Are you a nurse who is considering leaving the profession? You aren’t alone. According to the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, 100,000 nurses left the workforce during the pandemic, and by 2027, almost 900,000, or almost one-fifth of registered nurses, intend to leave the workforce. If you are quitting nursing, what do you plan to do next? While you may not think a nurse and real estate agent have much in common, the real estate industry attracts many nurses considering a career pivot — or a side gig.
Let’s discuss this transition from nurse to real estate agent. Making the switch is easier than you would think!
Key Takeaways
- Shared Skills Between Nursing and Real Estate – Nurses possess transferable skills like communication, problem-solving, empathy, and attention to detail, which are crucial for success in real estate.
- Appealing Career Change Reasons – Burnout, stress, and a desire for better work-life balance drive many nurses to explore real estate, which offers flexibility, financial growth, and the autonomy to set their schedules.
- Earning Potential – Real estate agents have uncapped earning potential, with average salaries often exceeding those of nurses. Successful agents can significantly boost their income by growing their client base and completing more transactions.
- Balancing Two Careers – Nurses can manage real estate as a side hustle by leveraging flexible nursing schedules, time management tools, and Proptech solutions. They can gradually build their client base without immediately leaving healthcare.
- Making a Full-Time Transition – To switch to real estate full-time, nurses should complete licensing while still employed, save a financial cushion, and build a strong professional network to support their transition.
Why Nurses Consider Real Estate
You aren’t alone if you’re a nurse disenchanted with the healthcare industry. Here are some common reasons for a career change from nursing to real estate or another profession unrelated to healthcare.
Burnout and stress in nursing
According to the 2024 State of Nursing Report from Nurse.org, 66% of nurses said burnout was the top reason nurses are leaving the profession. Staffing shortages often cause burnout. Nurses want to provide excellent patient care but struggle because they’re spread too thin.
Desire for better work-life balance
While some nurses can work a regular 9-5 schedule, many work 12-hour shifts, overnight, on weekends, and on holidays. While this type of schedule has benefits, it can affect one’s personal life. This has led many nurses to seek career paths that offer more predictable hours and greater flexibility to achieve a healthier work-life balance.
Financial growth opportunities
According to Indeed, nurses in the U.S. earn an average base salary of $43.90 per hour. This equates to around $91,520 annually. While this is an excellent salary, real estate agents earn an average of $100,282 annually (according to Indeed). And statistically, real estate agents aren’t working longer hours than nurses. The National Association of REALTORS® 2023 member profile reports that REALTORS® work an average of 35 hours per week.
While this data is the average amount earned for both professions, it’s important to note that a real estate agent’s income can be significantly higher. Many work in real estate as a side gig, which affects their earning potential — and the national salary data on Indeed. According to Glassdoor, a website that allows users to self-report their income, the median total pay of real estate agents is $242,000.
A nurse’s income is limited by the number of hours they can work. However, a real estate agent’s income is limited only by the number of properties they sell.
Flexibility and control over schedule
Nurses often know their work schedule weeks in advance. However, their shifts are not flexible. They can’t easily run out for dentist appointments or attend their kids’ school events during their shift, as patient care requires full presence and commitment. This lack of flexibility can make managing personal responsibilities and unexpected obligations challenging, prompting some nurses to explore careers that allow for more autonomy over their time.
Transferable Skills from Nursing to Real Estate
While people outside of nursing may assume nurses are leaving the profession because they’re tired of working in patient care, national studies don’t support this theory. Nurses want to help others during life’s most vulnerable moments, which is why many enter other “serving” professions, such as real estate.
Why do nurses make good real estate agents? You may not think a nurse and real estate agent have the same set of skills. However, the following traits are critical for a nurse/real estate agent.
Communication skills
Nurses must have excellent oral and written communication skills. After all, they must provide clear and concise patient updates to other medical professionals while also speaking clearly and compassionately to patients and their families.
Real estate agents also must have excellent communication skills. As a real estate agent, you’ll give presentations to prospective clients, negotiate with other agents, and provide updates to anxious buyers and sellers.
Problem-solving abilities
Nurses often need to think on their feet and solve problems quickly, sometimes in situations where lives are at stake.
While real estate transactions aren’t life or death, they often require quick action and outside-the-box solutions to problems.
Attention to detail
Both nurses and real estate agents must be detail-oriented people. Attention to detail is crucial for nurses to ensure accurate patient care and for real estate agents to effectively manage contracts, property details, and client needs.
Time management
Both nurses and real estate agents need strong time management skills to prioritize tasks in fast-paced environments. Additionally, success in these professions requires a solid work ethic, enabling them to make the most of slower periods by staying productive and working toward positive outcomes.
Empathy and emotional intelligence
Nurses are known for their empathy, which makes them excellent caregivers. However, many real estate transactions are also emotive. After all, families form emotional attachments to properties and sometimes must buy or sell a home due to death, financial difficulties, or age.
As a nurse/real estate agent, you may have to emotionally support your clients as they make difficult decisions about their homes.
Networking and relationship building
While networking may not be a required skill for nurses, the best ones are good at forming relationships with coworkers and patients. You’ll use this ability to connect with others as a real estate agent to grow your client base and establish yourself as a professional within the industry.
Steps to Become a Real Estate Agent
Are you considering a career change from nursing to real estate? Here’s a quick guide on the process.
Step 1: Research and planning
Just as you have a state-specific nursing license, real estate agents must earn a state-specific real estate license. The good news is that you’re not required to get an associate’s or bachelor’s degree to be a real estate agent.
Get started with your real estate career by learning about the licensing requirements in your state. You’ll find that you can earn your real estate license within two or three months in most states.
In addition to researching the licensing requirements, you may also want to prepare for your career transition by connecting with real estate professionals in your area. Most brokerages are on the lookout for new agents, and they’ll be happy to answer your questions about working in the industry and the licensing process. (In fact, some brokerages will pay for your pre-licensing coursework in return for your promise to work for them when you become a licensed agent.)
Step 2: Complete pre-licensing courses
Sign up for your state’s real estate licensing course. The coursework is required. You can’t simply take the test to become a licensed real estate agent.
Since your work schedule may not accommodate an in-person class, consider selecting an online real estate school. Colibri Real Estate School (formerly Real Estate Express) is known for providing top-notch at-your-own-pace courses and training for beginning and experienced real estate agents. We’ve helped more than half a million people earn their licenses in the U.S., and we can help you, too!
Step 3: Pass the real estate licensing exam
You’ll need to pass a background check and licensing exam to work as a real estate agent in your state. Colibri Real Estate School offers exam-prep materials to help you pass your exam the first time you take it.
Step 4: Join a brokerage
Those with an “entry-level” real estate license must work under the supervision of an experienced professional. In most states, an experienced agent with an advanced license is called a “broker.”
As soon as you earn your real estate license, you’ll join a brokerage to work under a broker. This is a unique relationship, as you will essentially be your own boss. However, your work must be overseen by a more experienced real estate professional.
Complete continuing education and training
A nurse and a real estate agent must complete continuing education and training to maintain their license. Colibri Real Estate School offers required and optional coursework and professional development to help you keep your license and grow your business.
Balancing Nursing and Real Estate as a Side Hustle
A survey from Nurse.org reports that 29% of nurses supplement their pay with a side hustle. Of those with a side gig, 20% made money outside of the healthcare industry. If you plan to stick it out as a nurse, you may consider using real estate as a side gig to make extra money.
Can you work as a nurse and as a real estate agent? Real estate can be an extremely lucrative side gig for nurses. Buyer’s and seller’s agents typically earn around 3% of the property sale price as a commission. While you’ll have to share this commission with your brokerage, you can make thousands of dollars for each transaction you oversee.
Here’s how the math works:
The average home price in the U.S. (according to Zillow, January 2025) is $356,585.
$356,585 x 3% = $10,698
Even if you have a 50/50 split with your brokerage, you’ll earn $5,349 on a typical sale. Is real estate a good side hustle for nurses? Based on the income you can make from a single transaction, we would say, “Yes!”
Here are some tips on how to work in healthcare and real estate simultaneously.
Time management tips
Complete your coursework from an online real estate school. With this flexibility, you’ll get through a section of the material during your lunch break or when you are “wired” after getting home from a busy shift.
After you become licensed, there are tricks to managing both professions. For example, Proptech tools can be used to automate as much as possible. Consider working as a part of a team so that another agent has your back if you can’t respond to a client request because you’re working at the hospital. In fact, you may want to partner with another healthcare professional and work alternating schedules so you can attend to the needs of each other’s real estate clients while still working as a nurse.
Setting realistic goals
Goal setting is common in commission-based careers like real estate. However, it’s easy to become frustrated if all your goals are based on income.
It may take months to earn your first commission check as an agent. To stay motivated, set goals related to marketing your business, such as passing out X number of business cards or posting X times a week on your business Facebook page.
Leveraging flexible nursing schedules
A nurse’s unique schedule may frustrate you most days, especially if you miss social events because you’re working 12-hour shifts or weekends. However, having a typical nurse schedule can be great if you’re starting a business. Utilize your “extra” days off by getting your business off the ground.
Building a client base gradually
Many real estate agents obtain clients from their personal network, such as friends or neighbors who need help buying or selling a property. However, you’ll eventually need to expand beyond these connections to grow your business. This involves strategically marketing your services to reach your target audience within the community and establishing your presence as a trusted local expert. This will take time, so you must be patient with yourself.
Making a Full-Time Switch to Real Estate
Perhaps you have already decided to leave nursing for a real estate career. This is understandable, as it is difficult to respond immediately to your clients’ needs when you’re working part-time in real estate. Here are some tips for making the switch.
Complete your licensing process while you’re still working in healthcare
It may take two or three months to complete your state’s real estate licensing process. You can’t provide real estate services without being licensed, so you might as well work as a nurse as long as you can until your real estate license is in your hands.
Have a healthy nest egg before quitting your nursing job
If your household relies on your income, it would be best if you had a significant nest egg before quitting healthcare and transitioning full-time to real estate. It may take months (or a couple of years) to grow your business and earn commissions consistently.
Build a strong network
Besides building a client base in your target market, you’ll also need to expand your network of professionals in real estate-related fields. For example, get to know home inspectors, appraisers, mortgage professionals, movers, housecleaners, and handymen/women in your area.
Consider earning multiple forms of income in real estate
There are numerous career options for licensed agents. For example, property managers must have a real estate license in most states and often earn a regular income. Consider earning money through other real estate-related jobs as you grow your client base.
Related Article: 11 Jobs in Real Estate Office You Haven’t Thought of Yet
Challenges and How to Overcome Them
It’s important to enter the real estate industry with your eyes wide open. Here are some drawbacks of working as a commissioned real estate agent.
Managing income fluctuations
Your local real estate market will fluctuate due to interest rates, the economy of your local area, the state and national economies, and the season. Prepare for these income fluctuations by having multiple forms of income and saving for a rainy day.
Handling client rejections
Real estate can be a competitive industry, and you’ll face rejection. Connect with a mentor in your brokerage to learn how to remain positive during the slow seasons and bad days.
Staying motivated and resilient
It isn’t easy to work on a business every day that doesn’t bring in income. However, staying consistent and focused on long-term goals is essential for success. Set small, achievable milestones to celebrate progress, and remind yourself of why you started this journey. Surround yourself with a supportive network of peers, mentors, and colleagues who can provide encouragement and guidance during challenging times. Resilience and a positive mindset will help you push through obstacles and build a thriving real estate business.
Whether you decide to work in real estate part-time or full-time, nurses make great real estate agents! Get started on your state’s licensing process today by signing up for pre-licensing coursework with Colibri Real Estate School. Check out our Pass or Don’t Pay Guarantee!
