During the past week, I have encountered several individuals that expressed interest in getting into real estate as a profession.
In years past, that was not an unusual occurrence. Real estate was red hot and was seen as the path to easy money and a life of luxury. And even though most new real estate agents failed in their first year, every pre-license class was packed!
The real estate business of today is vastly different than it was three years ago. Even the most experienced agents struggle to get buyers and sellers to the closing table.
So why would anyone want to get into this crazy business now?
I think that in many cases, that although the real estate profession is very demanding, it is also very interesting and challenging. Every day brings a new situation that makes the job exciting and gets the adrenaline flowing.
And those that wish to accept the challenge today are going in with eyes wide open, fully aware of current state of the real estate market.
I haven’t seen any statistics to confirm this, but I’ll bet that the failure rate of agents that get into the business now will be significantly less than in the heyday of the buying frenzy.
Because they know in advance that it’s going to take determination, dedication, and a strong work ethic to succeed!
Note: If you love in the Newnan / Coweta County area and would like to learn more about real estate as a career, please call or email me! I'll be glad to help.
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I suspect you are right about the success rate of new agents. I don't think anyone will start a real estate career without seriously considering their start up capital and other things that I doubt the average licensee in years past much worried about.
Richard....I think the failure rate will be less now than in the hayday of past mainly because the newbie will be surrounded by the veteran survivors.....they will have a variety of seasoned mentors to guide them....
Richard,
I agree with your hypothesis. Successful Real Estate agents today new or experienced aren't expecting to get-rich-quick. They also demonstrate the capacity to change.
As the distinguished, John Hulsman, used to say on behalf of Smith/Barney; "We make our money the old fashion way. We earn it." :-)
Steve
Eyes wide open. I think anyone getting in the business right now will more likely than not succeed. Unless of course they have been living in a cave the past 3 or 4 years.
Richard, very good point, I think the ones coming in now know what to expect, in the past new thought they could get their licenze and sit at a desk and people would just come by and given them commission checks, of how wrong they were.....nice post my friend
People who get into the business at this time will make it because they will Learn the business. In days past when the market was hot agents didn't take the time to learn the basics as anyone with a for sale sign and a phone could sell a house.
Richard,
I agree with you that the new agent today will be more prepared for the challenges of the business. I also thnk that many of us who have seen the good, bad and the ugly are there to help the newcomer more then in the past. It is through helping someone that I learn and grow both individually and professionally.
Richard, we see the same thing with home inspectors. Some still willing to risk it. Kind of like marriage----there are always those that will be optimistic beyond reason :) The other side of it is that in any profession there is always a need for Great agents, or inspectors or what have you. It all comes down to commitment, desire----and a touch of insanity.
Richard, If I were not already in real estate … I would not be considering real estate as a career choice today. Anyone who wants and chooses to succeed will … be it in real estate today … or anything else. With a plan … we can!
Richard I completely agree with you on this regarding folks entering the business. A Title Company here in Austin tracked the number of agents entering anf leaving the market and the results were approx 70% leaving after only 2 years!
Hi Richard. I'll bet you are right...
The failure rate will probably go down.
It is an exciting AND challenging career.
Have a great weekend!
Ken
Richard, No additional data to back up your observation...but I have had a number of people as me about hanging their license with me recently too.
Anyone entering the Real Estate field today must be a strong willed, determined person. Gone are the days when people jumped in just to make a few extra bucks because they saw rapid appreciation was and how quick homes were moving.
Richard..I have talked to several looking to get into this business. All think we are making a great living in todays market. Plus, they think that they will get a check within the firs tfew weeks! LOL LOL LOL
Hello Richard, I have a feeling you are right about new agents these days. Times have made this a very challenging profession, to say the least.
Richard, this is an interesting development in the industry. Of course, with all the types of buying and selling situations out in the marketplace, the appeal to try your own creataivity would appeal to many.
Gosh Richard, I wonder that myself. They must be "Touched in the head" or something or other kinda sorta like that...
This is certainly the best time to learn. They have to learn early on that they have to work extremely hard in order to stay the course.
I've seen some of this too. I'm not sure if it isn't a reflection of the economy as there are not very muany other opportunities out there.
I came into the market in 2007 when things were incredibly slow around here. I think there are many benefits to coming in a slow time. I had a lot of time to learn and now I am learning difficult transactions so that when the market turns those "easy" sales will be a piece of cake. Also, I cami expecting it to be hard. That's the most valuable thing for my attitude.
I've meet plenty of folks who want to get into the business now as well. I'm not sure, as outsiders looking in, that they have any indication how hard the job really can be though. All the inquiries came from buyers who had to write multiple offers to get one offer accepted. I'm afraid the impression they are left with is that buyers are growing on trees and it must be simple to find them if there are so many out there.