On the surface, being a real estate agent (especially in highend markets) can seem like highly motivating work. You get to meet interesting people, travel throughout your community learning all its best spots, and the money’s nice too. However, like any other occupation, being a real estate agent presents its own unique set of challenges, which not just anyone can overcome.

Requires Self Reliance

Like much of the sales field, realestate agents need to be incredibly selfreliant to succeed. This is particularly important for independent real estate agents. The freedom and independence come at the cost of increased responsibility; if a transaction goes wrong, it’s either your fault or it will feel like it’s your fault. Additionally, many aspects of the profession that are typically handled by your agency become your responsibility. Not only does this mean that all operating costs fall on your shoulders, but you must either become an expert in several fields or learn to partner with qualified people. For instance, you become responsible for your marketing. You either need to learn how to market effectively or find people who do.
Selfrelianceis crucial even for agents working under an agency. While hopefully your agency works as a support system of sorts, many of the responsibilities linked to the transaction fall on you.

Competition

The real estate market is incredibly competitive, which can be discouraging. Not only can you expect to compete with other agents for customers, but the properties you’re trying to sell have their own competition. Buyers are a finite resource, which means certain homes can sit on the market for months, even years before finding a buyer. As such, agents need the ability to stand above the rest, which means both communicating what makes a home unique as well as pinpointing the right price for the market. Beating the competition is as much an art as it is a science, and is more delicate than simply throwing money at every problem that comes your way. Thus, not only do real estate agents need a strong will and dedication to succeed, but expertise in handling the problems that will inevitably pop up.

Delicate situations

As a real estate agent, your first priority is to represent your client, whether they’re buying or selling. You need to understand their needs completely and find the best way to fulfill these. This involves a great deal of empathy and tact, as there aren’t always words for what makes a home special in the eyes of a buyer. Additionally, you can’t exactly charge through a transaction, defending a client like a lawyer in a courtroom. You need the capacity to understand the other party’s needs, and sometimes need to find an ideal compromise while keeping your client’s need at the forefront. Some differences can’t be reconciled however, and in these situations you need the tact necessary to defuse potentially volatile situations.

Being a real estate agent is unique in that in challenges a person in a variety of different ways, plucked from various other fields and professions. As such, successful real agents are typically multifaceted experts in various fields.