Where Do Real Estate Agents Work
Real estate agents work in many different settings and industries under a variety of roles and professional titles. Where you work can have a big impact on salary rate, career opportunities, and the day-to-day work experience.
Most real estate agents work for brokerages on a contract basis. They work in offices, but often spend their days traveling to properties, meeting clients, and engaging in negotiations. Depending on their interests, agents may work for franchises or independent brokers that specialize in buying or listing specific types of property.
Real estate agents usually cannot work alone: Most state laws and regulations require that they work for larger brokerages. This requirement guarantees quality and protects consumers. Real estate agents can still own or establish their own brokerages, but that requires more time, investment, and experience in the field.
Choosing A Great Real Estate School
Your choice of real estate school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall Real Estate School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.
Additional Real Estate Designations
Licensed real estate agents can also pursue additional credentials or designations. These certifications demonstrate specializations and support career advancement by expanding your skillset and broadening your professional reach. The National Association of REALTORS® maintains a running list of popular options, including certificates in land consulting, commercial investment, and brokerage management.
Earning an additional designation usually requires completing a course sequence and passing an exam with a score of 80% or higher. Exam length, course requirements, and pricing vary. NAR offers breakdowns for each available certificate.
Read Also: Is Ashworth College Recognized By Employers
What Are The Best College Majors For Real Estate Agents
Popular majors for future real estate agents include marketing, finance, accounting, psychology, and business. Even though going to college isnt required, you may find it helpful to complete a degree or certificate program to gain knowledge that would help you succeed as a real estate agent.
Passing your exam and completing your prelicensing education doesnt guarantee you a thriving career, which is why many agents find it beneficial to have additional background knowledge in marketing themselves, maintaining their finances, and understanding the psychology of their clients.
You dont need to spend a lot of money or time at a four-year university to gain an understanding of these topics, either. For a busy parent or professional, it might not be feasible to find the time and money needed to earn a four-year degree in real estate. Local community colleges offer two-year associates degrees in areas like marketing, business, and accounting, and many offer night and online classes. Boosting your marketing or business knowledge could be as simple as taking a few classes.
Real Estate Degrees: What Can You Do Once You Earn Your Degree
Real estate is a competitive and fascinating industry that encompasses professionals in many sub sectors, including residential and commercial real estate agents, brokers, mortgage brokers, property managers and independent investors. Many of these careers are held by independent business people who have a strong entrepreneurial spirit and desire to build a career and life on their own terms. However they also recognize that in order to succeed, they need the very best training and education to serve as a foundation on which to build their dreams. This is where real estate degrees come in.
A real estate license will provide a certain level of education and preparedness, but increasingly the professionals who truly succeed have full academic real estate degrees. There are degrees available at the associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s levels that focus specifically on real estate. They go into depth and detail about how real estate markets work and provide you with the sort of knowledge you need to position your business for maximum success. When you focus your efforts specifically on real estate for the duration of a degree program, you will enter the job market with a level of preparedness that was formerly only found among seasoned professionals.
Read Also: Graduate Schools Accepting 2.5 Gpa
Enrolling In Real Estate School
Students can take the 3 pre-licensing courses at a college or real estate school. This satisfies the educational requirement to get your real estate license. Most real estate schools offer courses online, which makes them accessible to everyone.
Itâs also worth mentioning that an accredited real estate school offers college-level courses. This doesnât mean real estate school is hard. People often choose to enroll in real estate school over a college for a quick start to a real estate career.
What Kind Of Real Estate Degree Should You Get
Real Estate is a popular area of study and there are many programs to choose from. So, what kind of degree you should get? Should you attend online? Or on-campus? Should you choose a concentration?
Now that youve made the decision to earn a Bachelors degree in real estate, plenty of other decisions will follow. Luckily, were here to help!
If youre considering an online program, weve got you covered. In fact, College Choice has ranked the Best Online Bachelors Degrees in Real Estate as well we know what quality online programs are made up of.
If youre looking for a traditional on-campus experience, keep reading for our ranking of the Best Bachelors in Real Estate Degrees.
Read Also: What Clubs Look Good For College
General Requirements To Become A Real Estate Agent
To be eligible to become a licensed real estate salesperson or agent, you must:
These items represent the high-level checklist of what it takes to become a licensed real estate agent. But there are a lot of decisions you need to make along the way that will determine your level of success in your real estate career.
What Is The Difference Between A Real Estate Agent And A Real Estate Broker
Simply put, you have to be a real estate agent first to become a broker. But real estate agents arent always brokers. Real estate agents must achieve and maintain a professional license to help their clients buy, sell, and rent real estate properties. A broker is a real estate professional with further education, training, and license requirements. Brokers might work independently, but often hire a team of real estate agents to work for them.
You May Like: How Much Does It Cost To Go To Berkeley College
Why Should You Study Real Estate In College
A bachelors degree in real estate offers direct preparation for a career as a real estate broker, agent, appraiser, or assessor, as well as a property or leasing manager. It can also provide a foundation for becoming a real estate or property lawyer and other roles.
For students looking to gain practical skills in a potentially lucrative field, real estate can offer a lot of potential. Students will learn business, finance, and economic concepts and study issues related to property, management, and more.
While some institutions offer concentrations in real estate as part of finance or business programs, a small number award bachelors degrees in real estate. These programs enable students to gain specific knowledge that is directly related to their future careers.
Ready To Start Your Journey
Real estate agents in Texas bring in an average of $72,480 per year, good for third highest among realtors in the U.S. as of May 2017. This represents a very strong showing considering that Texas ranked 23rd in an of median home prices by state. This suggests that Texas realtors close a very high volume of sales. The state also employs 1.327 real estate agents per 1,000 workforce members, which places Texas comfortably in the top third in the country. Furthermore, its location quotient of 1.28 denotes a significantly above average density of real estate sales professionals, indicating a robust demand for licensed agents.
Market forecasts predict that the near future will bring great things for the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, which was named the nation’s top real estate market to watch in 2019. The Houston and Austin areas should also see real estate sales continue their strong upward trend in the coming years as the state’s relatively low cost of living continues to draw large numbers of new residents.
Several intangible factors also work in Colorado’s favor. The state offers the opportunity for an excellent lifestyle, combining outstanding outdoor recreation with the urban appeal of Denver and other cities, including Colorado Springs. Its unemployment rate is also low, falling to 3.3% as of January 2018.
Read Also: Can I Sell My College Books
What Do Real Estate Graduates Do
45% of graduates in employment in the UK are working as chartered surveyors. Estate agents and auctioneers , property, housing and estate managers , estimators, valuers and assessors , buyers and procurement officers are also among the top five most popular jobs for real estate graduates.
| Destination |
|---|
Real Estate Agent Requirements
Choosing and getting into a career is a daunting task, and you dont want to give up before you give yourself a shot. Instead of looking at the whole picture, break your mission down into small, easy-to-do pieces so that you dont overwhelm yourself. Grab a pen and sheet of paper to write your goals down, and hang the paper up somewhere you will look every day.
Depending on your state, you must complete between 60 and 90 hours of real estate training to begin. Most real estate classes cover soft skills, such as time management. You also learn real estate basics and discover how to list, price and sell properties. Qualified courses go over the laws related to real estate so that you dont find yourself on the wrong side of a legal dispute. If you would like to become a real estate broker, most states require you to have several years of experience as an agent and to pass an additional exam.
Although you dont need a degree to become a real estate agent, having one lets you stand out from the crowd when looking for places to work. The skills you learn in these degree programs can make you a much more effective real estate agent, increasing your earning potential.
Don’t Miss: How To Raise Money For College
Make A Business Out Of Real Estate: Real Estate Degrees
If you want to have a career in real estate, there are a number of online real estate programs that can help you make the transition into this exciting and rapidly changing sector of industry. Online real estate programs can provide you with the education you need in order to be a success in the field. With the successful completion of your program, you will receive the certification or degree required by every state in the nation to work in real estate.
While you dont need a degree to be a real estate broker or agent, it helps your future career to do so. The real estate business has become more complex, and getting a good foundation and education in the business will further your career goals down the line. With a bachelors degree or a masters, youll have knowledge of all the areas and disciplines in real estate, including law, economics, finance and marketing.
Your Study Experience And Support
As a UniSA student, you will have unique access to work placement opportunities, overseas study tours and exchanges, networking events, internships, guest speakers and more.
Our campuses are equipped with state-of-the-art facilities including modern lecture theatres, libraries, workshops and laboratories, as well as spaces that simulate real work environments. These are all supported by the latest technologies and a 24/7 online learning platform. We have health services on campus, gymnasiums, technology zones and great student lounges. You will also gainaccess to a range of community clinics, which provide professional and cost effective services in areas of health, business, law and psychology. There are campus sport activities to keep you active, and if you are keen to explore the social side of university life, there are movies, cooking demonstrations, parties and lots more.
Adelaide also has a variety of accommodation options to suit different requirements and budgets should you need, from dedicated student accommodation to private rentals. See our long-term accommodation pages or explore our student accommodation by urbanest on Bank Street in Adelaides lively cultural precinct, an ideal perfect location for students. It is within easy reach of UniSAs city and metropolitan campuses, Rundle Mall shopping, the Central Market, Chinatown, and the West Ends vibrant nightlife. It is also across the road from the Adelaide train station, and on bus and tram routes.
Read Also: Accredited Nursing Schools In Atlanta Ga
Is Becoming A Real Estate Agent Right For You
The first step in this process is making sure that real estate is right for you. As a real estate salesperson, each day is spent working for you. This means handling your own office management, paperwork, prospecting leads, developing relationships, managing contacts, and dealing with buyers and sellers.
As for the salary range of a real estate agent, that amount depends on the number of properties you sell and your commission percentage for those sales. This earning structure is known as performance-based commission. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the salary of an average real estate agent is around $62,990 .
Reach out to local real estate agents and brokers and ask them questions about what the day-to-day work is like. Ask questions about real estate as a long-term career. Starting a full-time career as a real estate agent cant be treated like a hobby. It requires a full commitment.
How Do Real Estate Agents Make Money
Like other sales professionals, REALTORS® often work on commission, which makes answering questions like “how much do real estate agents make?” a bit complicated. Working on commission means agents receive a portion of the payments made to their brokerages. Salary agreements vary, but most agents earn the majority of their income through commissions.
Commission rates also vary. Some firms charge a flat rate for their agents’ services, but most charge a percentage of the property’s final selling price. That commission rate is then divided between the brokerage and the agent who facilitated the transaction. Most real estate agents negotiate their portion of commissions with a broker through a contract agreement. They then work to generate their own leads with backing from the brokerage.
Don’t Miss: What’s The Lowest Gpa
Get Fingerprinted For A Background Check
Candidates are required by law to have fingerprints on file with the Texas Department of Public Safety so that a background check can be performed. No other agency is accepted. The DPS will then pass your fingerprints on to the FBI for a background check.
Texas currently uses the vendor MorphoTrust to collect and submit fingerprints to the appropriate agencies. You’ll need to make an appointment for fingerprinting and pay a fee .
How Do I Become A Real Estate Agent Without A College Degree
To become a licensed real estate agent without a college degree, the process is straight-forward. Each state has its own set of requirements for real estate licensure, but they all involve taking a certain amount of prelicensing education and passing an exam.
Once you figure out how to satisfy your states requirements, you can start taking your prelicensing education and preparing for your exam. Luckily, there are many options out there to help you succeed, including online and weekend real estate courses and exam prep tools.
Its a good idea to plan out the next few months of your time so that you can stick to a schedule of completing your prelicensing education and preparing for your exam. Choose a real estate school thats approved by the state where you want to earn a license and offers courses that fit your schedule and instructional preferences. Many people find the prelicensing education usually isnt enough to fully prepare for their real estate exam. You can get a head start on your exam day prep by investigating exam study tools and making a plan for success on exam day.
Recommended Reading: Atlanta Technical College Nursing Program
How Many Years Of College Do You Need To Become A Real Estate Agent
It all depends on what colledge you go to. Sometimes 4, andsometimes more. Fact–Each state has its own rules of licencing, inMinnesota you are required to take 90 hours of pre-license courses,course 1, 2, & 3, each course is 30 hours, then required totake a two part State test, administered by the state, pass thatand pay a fee, then you are a real estate agent! To become aRealtor you must join the local, state, and National Association ofRealtors, approx. $400 dollars, also many other fees for the MLS,errors and ommisions insurance, ect. depending on the brokerage youjoin.
Choosing A Real Estate Degree Program
When you decide that you want to improve yourself through education, you’ll want to be certain that you are entering the best school possible. In the past, researching colleges was a tedious and time-consuming process that involved ordering packets from individual schools, then sorting through all of the material and applications. Nowadays all you need to do is search the Internet for real estate schools.
Accreditation is one of the most important elements of school selection. You need the assurance that your work will be recognized when you decide to apply for higher degrees, or if you decide to transfer to a different program. Research the accrediting agencies that have certified your school.
Here is a sample of some of the better accrediting agencies:
- North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
Also Check: How To Get Noticed By College Football Scouts