What is a typical day for a real estate agent? This is a difficult question because every day brings new challenges, tasks, and people. One day, you might negotiate a contract with international buyers via Zoom, and another day, you might have to hide a litter box hurriedly before potential buyers tour a property.
So, what do real estate agents do all day? To put it simply, they play many different roles. An agent must learn to balance various tasks while serving as an all-in-one sole proprietor, marketer, knowledgeable agent, buyer’s rep, seller’s rep, and lead generator.
Fitting all of these real estate agent duties into a day—or a week—can be overwhelming. When it comes down to it, a real estate agent’s day is about organization, prioritization, and some serious to-do lists.
Here are some responsibilities and duties you will encounter as a real estate agent.
Real Estate Agent Roles
Being a real estate agent is similar to being a small business owner, which may be one reason you were drawn to the industry. Having this amount of autonomy may thrill you, but it comes with many responsibilities if you want your business to succeed.
Besides showing homes and writing contracts, you must also learn how to operate and publicize your business. Here are some of those tasks that will fill your days.
1. Developing your brand
What is your unique value proposition that sets you apart from your competitors? Developing your brand will make you more recognizable in the community and is essential to marketing your business.
Consider the following when developing your brand:
- Consider your strengths and areas of expertise
- Consult with professionals to establish your brand development strategy
- Utilize your unique value proposition across all platforms and marketing materials
Self-promotion may initially feel strange, but it is a necessary part of marketing your services.
2. Networking
One of your tasks will be to build your network to help you stay on top of what’s happening in your community and industry. Knowing other real estate professionals will also help you better serve your clients.
Get to know the following:
- Community leaders
- Builders
- Investors
- Contractors
- Mortgage professionals
- Home inspectors
- Appraisers
- Property managers
- Insurance agents
- Tax advisors
It would also be helpful to develop relationships with painters, plumbers, house cleaners, and home maintenance and repair specialists.
3. Generating leads
To be successful, agents also have to fill their pipeline with up-and-coming buyers and sellers.
Here are some tried and true methods for generating leads:
- Build an online presence
- Manage lead response and follow-up
- Maintain a customer relationship management (CRM) system
- Plan and budget for marketing
- Host educational events
- Ask for referrals
Successful agents make lead generation a part of their weekly (or daily!) schedule. Of course, don’t overlook the value of knocking on doors and shaking hands at community events.
General Responsibilities of a Real Estate Agent
While part of your time will be spent generating business, you’ll also spend time serving your clients. Here are some expected and unexpected responsibilities of a real estate agent.
1. Completing administrative duties
There are a lot of administrative and organizational tasks that real estate agents must complete. Your brokerage may provide you with some administrative support.
Here are a few administrative tasks you might expect:
- Answer phone calls, emails, and texts
- Schedule appointments and showings
- Write and update property listings
- Draft and file documents
In addition, there are a lot of administrative tasks related to marketing and promoting your business, including maintaining your CRM system.
2. Researching
To best serve your clients, you must have the pulse of your local market.
Here is some of the information you will need to collect:
- Average property prices
- Market trends
- Rental rates
- Vacancy rates
- Mortgage rates
If you develop a niche, such as commercial real estate, your research can focus on your specific type of property.
3. Valuing properties
What do you do with all the information you gather from researching your local real estate market? You use that information to value properties.
There’s a lot that goes into valuing properties, including the following:
- Gather vital information about the property, including the age, size, and other details
- Perform comparative market analysis to estimate properties’ value
- Evaluate the condition of the property
- Understand current market conditions
Your buyers and sellers will also need to be educated on how pricing is determined.
4. Marketing
In addition to marketing your real estate business, you must become a pro at marketing your client’s properties. Books have been written about how to market properties.
Here are a few tasks associated with promoting your client’s properties for sale:
- Write listing descriptions
- Post properties to the MLS
- Develop an email marketing campaign
- Use social media to advertise a property
- Employ virtual staging
- Use drone photography
- Film a video tour
There’s more to marketing properties than installing sale signs and hosting open houses – although those are also an essential part of real estate marketing.
5. Showing properties
There’s also much more to showing properties than providing access to a home.
Here are some of the responsibilities of real estate agents when showing properties:
- Find properties that meet the buyer’s criteria
- Discuss the pros and cons of each property
- Accompany potential buyers as they tour the property
- Help the buyer envision a property’s potential
It’s also up to the real estate agent to ensure the seller’s personal property is protected during tours.
6. Hosting open houses
Open houses are a great way to get traffic into your client’s homes.
Here are some of the responsibilities of a real estate agent when preparing and hosting an open house:
- Work with the client to ensure the property is ready to be viewed
- Publicize the open house
- Interact with potential buyers
Again, a real estate agent also needs to protect the seller’s personal property during open houses.
7. Negotiating transactions
Whether you are the buyer’s or seller’s agent, part of your job is negotiating for your client’s best interests.
Here are some of the responsibilities regarding contract negotiations:
- Guide clients on market conditions
- Ensure a fair and honest dealing
- Negotiate contract terms and price
Another important part of negotiating transactions may be managing your client’s expectations. Negotiating can be an emotional process.
8. Drafting contracts
Real estate contracts are legal documents. Drafting clear and comprehensive contracts is essential.
When drafting a contract, a real estate agent should meticulously review the following details:
- Agreed-upon terms
- Contingencies
- Conditions
- Deadline
Additionally, agents must stay updated on relevant legal requirements and industry standards to ensure their contracts align with current laws and regulations.
9. Supporting clients
Buying and selling real estate is often an emotional experience.
As a real estate agent, you may need to support your clients in many different ways, including the following:
- Educate clients about the transaction process
- Set clear expectations
- Support clients when things go wrong
- Help buyers and sellers understand how market conditions will affect transactions
- Celebrate with clients when things go well
Your clients may cycle through a range of emotions during the process.
Related: How to Become a Real Estate Agent
Unique Duties By Type of Real Estate Agent
Your specific duties will depend on whether you represent the buyer, seller, or (in some states) both. While we’ve already covered some of the buyer’s and seller’s agent’s duties, here are some additional ones to consider.
Seller’s agent duties
Working with sellers has its own set of duties and responsibilities. Here are just a few to consider:
- Market and advertise the property
- Stage the property
- Post the listing to the MLS
- Coordinate showings
- Create marketing materials
- Negotiate offers
- Attend inspections and appraisals
The list goes on, but the essential role of a listing agent is to negotiate for your seller’s best interests.
Buyer’s agent duties
Agents who work with buyers have a list of specific buyer-related tasks that are tacked onto any daily or weekly calendar.
You’ll need to find time to complete the following tasks:
- Find properties that meet the client’s requirements
- Help buyers find mortgage lenders
- Show properties
- Negotiate contracts
- Attend home inspections and appraisals
Working with buyers can be exciting and rewarding, and it can also be a lot of work.
Dual agent duties
Dual agency refers to a scenario where a real estate agent works with the buyer and seller on the same transaction. While dual agency also allows the agent to keep the entire commission instead of splitting it with another agent, this type of transaction is not allowed in some states.
Here are some responsibilities of a dual agent:
- Disclose to both parties any conflicts of interest
- Ensure that your actions are not to the detriment of either party’s interest
- Facilitate communication between the buyer and the seller
Finally, you must educate your client on the pros and cons of working with a dual agent.
We created this list not to overwhelm you, but to give you a realistic view of what tasks will make up your day when you work as a real estate agent. However, we need to add one more thing to this list: as a real estate agent, you must stay abreast of what is happening in the industry. Colibri Real Estate can help you with this task.
Colibri Real Estate will be your education partner throughout your career. We offer pre-licensing coursework for those still needing to earn a real estate license. Colibri will also help you stay licensed with our state-specific continuing education courses and professional development opportunities. Finally, when you are ready to upgrade your license and become a real estate broker, Colibri can also help you with that process.
Chat with one of our education specialists today to learn more about how Colibri can assist you with your real estate career.
