Are you interested in being a real estate agent? Are you a people person? Do you follow schedules so closely that you’re always ten steps ahead of everyone else? Then you may just have what it takes to be a successful real estate agent. Whether you’re a career switcher or have been looking to break into the real estate game for a long time, this is the article for you.

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Flexibility

Flexibility is the number one must-have skill for any client-based business—but especially real estate. As a real estate agent, a lot of your job will be planning everything down to the last detail and then changing the plan. You might be working with clients who may or may not know what they want. You may have to negotiate a deal much longer than you expected. You may have to pick up and travel somewhere on a moment’s notice. No matter what it is, the process of selling or buying a house can be very slow or very long, depending on the client, so it’s good to have flexibility on your side.

Personability

It’s definitely not an exaggeration when we say a good real estate agent must be a people person. One of the beauties of working in realty is that you’re not tied to a desk all day. Instead, you’re interacting with clients. This requires strong communication skills and intuition. You need to be able to listen and think critically, and sometimes intuit what your client wants if they’re not able to exactly tell you. You’re also constantly meeting new people and forging relationships with them. People pick realtors they can trust so you need to portray that trustworthiness and be able to give an immediate, good first impression.

Creativity

The real estate industry is filled with creative opportunities, which is why this may just be the perfect business for millenials. A lot of the real estate business is creative in the digital sense. Real estate companies need websites, photos, and videos to establish an online presence and build a customer base. But aside from that, a real estate agent themselves needs to be creative in the way they approach clients and sell houses. This skill goes hand in hand with flexibility—when an obstacle comes your way, you need to be ready with a timely and creative solution to keep the process moving forward.

Persuasiveness

Although it may sound counter-intuitive, there is no perfect house for every client. Depending on your client’s needs and wants, it may be your job to set realistic expectations for their real estate search, which will definitely take some persuasion. Additionally, a lot of your work as a real estate agent will involve negotiation. You represent your client and their best interests to other parties, so not only will you need to be persuasive but you will also need to be informed on what your client wants and needs.

Detail-Oriented

The process of selling and buying real estate is much more complicated than it sounds. As the person in charge of the process you need to be very organized and stick to strict schedules and deadlines. There’s a lot of moving pieces and you don’t want to forget anything along the way.

And you can’t just worry about your own client either—you have to think about the other side’s client as well. This job requires a lot of double and triple checking because, like we said, it can be a long process, so sticking to the details from the beginning can save you a lot of time when you’re wrapping everything up at the end.

As you can see, being a real estate agent takes more than just a resume of experiences. A good real estate agent also encompasses all of these more personal qualities that allow them to interact and serve their clients. Is your interest piqued? Here are some more reasons why you may enjoy a career in real estate. This may be just the job you were looking for.

Speaking of jobs, if you’re already looking for a position in the real estate industry, HER, REALTORS® may be able to help you out.