What does a real estate agent do?
A real estate agent helps owners in the selling or renting of houses, land, offices, buildings, or any piece of property. They should be knowledgeable in the area they work in, which local properties are in the market, and the competitive prices for various properties. It is their responsibility to either market or sells in the best possible and reasonable price and conditions. Negotiating is a vital skill for real estate agents as they act as the middleman for buyers and sellers. Most agents bill the client with a percentage of the final sale price as the fee, but some would get a fixed commission for every sale.
Real estate agent responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real real estate agent resumes:
- Manage all accounting, cash management, budgeting and financing for individual LLC's and for corporate entity.
- Manage extremely complex REO and short sale transactions, coordinating sellers, buyers, and lenders in order to complete them.
- Create ad campaigns via Google ad-words and Facebook.
- Determine whether title transfers are assessable for taxation.
- Learn all phases of real estate ethics, practice and procedures.
- Review and analyze corporate leases, securities offerings, and secure transactions.
- Design company's Facebook pages for an aesthetically pleasing look and feel.
- Organize listing paperwork in zipForm, email contract/ disclosures to client via DocuSign.
- Follow up with agents regarding showings, order HOA resale packages, and process office documents.
- Market properties utilizing sound planning, professional ethics, persuasive skills, and a strong company support system.
- Optimize marketing campaigns base on building challenges, local opportunities, campaign ROI and progress against sales and lease goals.
- Perform all financial relate duties utilizing QuickBooks.
- Develop advertisements for MLS and exclusive company listings.
- Reconcile general ledger and business expenses using QuickBooks.
- Communicate with HOA for correct information/requirements and ledgers/invoice statements.
Real estate agent skills and personality traits
We calculated that 15% of Real Estate Agents are proficient in Customer Service, Real Estate License, and Excellent Interpersonal. They’re also known for soft skills such as Business skills, Interpersonal skills, and Problem-solving skills.
We break down the percentage of Real Estate Agents that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 15%
Presented ownership opportunities, establishing clientele and maintaining customer relations * Performed marketing and follow-up with new owners assuring quality customer service
- Real Estate License, 11%
Earned and maintained California Real Estate License
- Excellent Interpersonal, 10%
Leveraged excellent interpersonal and listening skills to act as intermediary in negotiations between buyers and sellers, generally representing one side.
- Real Estate Market, 10%
Advised as a real estate professional familiar with the local real estate market and business considerations necessary to successfully complete transactions.
- Open Houses, 7%
Distributed necessary materials and greeted potential buyers at open houses.
- Develop Marketing Materials, 6%
Develop marketing materials, graphics, collateral packages, advertising campaigns and administration of all marketing functions.
"customer service," "real estate license," and "excellent interpersonal" are among the most common skills that real estate agents use at work. You can find even more real estate agent responsibilities below, including:
Business skills. One of the key soft skills for a real estate agent to have is business skills. You can see how this relates to what real estate agents do because "because most real estate brokers and sales agents are self-employed, they must be able to manage every aspect of their business, including billing and advertising." Additionally, a real estate agent resume shows how real estate agents use business skills: "managed investment properties for a family-owned business. "
Interpersonal skills. Another essential skill to perform real estate agent duties is interpersonal skills. Real estate agents responsibilities require that "real estate brokers and sales agents spend much of their time interacting with others, such as clients and contractors." Real estate agents also use interpersonal skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "leveraged excellent interpersonal and listening skills to act as intermediary in negotiations between buyers and sellers, generally representing one side. "
Problem-solving skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of real estate agents is problem-solving skills. This skill is critical to many everyday real estate agent duties, as "real estate brokers and sales agents must be able to address concerns relating to a property." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "advertise property owners on best solutions property marketing and sale. "
Organizational skills. real estate agent responsibilities often require "organizational skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "real estate brokers and sales agents must be able to manage their own time for planning and prioritizing their work." This resume example shows what real estate agents do with organizational skills on a typical day: "assist buyers in locating preferred lenders that will guide them through the buying process * strong organizational and execution skills. "
The three companies that hire the most real estate agents are:
- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices540 real estate agents jobs
- Weichert463 real estate agents jobs
- Keller Williams Realty338 real estate agents jobs
Choose from 10+ customizable real estate agent resume templates
Build a professional real estate agent resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your real estate agent resume.
Compare different real estate agents
Real estate agent vs. Negotiator sales
A leasing specialist is responsible for coordinating with tenants and property owners to sell properties, review lease terms, handle contract negotiation, and manage disputes. Leasing specialists develop strategic techniques to promote properties in the market, respond to potential clients' inquiries and concerns, and discuss rental agreements. They also inspect the condition of the facility, identify parts needing repairs, and assist tenants with their moving-in requirements. A leasing specialist must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in organizing and filing documents timely and ensuring its adherence to regulatory policies.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a real estate agent are more likely to require skills like "customer service," "real estate license," "excellent interpersonal," and "real estate market." On the other hand, a job as a negotiator sales requires skills like "financial statements," "foreclosure," "mitigate loss," and "tax returns." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Negotiator sales tend to reach similar levels of education than real estate agents. In fact, negotiator sales are 1.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.6% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Real estate agent vs. Leasing specialist
A real estate agent is responsible for helping a client sell, rent, or buy a property such as land, houses, and buildings according to what they want. They are the ones who give accurate guidance and advice to clients on how they can sell or promote their property in the market. Agents also work with clients to negotiate pricing. The real estate agent checks and sees to it that all documents and other information needed are furnished to ensure the seller's credibility and truthfulness.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that real estate agent responsibilities requires skills like "real estate license," "excellent interpersonal," "real estate market," and "open houses." But a leasing specialist might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "yardi," "resident retention," "scheduling appointments," and "market surveys."
Leasing specialists earn a lower average salary than real estate agents. But leasing specialists earn the highest pay in the retail industry, with an average salary of $42,476. Additionally, real estate agents earn the highest salaries in the finance with average pay of $96,639 annually.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Leasing specialists tend to reach similar levels of education than real estate agents. In fact, they're 3.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.6% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for real estate agents in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Jessica Lautz
Vice President of Demographics and Behavioral Insights, National Association of Realtors
Real estate agent vs. Associate realtor
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, real estate agents are more likely to have skills like "customer service," "real estate license," "excellent interpersonal," and "develop marketing materials." But a associate realtor is more likely to have skills like "client relations," "market value," "family homes," and "sales presentations."
Associate realtors typically earn similar educational levels compared to real estate agents. Specifically, they're 0.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Real estate agent vs. Licensed realtor
Types of real estate agent
Updated January 8, 2025
