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What does a Real Estate Broker do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read
Quoted Expert
Dr. Jessica Lautz
What does a Real Estate Broker do

Real estate appraisers are unique in that many of them are self-employed. Nevertheless, it is a career that will require an enterprising, inquisitive, and motivated personality, as well as impartiality and unbiased nature. Appraisers will provide objective opinions on the value of properties, as well as assist the owners/managers/investors for real estate. They must also verify legal real estate records, inspect properties, photograph interior and exterior structures, and prepare and maintain written reports on property values.

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Real estate broker responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real real estate broker resumes:

  • Manage all accounting, cash management, budgeting and financing for individual LLC's and for corporate entity.
  • Prepare all marketing materials, coordinate closings, enter necessary data into the MLS to ensure homes are represent correctly
  • Review, analyze and process moderately complex homeowner property, contents and liability claims within assign work with REO properties.
  • Stabilize operations and financial performance of underperforming properties, directing investors in maximizing value and/or divesting assets to optimize ROI.
  • Process the movement of funds and equities.
  • Prepare and submit probate and administration petitions.
  • Draft probate petition documents and administer probate estates.

Real estate broker skills and personality traits

We calculated that 14% of Real Estate Brokers are proficient in Real Estate Sales, Purchase Agreements, and Financial Resources. They’re also known for soft skills such as Business skills, Interpersonal skills, and Organizational skills.

We break down the percentage of Real Estate Brokers that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Real Estate Sales, 14%

    Designed and implemented strategy for overall business operations including use of multiple listing service; Managed 6 licensed real estate sales agents

  • Purchase Agreements, 11%

    Produced purchase agreements and listing contracts required for sale/purchase of real property.

  • Financial Resources, 8%

    Generate strategic lists of properties that are compatible with seller, buyer, or lessee's needs and financial resources.

  • Property Management, 7%

    Administered the successful execution of business plan and observation of various action items through close interface with property management teams.

  • Open Houses, 5%

    Identify and execute marketing promotions of properties through advertisements and open houses.

  • Client Relationships, 4%

    Manage client relationships building lasting business connections and recurring business though marketing using a unique lifestyle sales approach.

Most real estate brokers use their skills in "real estate sales," "purchase agreements," and "financial resources" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential real estate broker responsibilities here:

Business skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a real estate broker to have is business skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "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." Real estate brokers often use business skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "broker residential homes, investment properties, commercial properties, and business opportunities, representing both buyers and sellers. "

Interpersonal skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling real estate broker duties is interpersonal skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "real estate brokers and sales agents spend much of their time interacting with others, such as clients and contractors." According to a real estate broker resume, here's how real estate brokers can utilize interpersonal skills in their job responsibilities: "complete quarterly mls training including icloud, property tax information, comparative market analysis enthusiastic sales approach and excellent interpersonal skills. "

Organizational skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of real estate brokers is organizational skills. This skill is critical to many everyday real estate broker duties, as "real estate brokers and sales agents must be able to manage their own time for planning and prioritizing their work." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "conducted and reviewed due diligence including title, survey and zoning materials and entity organizational and constituent documents. "

Problem-solving skills. A big part of what real estate brokers do relies on "problem-solving skills." You can see how essential it is to real estate broker responsibilities because "real estate brokers and sales agents must be able to address concerns relating to a property." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical real estate broker tasks: "appraised residential properties for legal purposes in marriage disputes and dissolutions. "

See the full list of real estate broker skills

The three companies that hire the most real estate brokers are:

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Compare different real estate brokers

Real estate broker vs. Broker in charge

A realtor is responsible for processing real estate transactions and assisting clients with their concerns and inquiries about a specific property. A realtor should always work for their clients' best interests, ensuring that proposals work within the client's specified budget and property goals. A realtor will also consider the security of a property location before a recommendation to ensure the client's safety and comfort. Realtors must finalize records of cost estimates and purchase agreements, which are essential in choosing the best property.

The annual salary of brokers in charge is $19,888 lower than the average salary of real estate brokers.While their salaries may differ, the common ground between real estate brokers and brokers in charge are a few of the skills required in each roleacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities. In both careers, employee duties involve skills like property management, open houses, and client relationships.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, real estate broker responsibilities require skills like "real estate sales," "purchase agreements," "financial resources," and "comparative market analysis." Meanwhile a typical broker in charge has skills in areas such as "trust accounts," "escrow," "payroll," and "office operations." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

On average, brokers in charge reach similar levels of education than real estate brokers. Brokers in charge are 4.1% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 1.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Real estate broker vs. Broker realtor

Brokers can either be a firm or an individual acting as an intermediary between a securities exchange and an investor. They often provide services to individual investors and traders who cannot engage directly with security exchanges, which only accept orders from their members. They provide investors and traders with an investment plan, market intelligence, and research. They may cross-sell some financial services and products offered by their brokerage firms. They are also typically classified as discount or full-service brokers.

Broker realtor positions earn lower pay than real estate broker roles. They earn a $39,445 lower salary than real estate brokers per year.While the salary may differ for these jobs, they share a few skills needed to perform their duties. Based on resume data, both real estate brokers and broker realtors have skills such as "real estate sales," "purchase agreements," and "financial resources. "

Each career also uses different skills, according to real real estate broker resumes. While real estate broker responsibilities can utilize skills like "client relationships," "financial analysis," "financial statements," and "market research," broker realtors use skills like "real property," "reo," "advise clients," and "building relationships."

Broker realtors earn similar levels of education than real estate brokers in general. They're 3.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Real Estate Brokers in the next 3-5 years?

Dr. Jessica LautzDr. Jessica Lautz LinkedIn Profile

Vice President of Demographics and Behavioral Insights, National Association of Realtors

Within the real estate sector, there has been increased growth in virtual tours, virtual listings, and even virtual open houses. Real estate consumers are looking at new ways to explore properties without leaving their homes. These tools are important in finding new ways to do business in this heavy tech world. Changes like these are inevitable moving forward.

Real estate broker vs. Realtor

An average realtor eans a lower salary compared to the average salary of real estate brokers. The difference in salaries amounts to realtors earning a $41,960 lower average salary than real estate brokers.By looking over several real estate brokers and realtors resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "real estate sales," "purchase agreements," and "financial resources." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from real estate broker resumes include skills like "business development," "real estate firms," "financial analysis," and "financial statements," whereas a realtor is more likely to list skills in "real estate license," "real property," "accompany clients," and "necessary paperwork. "

Realtors earn the highest salary when working in the real estate industry, where they receive an average salary of $37,845. Comparatively, real estate brokers have the highest earning potential in the finance industry, with an average salary of $100,958.When it comes to education, realtors tend to earn similar degree levels compared to real estate brokers. In fact, they're 3.2% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.8% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Real estate broker vs. Broker

Brokers typically earn higher pay than real estate brokers. On average, brokers earn a $44,611 higher salary per year.According to resumes from real estate brokers and brokers, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "property management," "open houses," and "client relationships. "Each job also requires different skills to carry out their responsibilities. A real estate broker uses "real estate sales," "purchase agreements," "financial resources," and "comparative market analysis." Brokers are more likely to have duties that require skills in "brokerage," "financial services," "insurance products," and "risk management. "In general, brokers earn the most working in the insurance industry, with an average salary of $129,664. The highest-paying industry for a real estate broker is the finance industry.The average resume of brokers showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to real estate brokers. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 2.0% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 1.1%.

Types of real estate broker

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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