Why Residential Real Estate?
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Name some professions you admire and respect. Almost all of those require not only a four year college degree but an advanced college degree as well. It might mean 8 years of intense studies and a huge student loan debt to go with it.
Now, compare that to our 2021 agent commission income in our Keller Williams Allen, Tx office. With only 211 agents, we had over $1 Billion in total sales volume. Here's the breakdown ...
3 agents over $1 million
4 agents over $950K
9 agents over $700K
10 agents over $500K
16 agents over $400K
25 agents over $300K
42 agents over $200K (20% of the office)
80 agents over $100K
You can get your real estate license and first year office dues at Keller Williams for around $1,500. And best of all, you don't need a single hour of college credit either. How great is that?
If you want to become a buyer agent, your only costs beyond licensing, office and association fees are your car expenses. That's it. Many agents work without an office but when you join most real estate firms, they'll almost always provide you with access to a shared bullpen area with computers and the use of their conference rooms.
Admittedly, there are more out of pocket expenses if you start listing homes, but it's your choice. Some agents spend their entire career representing buyers and thoroughly enjoy it.
Did you know the average age of Realtors is 53? Thousands and thousands have started their real estate careers in their 50's or even older. There's no better second career than real estate if you've been outsourced. If you work hard and smart, there's a very good chance you'll make more selling real estate than you did in your corporate world and no-one has their thumb over you.
As a real estate agents, no-one will ever replace you with someone who will work for less. You determine how hard you want to work, when you want to work, and how much money you want to make. Working for yourself gives you a wonderful feeling of freedom.
I've just talked about money and lifestyle so far, but one of the things about real estate I love the most is you're helping people. They might be buying their first home, selling their last, or anything in between but you've helped them move on to the next phase of their life. That's always gratifying and will give you a wonderful sense of satisfaction.
It's no wonder so many people want to get into real estate but that also makes it a very, very competitive industry. In fact, The National Association of Realtors states almost 90% of new agents will be out of the business within two years of receiving their license. Those are terrible odds for any career.
Hopefully in my blog I'll be able to give you some insights into what I've learned in the business. With 38 years of both commercial and residential real estate I've made plenty of mistakes but I've also done quite a few things right. There are things I wish I'd never wasted my time and money on and also things that allowed me to get to the level I now enjoy.
I'll do my best to give you guidance all the way from starting out as a new agent to becoming a luxury agent, if that's your goal. However you measure success, I wish you the very best of luck and hope you enjoy this business as much as I have.