The job of a real estate broker involves property management and marketing. He/She works with clients to buy, sell and rent real estate properties. He/She also finds clients by promoting the brand, networking, advertising, and offering services to prospective parties. The broker serves as an intermediary between buyers and sellers during negotiations over property prices and settlement details. A real estate broker works for a commercial real estate firm or operates a real estate office. As a result, you must have a minimum of an associate's degree in real estate, business, or a related field with at least three years of work experience.
Real estate brokers often need a state-issued real estate broker license to practice. Apart from this, you must possess selling abilities, communication and networking skills, and attention to detail. You must also be conversant with relevant computer software and be self-motivated. A real estate broker earns about $78,102 per year. This varies between $39,000 and $158,000.
Real estate brokers and sales agents help clients buy, sell, and rent properties. Although brokers and agents do similar work, brokers are licensed to manage their own real estate businesses. Sales agents must work with a real estate broker.
Real estate brokers and sales agents need at least a high school diploma. Both brokers and sales agents must be licensed. To become licensed, candidates typically must complete a number of real estate courses and pass a licensing exam.
EducationReal estate brokers and sales agents must have at least a high school diploma or equivalent. Although most brokers and agents must take state-accredited prelicensing courses to become licensed, some states may waive this requirement if the candidate has taken college courses in real estate.
As the real estate market becomes more competitive and complex, some employers are preferring to hire candidates with college courses or a college degree. Some community colleges, colleges, and universities offer courses in real estate. Some offer associate’s and bachelor’s degree programs in real estate, and many others offer certificate programs. Courses in finance, business administration, economics, and law also can be useful.
Brokers intending to open their own company often take business courses, such as marketing and accounting.
In addition to offering prelicensing courses, many real estate associations have courses and professional development programs for both beginners and experienced agents. These courses cover a variety of topics, such as real estate fundamentals, real estate law, and mortgage financing.
Licenses, Certifications, and RegistrationsIn all states and the District of Columbia, real estate brokers and sales agents must be licensed. Licensing requirements vary by state, but most have similar basic requirements:
Candidates must:
Some states have additional requirements, such as passing a background check. Licenses typically are not transferable among states. However, some states have reciprocity agreements and will accept licenses issued by some other states.
To obtain a broker’s license, individuals generally need 1 to 3 years of experience as a licensed sales agent. They also must take additional formal training courses. In some states, a bachelor’s degree may be substituted in place of some experience or training requirements.
State licenses typically must be renewed every 2 to 4 years. In most states, brokers and agents must complete continuing education courses to renew their license. To verify exact licensing requirements, prospective brokers and agents should contact the real estate licensing commission of the state in which they wish to work.
Work Experience in a Related OccupationTo get a broker’s license in most states, real estate brokers must have experience working as a licensed real estate sales agent. Requirements vary by state, but most require 1 to 3 years of experience.
TrainingReal estate sales agents improve their skills through practice and repetition. Because of the sales environment and the complexity of real estate deals, new agents typically observe and work closely with more senior agents. In addition, some of the larger real estate companies provide formal classroom training for new agents as a way to gain knowledge and experience, while others provide training to employees studying for their real estate licensing exam.
AdvancementSales agents who earn their broker’s license may open their own offices.
Important QualitiesBusiness skills. Because most brokers are self-employed, they must manage every aspect of their business. This task includes reaching out to prospective clients, handling their finances, and advertising their services.
Interpersonal skills. Strong interpersonal skills are essential for real estate brokers and sales agents, because they spend much of their time interacting with clients and customers. To attract and keep clients, they must be pleasant, enthusiastic, and trustworthy.
Organizational skills. Real estate brokers and sales agents must be able to work independently, managing their own time and organizing, planning, and prioritizing their work.
Problem-solving skills. Real estate brokers and sales agents need to be able to quickly (sometimes immediately) address concerns clients or potential customers may have with a property. They also mediate negotiations between seller and buyer.
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As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a Real Estate Broker can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as Sales Person, progress to a title such as Account Executive and then eventually end up with the title Senior Sales Manager.
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Build a professional real estate broker resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 12+ resume templates to create your real estate broker resume.
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At Zippia, we went through countless Real Estate Broker resumes and compiled some information about how to optimize them. Here are some suggestions based on what we found, divided by the individual sections of the resume itself.
View Real Estate Broker Resume Examples And TemplatesAnd if you’re looking for a job, here are the five top employers hiring now:
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Real Estate Broker templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Real Estate Broker resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
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The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 22.9% of Real Estate Brokers listed Real Estate on their resume, but soft skills such as Business skills and Interpersonal skills are important as well.
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