For more real estate professionals, the first year is the hardest. However, the National Association of REALTORS reports that the average salary increases in the third year working as an agent.
Real Estate Income Grows for Many Reasons
Other factors influence an agent’s pay. Everything from how many hours they worked a week to their home state and niche plays an important role in impacting how much they could expect to earn annually.
But it’s undeniable that the longer agents stay in the business, the more they earn.
This can be welcome news to agents struggling through the early stages of their careers and wondering when they’ll see an uptick in their earnings. On average, the most significant one-time income increase an agent will experience during their real estate career happens after the first year. However, it can be challenging for new agents to stick around long enough to break through.
Here are some tips to help new agents succeed in the first year of real estate and increase their earnings.
3 Income Tips for First-Year Agents
Staying in real estate long enough to see that initial income double or triple is crucial, but it can be discouraging to keep going if the results aren’t there. These strategies can help agents stay in the business and continue improving.
Tip 1: Have savings to rely on in your first year
Do you know how much it will cost to get started in real estate? Like any business, real estate requires some investment capital. Here are a few of the initial start-up costs you can expect:
- Pre-licensing real estate classes: (Estimated cost $500) You’ll need these before taking the real estate exam.
- Brokerage fees: (Estimated cost $25 to $500 a month) Brokers can take a commission on your real estate earnings, charge you a monthly desk fee, or both.
- Marketing costs: (Estimated cost about $600 annually) Announcing yourself to the community and developing leads takes time and money. Be prepared to spend a significant amount of energy and resources in your first year on marketing.
Not only does it take money to start your business in the first year, but you’ll also need money for living expenses while waiting for your initial transactions. The more money you have saved, the longer you’ll be able to last in real estate while you’re learning and waiting for your real estate income to increase.
How can you save money fast before going into real estate? Here are two budget apps that can help you stay on track.
Use a money management app like Quicken to track your savings and spending as you work toward your financial goals. Quicken will send you updates to help you stay on target and automatically analyze your finances to let you know where you can cut some expenses.
Also, find an auto-saving tool. If thinking about putting aside money is stressful for you, or if you just forget to do it when you get paid, use an app that will do it for you. Apps like Oportun’s Set & Save analyze your finances and put small increments of money away automatically so you don’t have to think about it.
Tip 2: Find a supportive brokerage
A supportive brokerage can be an impactful ingredient to agent success. Leaning on other agents’ collective wisdom and resources will help you learn how to triple your income.
Here are some ways to assess if a brokerage is right for you.
- Do they have a track record of being supportive and inclusive? Ask potential brokerages about how they support new real estate agents. Do they have processes in place for new agents? Can they share examples of how they’ve helped new agents in the past?
- What is the commission split? Your commission split will vary depending on your market, the brokerage size, and your niche. Talk to other real estate agents in your market to understand what a good commission split is for you.
Tip 3: Find a mentor
Having a mentor you can look to when learning the ropes can help you triple your real estate income after the first year. Finding and cultivating a mentor relationship can be the tricky part. One strategy to consider is an inverse mentorship. If you’re good at a skill that more established agents don’t have — like website building or social media management — you can offer to teach this skill while they teach you others in real estate.
Tripling Your Real Estate Income is Possible
The statistics show that the majority of agents who last through their first year will see triple real estate income after that. Learn the essential lessons early on, recover quickly from your mistakes, and start earning top dollar!
