and selling homes. But even they falter because someone has to show those homes physically- you can’t automate the entire real estate process. It’s a people business. Someone wants a person to guide them through the process.

Plus, there are still a lot of people who prefer to buy homes the old-fashioned way. They don’t want to go through a website.

People are always going to have to buy and sell homes. While there may be tumultuous times in real estate, that’s where flexibility comes in. You can expand into commercial real estate if the residential real estate market decreases and vice versa. You have an extraordinary number of options when dealing with the world’s most critical asset- real property.

You Can Work From Home Or Anywhere In The World

Real estate is one of the few careers where you can work from home or anywhere. All you need is a laptop and an internet connection. And that’s increasingly relevant within these crazy times.

Think about it: you can travel to more affordable locales while managing your listings. And if you want to move permanently, many states have reciprocity.

Being an agent gives you extraordinary flexibility at all levels of your lifestyle. If you want to spend more time traveling or more time with your friends and family, you can do it. You can work from home and raise your children — or spend more time with your pets.

There are a lot of work-from-home jobs. But there aren’t a lot of work-from-home jobs that you can make a lot of money in.

You Can Get Started Right Now And Become Successful From Any Background

Real estate may be just about the only high-earning career with such a low entry barrier. That’s because your success in real estate is fundamentally linked to a few things: how hard you work, how good you are with people, and how resilient you are to change.

You can become a real estate agent with a high school degree (or even a GED). You need to take real estate classes and pass an exam — but you don’t need to go to a four-year college. Some people can become real estate agents within six months.

That doesn’t make it easy. The fact is that whether you’re going to be a great real estate agent is about who you are as a person. If you love dealing with people and being a problem solver, you’re already halfway there.

You Can Help People Achieve Their Dreams Of Homeownership

In more difficult times, real estate becomes even more rewarding. Imagine a young couple who believes they will never achieve their dream of having a home. And then you step in. You help them find the perfect starter home and guide them through buying it. It’s an amazing feeling to help someone achieve their dreams.

Just go to any online forum or social media site, and you’ll see people saying they’re never going to be able to buy a home. But imagine if you could change all that for them simply by educating them on their options. They may be looking in the wrong location or have radically underestimated what they would qualify for.

Similarly, you can help people who feel trapped in a home — people who think they need to make radical updates to their property to sell it or people who think it will cost way too much to get out of a property they’re underwater in. As a real estate agent, you can help buyers and sellers solve their housing problems — frequently problems they couldn’t solve themselves.

How do you become a real estate agent?

The path is simple. You go to a real estate school, pass the license exam, and find a sponsoring broker. You can start today by signing up for a real estate course — or go to a basic real estate class to determine whether it’s right for you. You’ll learn the basics of a real estate transaction, real estate law, and working with a real estate brokerage. Once you finish your licensing course and pass the real estate license exam, you can start building a book for your real estate business.

There's A Clear Path For Growth

In real estate, you’re in control of your destiny. If you work hard and are good at what you do, you will be successful. It’s that simple. And as you grow your business, you can take on more staff to help with the day-to-day tasks. Eventually, you can become a broker. Or you can remain on the ground and take more valuable clients if you’d rather do that.

And even though there is a clear path for growth — from real estate agent to broker — you can grow in any direction. You can grow into different types of real estate and various markets.

So, there isn’t just flexibility. There’s also the opportunity to earn as much money as you want to, depending on how hard you want to work and the avenues in which you want to work.

The average real estate agent doesn’t make a lot. But that’s because the average real estate agent is part-time. Or they just became agents because they wanted to help their friends and family with one or two sales a year.

Full-time real estate agent has virtually unlimited growth ahead of them.

But Why Shouldn't You Become A Real Estate Agent?

Are there any reasons you should hesitate?

Not everyone in the world will be a good real estate agent. There must be signs that real estate isn’t right for you.

Here are a few of the major ones:

If you want to make money right now. Real estate agents will need to spend some time fostering their connections — they aren’t going to start making six figures out of the gate.
You’re in a ridiculously high-priced or competitive market. If you live in NYC, becoming a real estate agent might not be the right option — you could want to move first.
You have a hard time building relationships with people. This is a key component of being a successful real estate agent. If you have trouble building rapport, it might not be the right profession for you.

But otherwise, if you want to be an agent and are willing to put in the work, there’s no reason you shouldn’t see whether it’s right for you.

Conclusion:

There’s No Time Like Today

Being a real estate agent is like planting a tree. The best time may have been twenty years ago; the second is now.

Even in today’s crazy market, many reasons exist to become a real estate agent. It’s a great way to earn a good income while having the flexibility to choose your hours. And it’s a rewarding career that can make a difference in people’s lives.

Don’t get scared off by the market. The market will change. But the skills you develop and the connections you foster will only grow. If you think being an agent is right for you, it’s time to take the next step.

FAQs: Why To Become A Real Estate Agent

What is so good about being a real estate agent?

Real estate agents have flexible hours, can work from home, and can make much money. Depending on how much an agent wants to work, there’s no upper boundary on how much money they can make.

Why is real estate the best career?

There’s probably no universally best career. But there is a career that is best for you. Real estate is your best career if you want enhanced flexibility (you want to work from home), unlimited potential growth, and making money while helping people.

Why do people want to go into real estate?

Most people want to go into real estate to get into a job where they can be successful — with a remarkably low barrier to entry and many opportunities for growth. If real estate sounds intriguing to you, you should learn more.

Source: kylehandy.com