Being a Part-Time Real Estate Agent is Advantageous for Many New to the Industry
Many people considering a job in real estate may have several concerns about time management going into the profession, as well as generating a steady income, having free time around the holidays, and balancing work and home with their families. When it comes to managing the flexibility of one’s career and free time, being a real estate agent can be one of the most liberating professions. Being an agent means that you have control over when your business hours are and how much you work each week. There are even more benefits of becoming a real estate agent on a part-time basis. Below are just a few.
Time
One of the first things you should consider when entering into a new profession is how much time you’ll have outside of your job for the other priorities in your life. The nice thing to know about real estate agents is that it’s not your typical “9 to 5” type of job. If you need time off during the day, you can work around other obligations. Many part-time real estate agents work just in the mornings or will move listings to the evenings and weekends after they finish work on their day job or someone else is home to take care of the kids.
Keep in mind, while real estate is not your typical “9 to 5”, many agents report working more than 8 hours per day, not less. Real estate transactions involve many moving parts and deadlines to meet.
One option to help you manage your time as a part-time agent is to start as a referral agent. Referral agents have an active real estate license, but do not handle transactions. Instead, they introduce home buyers to an agent, and receive a referral fee in exchange. This is an option for part-time agents who do not want the risk and liability of handling paperwork.
Salary
Typical figures for part-time real estate agents are close to $10,000 annually for those who work less than twenty hours a week. This part-time salary is great as supplemental income as you test the waters in your new career, especially since it typically takes a couple of years before you reach the median gross income of real estate agents at $78,850.
However, some part-time agents earn more right out of the gate, more in the range of $59,000, but it depends on your local market. Even through these income variations, the correlation is clear: the more time you put in and listings you show, the more money you can make. For part-timers, real estate can be a flexible career opportunity that offers a supplemental income and works well around other obligations.
Starting a real estate career comes with many costs. Even as a part-time agent, you can expect to pay for software, access to the MLS, and an electronic lockbox key. Take these things into consideration when you become a part-time real estate agent. For many, starting as a referral agent makes the most sense. Referral agents do not handle transactions, so they do not have to pay for these things.
Balance
That work-life balance can always be difficult to manage even in the most steady of jobs, but the flexibility that real estate can offer to part-timers is attractive to many agents across the country. The Agent Harvest Blog stated that the majority of clients looking at real estate will want showings that work with their work schedule – typically after 5 p.m. and on weekends. One of the biggest benefits of entering into this career is the fact that you can take days off during the week, especially because you’ll have fewer clients needing you to show them properties on, say, a Tuesday or a Wednesday, rather than a Saturday. Ultimately the thing that clients look for first is an agent who is flexible around their schedule and responds to their needs quickly. How you set up your work schedule around that is up to you!
As with any job, your time management is key in maintaining a successful work-life balance. If you do decide to enter into real estate, even part-time, make sure you’re taking time for yourself to remain on top of all the nitty-gritty details involved in real estate. Discipline as a real estate agent can be key in helping to keep your workflow manageable.
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