Working as a real estate agent can be very profitable. Of course, not everyone excels in this challenging field. Great agents have to work hard for their success. Their profits depend wholly on the results of their work rather than the time that they put onto it. If you’re considering this field as a second source of income, you may be curious about whether you can be successful if it’s not your primary job. However, there are some notable advantages of pursuing work as a real estate agent part-time.
Low Startup Investment
Real estate agents are professionals who need training and licensing. In contrast to other skilled professional roles, however, they don’t need an advanced degree. You won’t have to go back to school as a full-time student or take on educational debt to get the credentials that you need to make your way.
You can take instructional courses online that will prepare you to pass an exam to get a license in your state. Online classes aren’t expensive, and you can find course offerings that fit well into your current schedule. If you study for a Texas real estate license online, you can finish your coursework in relatively little time.
Growth
The job market for real estate professionals will always be strong. Recently, the demand for housing has been rising nationwide. The growing cost of buying real estate has been prompting many people to consider downsizing their living space. People are eager to work with qualified professionals who can help them navigate the changing landscape.
If you enjoy this new career path and you want to make it your main concentration, you could easily make the transition to full-time. You can also find additional ways to get work in this field. You can consider property management and title work. In the future, you may also opt to work in development.
Flexibility
As a real estate agent, you can structure your schedule in a way that allows you to meet other obligations. If you’re occupied with other work during typical business hours, you may find that it presents a problem for sale closings. While you can show units in the morning or the evening, you may have to coordinate the closing of a transaction to take place during a workday.
Outsourcing Options
You can outsource some of the legwork that goes into generating new leads. If you need to continually post ads on various listening services, for example, you can easily delegate this type of task to a marketing service provider that caters to the real estate industry or your own virtual assistant.
Joining an Office
When you join a real estate office, you can leverage their resources to get clients to come to you for help. Ideally, you should seek out a well-established brokerage that handles a good share of new listings in your area.
Real estate professionals are typically independent contractors rather than employees of a brokerage. They earn a fixed percentage of a sales commission and the principal of a brokerage is entitled to receive the remainder. In many businesses, it is a 50-50 split. Of course, there are brokerages that offer agents’ higher percentages, A common commission management practice for brokerages raises agents’ commissions after they close a certain volume of sales or rentals. Ultimately, the percentage that you earn could depend on who you choose to work with.
Entering a new field can involve a considerable investment of time and money. Fortunately, this isn’t the case with the real estate field. Nevertheless, you may have to be patient about generating steady profits. It will take some time to hit the right stride and get good results with clients while you’re working as an agent part-time. Ultimately, staying organized and managing your time well can make real estate a great side hustle. If you like working with people and you don’t mind being on-the-go during your workday, you’ll probably like real estate.