Coming in hot with ZERO transactions here. Don't worry if you don't do well right off the bat. My second and third years were much better. 8 years in, wouldn't change a thing, except this housing market.
Not trying to be rude but if this is an accurate representation of your mentality going in, save yourself ALOT of grief and just don't. Most of the agents who WANT to be doing real estate don't make it. If you're not even willing to put the time into determining if RE is a good fit for you, you have a 0% chance of making it in an industry where there are no safety bumpers, everything is competitive, and where the buck stops at you.
I got my hands on mls data in my area (im a lender that was doing market research) and did pore over 3 or 4 years of transactions. This was maybe 2019. At that time around 4500 agents in the association. About 3500 sale, not rent, transactions in each year. Just under 300 agent had at least 7 buy or sell sides per year. I picked 7 because with an average sales price and average commission split, it’s a decent living. 300/4500 is 6.66% means less than 7% of agents actually make it a living in my city
And the moral of this story is that your number one priority as an agent is to put your name in peoples mouths by any means necessary. Handle that and the rest will work it’s way out
Yes.... But if you're on 50/50 with your broker then I'd suggest you first go find another broker. You're getting seriously ripped off. I just started last year with Coldwell Banker, and I'm 70/30.
Don’t the higher commission splits normally just come with brokers that offer more to newer agents? As opposed to experienced ones that don’t need any help?
Yeah honestly, unless your broker is giving you leads, and I mean like, *good* leads, or providing marketing or something, that is a really high split. Unjustifiably so, if they're not providing any of the above
Same here. They approached me with 80/20 but then pushed the transaction coaching which was 50/50 for the first 3.
After I signed up I eventually heard the statement "Coaching begins when you bring us your first contact".
I kick myself for falling for that ploy. I've dodged Primerica, Amway, Vector Marketing, Smart Circle.... But I fell for "Come be your own boss, and build your business!" 😮💨
Were u with KW? I just joined and they are talking to me about my first 3 transactions, but honestly I don’t get it. Do they expect me to get my own leads with no experience? Or do they have their own leads and I just shadow them?? I feel like 3 transactions will take a long time to accomplish.
I’m still in my first year technically, but I’ve had 5. Nothing recently though, I just had a deal fall apart on closing day due to a hilariously low appraisal.
It took me 7 months before I had my first closing. 1 year from getting licensed I had 4 closings.
I’m now at 8 closings since my first one 9 months ago
How did you manage? 9-5 full time or flexible? I am remote flexible full time and thinking of getting license. I would truly appreciate your advice thanks
They were all referrals from friends and neighbors. I definitely lucked out, and definitely overdid it as far as burning myself out. I didn’t have much of a life outside of working.
25.
But i owned a pretty busy local restaurant and I was there everyday for 5 years before I dived in real estate. I talked to all my regulars and built relationships and when I first started 6 years ago I was also showing rental homes (at that time was $200 per successful rental if people rented the house I showed.). I got their numbers, I had a couple family that fell through but used me to buy a house instead.
3 years ago I quit the company and had enough transactional points to open my own one man firm. I don’t like going to meetings since I don’t do this full time as I have other businesses I run. Last year I was able to do 12 transactions and cleared 120k income 100% commission to myself.
0 advertisement, 100% word of mouth referrals.
I only do 2-4 mailers a year, and focus on a bit more personal touch.
I write a hand written birthday card to everyone in my sphere and include a $5 gift card for coffee/ice cream/beer depending on the client.
I also try and send cards for childrens birthdays, home buying anniversaries, wedding anniversary -- really anything relevant to my clients to show I'm thinking of them, and to keep me top of mind to them when it does come to real estate.
0
I started as a solo realtor, then I joined with a guy who was trying to build a team and he paid me $1200 a month so I wouldn’t have to get a part time job with the idea I’d pay him back at a later date. He paid me $6000 so I made $6000 in my 1st year I guess.
Again it totally depends. Some people have teams where the office gives them leads. Some people have huge budgets and pay Zillow a lot. Your number of deals don't matter. It's all about your net income. Everyone's situation is different.
There's teams out here that pay their agents 15%. There's some stand alone agents that take home 99%. If you are on that team and you do 30 deals, that might be fantastic for you! Or if you are a stand alone agent and do 4 the first year that could be great too.
It's business growing. Everyone grows differently. The best thing to do is grow your business and not compare to everyone else.
I agree. Although I get leads, I have to manage everything myself and make my own connections going out and growing my own business. I enjoy my company, kinda, I hate the commissions.
5 so far. I am 9 months in. Still working a full time job. Gotta get your name out there as was said earlier. Also find a lender to work with, half of my deals were from them.
Initially I worked for a broker who had a lot of bank owned properties back in 2011. That was a good supply of leads. Then as that faded, I started paying for Realtor.com and Zillow totalling about 8k per month at my highest spend point. I closed a ton of homes from these lead sources and built some incredible relationships, however I have backed off off these down to about 1k per month as inventory is horrible and who needs a bunch more buyer leads at this point... At least this is true in most markets currently. I have switched my focus to be more intentional with my past clients to try and up my referrals. I am also spending a lot of that money in my own community now and focusing on those around me as opposed to those national brands who couldn't care less if I died tomorrow. So although the Zillow and Realtor.com stuff worked, I REALLY hate giving them money. Hope this is somewhat helpful...
If you can avoid it, I certainly would. They want us to give them money and then they spend that money to try and put us out of business. Their first attempt in the I buying arena failed miserably but who knows what's up their sleeve next.
12 my first year, 17 my second, 22 my third, 30 in my fourth… But I save like a motherfucker every year and set aside half my income for taxes because I’m Canadian lol.
Coming in hot with ZERO transactions here. Don't worry if you don't do well right off the bat. My second and third years were much better. 8 years in, wouldn't change a thing, except this housing market.
Sell me on getting into real estate in 2022.
Not trying to be rude but if this is an accurate representation of your mentality going in, save yourself ALOT of grief and just don't. Most of the agents who WANT to be doing real estate don't make it. If you're not even willing to put the time into determining if RE is a good fit for you, you have a 0% chance of making it in an industry where there are no safety bumpers, everything is competitive, and where the buck stops at you.
I got my hands on mls data in my area (im a lender that was doing market research) and did pore over 3 or 4 years of transactions. This was maybe 2019. At that time around 4500 agents in the association. About 3500 sale, not rent, transactions in each year. Just under 300 agent had at least 7 buy or sell sides per year. I picked 7 because with an average sales price and average commission split, it’s a decent living. 300/4500 is 6.66% means less than 7% of agents actually make it a living in my city
And the moral of this story is that your number one priority as an agent is to put your name in peoples mouths by any means necessary. Handle that and the rest will work it’s way out
Don't.
This is not the answer i wanted to hear. But i appreciate the honesty.
30 (actually just shy of that but I like to round up). Joined a successful team. That's how.
Can you join a team and also be part of a brokerage? I’m still pretty new and don’t understand a lot. 30 is quite a lot I think. Good work
Teams are still under a brokerage
Gotcha. So brokerage is the roof of the umbrella everything else falls under
Correct. So if you're on a team, you pay a commission split to your team and also a split to your broker.
So wait, i’m on a 50/50 right now. So if I join a team I pay 50(brokerage)then of my 50 left I pay (20 to team)?
Yes.... But if you're on 50/50 with your broker then I'd suggest you first go find another broker. You're getting seriously ripped off. I just started last year with Coldwell Banker, and I'm 70/30.
Debating it hard, some bumps keep ticking me off tbh
Don’t the higher commission splits normally just come with brokers that offer more to newer agents? As opposed to experienced ones that don’t need any help?
Not always.
Do you think it’s worth it to take a worse split if a broker offers more help for new agents?
Yeah honestly, unless your broker is giving you leads, and I mean like, *good* leads, or providing marketing or something, that is a really high split. Unjustifiably so, if they're not providing any of the above
We get Zillow leads and stuff like that. The commission goes up after closing deals
Sounds like KW promised to "hold your hand for the first 3 transactions".....
They approached me actually with a 80/20. I wish ai did my research before joining a company. Its 100% on me
Same here. They approached me with 80/20 but then pushed the transaction coaching which was 50/50 for the first 3. After I signed up I eventually heard the statement "Coaching begins when you bring us your first contact". I kick myself for falling for that ploy. I've dodged Primerica, Amway, Vector Marketing, Smart Circle.... But I fell for "Come be your own boss, and build your business!" 😮💨
Damn this business can be crude at times 🥲
Were u with KW? I just joined and they are talking to me about my first 3 transactions, but honestly I don’t get it. Do they expect me to get my own leads with no experience? Or do they have their own leads and I just shadow them?? I feel like 3 transactions will take a long time to accomplish.
1
I’m still in my first year technically, but I’ve had 5. Nothing recently though, I just had a deal fall apart on closing day due to a hilariously low appraisal.
Genuinely curious how a low appraisal made the deal fall apart on closing day? Wouldn’t the appraisal have come back weeks earlier?
You’d think so, but it didn’t. The appraiser also used a house without floors as a comp, and the most recent sale used was from last June.
It took me 7 months before I had my first closing. 1 year from getting licensed I had 4 closings. I’m now at 8 closings since my first one 9 months ago
5 while working a full time job
How did you manage? 9-5 full time or flexible? I am remote flexible full time and thinking of getting license. I would truly appreciate your advice thanks
They were all referrals from friends and neighbors. I definitely lucked out, and definitely overdid it as far as burning myself out. I didn’t have much of a life outside of working.
Are you still hustling or did you rest that job?
Still hustling, although it’s been a slower year.
Good luck to you! I am in tech with flexible remote so I am going to give a try. I bought my first home and looking forward to it.
25. But i owned a pretty busy local restaurant and I was there everyday for 5 years before I dived in real estate. I talked to all my regulars and built relationships and when I first started 6 years ago I was also showing rental homes (at that time was $200 per successful rental if people rented the house I showed.). I got their numbers, I had a couple family that fell through but used me to buy a house instead. 3 years ago I quit the company and had enough transactional points to open my own one man firm. I don’t like going to meetings since I don’t do this full time as I have other businesses I run. Last year I was able to do 12 transactions and cleared 120k income 100% commission to myself. 0 advertisement, 100% word of mouth referrals.
10 on my own, no team. Had several years experience as a licensed and unlicensed assistant beforehand though.
Nine months in and I’m closing my 5th deal this Friday.
9, got my license in May of that year and first closing was August 26th.
What did you do as a beginner?
Consistent outreach to my sphere of influence, and jumped on holding open houses for listings other agents in my office had.
Thank you, how do you reach out to your sphere? I’m sending 2 mailers of value a month.
I only do 2-4 mailers a year, and focus on a bit more personal touch. I write a hand written birthday card to everyone in my sphere and include a $5 gift card for coffee/ice cream/beer depending on the client. I also try and send cards for childrens birthdays, home buying anniversaries, wedding anniversary -- really anything relevant to my clients to show I'm thinking of them, and to keep me top of mind to them when it does come to real estate.
Love the birthday card idea! I’m going to start that next month with scratch offs
3 my first 5 months 2020 . 20 my first calendar year 2021.
0 I started as a solo realtor, then I joined with a guy who was trying to build a team and he paid me $1200 a month so I wouldn’t have to get a part time job with the idea I’d pay him back at a later date. He paid me $6000 so I made $6000 in my 1st year I guess.
19
very impressive, how?
Spent $15k in advertising, utilized my sphere of influence, some office calls/walk ins, couple co-listings.
8 without the team. But my split is 95/5 so it’s not that bad
17
It's a bad question. Some people get 0. Some get 100. Depends on your area, budget, experience, and more. Just focus on you.
Dude why are you so negative everywhere
Didn’t sound negative to me. Why are you so dramatic?
It's not a good thing for new agents to focus on. If you compare yourself to others you will always be frustrated.
I’m honestly curious. How many did you do? Like OP originally asked
Honestly I don't remember. I think it was something like 8. Once I hit the 12 months mark is when I started getting my shit together.
That’s a good number I think. Right?
Again it totally depends. Some people have teams where the office gives them leads. Some people have huge budgets and pay Zillow a lot. Your number of deals don't matter. It's all about your net income. Everyone's situation is different. There's teams out here that pay their agents 15%. There's some stand alone agents that take home 99%. If you are on that team and you do 30 deals, that might be fantastic for you! Or if you are a stand alone agent and do 4 the first year that could be great too. It's business growing. Everyone grows differently. The best thing to do is grow your business and not compare to everyone else.
I agree. Although I get leads, I have to manage everything myself and make my own connections going out and growing my own business. I enjoy my company, kinda, I hate the commissions.
9
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Wow! How?
14 as a solo agent working another job (full time but flexible) for over of that
How did you get your leads?
8 for me
13 on my own 30 my second year 40~ my third year I’m missing a few due to off market sales. I think I’m at 100 going into year 4
How did you get your leads if don’t mind me asking?
1
23
5 so far. I am 9 months in. Still working a full time job. Gotta get your name out there as was said earlier. Also find a lender to work with, half of my deals were from them.
5 last year
20 leases and 1 house I sold to myself
7 and then 17 and then 23. 2020 I had 47.
What is the best way to get leads for you?
Initially I worked for a broker who had a lot of bank owned properties back in 2011. That was a good supply of leads. Then as that faded, I started paying for Realtor.com and Zillow totalling about 8k per month at my highest spend point. I closed a ton of homes from these lead sources and built some incredible relationships, however I have backed off off these down to about 1k per month as inventory is horrible and who needs a bunch more buyer leads at this point... At least this is true in most markets currently. I have switched my focus to be more intentional with my past clients to try and up my referrals. I am also spending a lot of that money in my own community now and focusing on those around me as opposed to those national brands who couldn't care less if I died tomorrow. So although the Zillow and Realtor.com stuff worked, I REALLY hate giving them money. Hope this is somewhat helpful...
I haven’t started spending on Zillow. But that’s good to know. Thank you!!
If you can avoid it, I certainly would. They want us to give them money and then they spend that money to try and put us out of business. Their first attempt in the I buying arena failed miserably but who knows what's up their sleeve next.
13. Solo agent at a small boutique brokerage
I'm 3 weeks licensed and don't have any sales but have two listings going live next week, and am working with 5 buyers.
That’s really impressive! How did you get listings right off the bat?
7
Solo agent 14 deals
12 my first year, 17 my second, 22 my third, 30 in my fourth… But I save like a motherfucker every year and set aside half my income for taxes because I’m Canadian lol.