Expert Qualities That Make a Good Real Estate Agent

As the real estate industry is booming, the market is also expanding. As the real estate market is getting more and more vibrant, more frequent real estate transactions are taking place. This increased number of real estate transactions has pushed the demand for real estate agents. Nowadays, you cannot think of buying a house in Dhaka without a real estate agent. Currently, the local real estate market has numerous real estate agents available. However, most of them cannot be considered experts. There are many crooks wearing the mask of real estate agents as well. Hence, if you are willing to build a career in the real estate industry, you have to acquire the following qualities.

Communication Skills

The job of a real estate agent revolves around people. Unsurprisingly, communication skill is a key quality for a real estate agent. However, communicating in the real estate industry is not an easy task. A real estate agent needs proper training and studying before going out in the field to handle clients. A real estate agent always needs to handle people with various mentalities. This is why communicating in the real estate business is different than other industries. Because each client has their own mindset and preferences, meeting each client’s expectations is a daunting task. 

For example, some clients may not want to meet in person but talk over the phone only. Even when it is necessary to have a face-to-face conversation, they may want to communicate via text messages. Some clients may not be available at crucial times. In addition, some clients will want you to always be in touch with them and keep them up to date. Most commonly, the demands of most clients will always be farther from reality. If you are handling buyers, they will want the biggest and most luxurious properties at the lowest possible price. On the contrary, if the sellers of the property hired you as a real estate agent, they will want you to bring you buyers who will pay twice the actual value of the property. 

No matter the preferences, as a real estate agent, you will always need to be understanding and considerate of your clients’ needs. You have to ensure that they feel at ease while communicating with you. The relationship between a real estate agent and a client is based on trust, and trust is built upon good communication. You need to make sure that your clients feel confident about you. You should communicate with them properly and advise them based on the reality of the industry. Some real estate agents oversell them and provide false information to keep their clients happy. However, such real estate agents can prosper in their careers. Eventually, the clients catch their malpractices, and the clients lose their faith in such real estate agents. 

Furthermore, the necessity of great communication skills for a real estate agent is not confined to the clients only. Real estate agents need to maintain continuous communication with the industry people. Real estate agents to keep themselves up to date about the industry. Information is a major wealth in the real estate industry. It is information and connections that make a real estate agent stand out from the rest. Hence, it is very crucial that real estate agents have great social skills. It is by communicating with the people of the industry a real estate agent can gain valuable information about the market and make connections that will make the job much easier. 

Understanding Social Cues

The ability to understand the subtle social norms of society is an extension of greater social communication skills. Communication is not just about talking, listening, and replying. It is also about reading the body language of the person you are communicating with. Hence, as a real estate agent, you must be very sharp to pick up the body language of the person you are communicating with. By properly reading their body language and facial expressions, you can figure out if your client is confident or nervous. This will allow you to direct the communication in a way where you can control and drive the conversation in a direction for both parties can be satisfied. The same goes when you are communicating with the industry people. By reading their body language, you can pick up valuable information that will help you to close the deals for your clients. 

Furthermore, you need to be aware of your body language and facial expressions as well. You have to make sure that you always seem confident. A good way of gaining confidence is by maintaining proper eye contact. It is also a sign that you are listening to them very attentively. Always ensure that you come off very eager and polite with your clients. Make sure you understand the culture of your clients. Different societies have their own customized cultures and norms. Try to understand the culture of the people you are dealing with. Be respectful of their culture and abide by their norms. Especially if you are handling a foreign deal, extensively study your foreign client’s culture. Understand their etiquette beforehand and ensure you never come off as a rude person. 

Integrity

As we discussed before, the base of a good agent and client relationship is trust. If both parties do not trust each other, then there will be no fruitful relationship. It is open communication that will keep you on track to earning the trust of your clients. However, open communication may establish the fact that you are honest with your clients. But it will not give you the badge of integrity. Integrity is built upon reputation. You need to ensure you are providing great service to each and every one of your clients. It is your clients’ testimonials that will give you the badge of integrity. Once you obtain that badge, you will stand out from the rest in the industry. Both your clients and people from the industry will entrust you with their property and information. 

However, as earning integrity takes time, it can be difficult if you are a newbie. But you cannot be disheartened. Every real estate agent has to start from the very bottom and build themselves up. Things may be slow at first. You may find it hard to get clients by remaining honest. But keep in mind your honesty will not go unseen. If you maintain your client’s faith from the very beginning, you will climb up the career ladder in the shortest amount of time. 

Ability to Negotiate

A large part of the job as a real estate agent is negotiating. You need to negotiate with your clients and with the people from the industry. The better you are at negotiating, the better the deal you will strike. However, negotiating while keeping your honesty and integrity intact can often prove to be a very difficult task. However, you must never compromise with your honesty. Top real estate agents have reached the top position by their ability to negotiate without bending their code of work ethics. As a real estate agent, while you will be negotiating on behalf of your clients, sometimes, you may need to teach the articulate skill of negotiation to your clients as well. You may have to walk your clients through the step-by-step guide to buying a new house. You may need to educate your clients about recognizing a good and when it is the right time to accept a deal. A final lesson of negotiation is knowing when it is the right time to give up on a deal. Often you may be stuck upon deals that are not going anywhere. During those times, you need to realize when the deal is no longer suitable for your clients and move on to the next deal. 

As a real estate agent, you need to always keep in mind that it is your negotiation skills and decisions that will ensure whether you can maximize the profit for your clients or minimize the losses. Hence, it is a very crucial aspect of the job, and a real estate agent cannot help but become a master of the art of negotiation. 

Listening Skill

Despite being a part of communication skill, listening skill rightfully deserves to be explored further as it is an integral part of communicating and building trust among each other. It may sound simple, but there are important techniques to learn to obtain better listening skills. 

When you are at a meeting with your clients, provide them the opportunity freely speak their minds. When your clients are speaking, you have to give them your undivided attention. Even if you start to feel impatient or get tempted to reply back, you need to hold yourself down and keep on listening attentively. Give your clients the space to express all their concerns, doubts, expectations, and demands. Make sure you repeat their asks to confirm. Do not forget to ask follow-up questions and elaborately understand where your clients are coming from. These techniques are amazing methods to build trust with clients. 

Further, these listening skills will prevent you from going into the deal with false assumptions. You will not have any confusion. You will go ahead in the deal with clear and precise information. In addition, the more you talk to your clients and listen to their tactic feedback, it will greatly help you to come up with better plans to approach the deal. 

Problem-Solving Skills

The job of a real estate agent revolves around solving numerous problems each day. You have to master the skill of problem-solving skill to climb up the career ladder. The top real agents of the industry dedicate a great amount of time to tackling various difficulties. Each client brings their own set of challenges, and a real estate agent has to find the optimum solution to ensure maximum client satisfaction. For example, a client may come up with a property that has various legal issues. As a real estate agent, you have to solve each legal issue one by one. Legal issues are often very complex and take a long to resolve. You need to figure out the optimum approach to solve such issues.

Teaching Skills

As mentioned before, teaching is also a part of the job for real estate agents. When clients hire a real estate agent, they not only expect them to buy or sell their property but also expect your full assistance with the process. When it comes to assistance, you have to educate your clients about various aspects of the process of buying or selling a property. 

Before teaching your clients, consider your client’s experience in the real estate industry. If your client has made a past transaction of properties, you may not go into detail about most aspects of the process. However, first-time buyers or sellers will expect to learn a lot from you. You may need to explain the basics to them. No matter the experience of the clients in the business, you must always be patient with your client. Assist the new clients in understanding the rules and regulations. Explain the laws and procedures to them. Anticipate a lot of questions from them and prepare yourself accordingly.

Patience

Patience is another key skill for a real estate agent. Hotheads cannot survive in the real estate business. The most successful real estate agents have the ability to keep themselves calm and composed in the most difficult of situations. Not all deals will be according to your expectations. You will often find yourself waiting forever for the right deal to come by. Sometimes, you will have to deal with parties who are not easy to deal with. No matter what the situation, as a real estate agent, you must always keep your composure. You need to exhibit patience in each step of the process. 

Patience is an acquired virtue. You will acquire it as long as you keep practicing it in the field. You will need to nurture your mind into that state where no matter the situation, you can keep yourself calm and composed. You have to make them aware of the frequent mistakes that new homeowners make. You must be ready to explain the same thing repeatedly to each new client.

Tech Savviness

In the past, real estate agents used to keep their records in their notebooks and store information in their heads. But those days are long gone. Modern technology has improved the real estate industry as well. With the help of technology, real estate agents nowadays can streamline most of their processes and help themselves convert any leads much faster. There is technology to keep a record of every data of the industry. Real estate agents can analyze the data further to find leads by using the technology. In addition, real estate agents can confer with the clients virtually and can even provide a virtual tour of the property. The property valuation process can be done more efficiently and accurately with the help of technology. Lastly, sharing and preparing documents has become easier than ever with the blessing of technology. 

Considering the long list of implications of technology in the real estate business, you cannot help but train yourself to adopt those technologies. The times are changing, and real estate agents need to keep up. If you want to handle modern clients, you will have to master using modern technology as well. 

Knowledge of the Industry 

Knowledge and information are very valuable in the real estate industry. The greater your knowledge is about the local real estate industry, the better equipped you are to support your clients. Your knowledge about the industry will always come in handy. It will not only help you to find and close the best deals but will also help you to market yourself to prospective clients. 

You need to always keep in touch with the people of your industry. You should stay connected with agents who are in cities and in rural areas. You need to keep a close eye on the country’s overall economy as well. A country’s economy has a direct impact on the real estate industry. You need to study consumer behavior as well. Always stay up to date about the current market demand. You also need to be aware of the world economy as well. Global financial health will have an indirect impact on the local industry. As a real estate agent, you cannot only rely on people to obtain information and knowledge, and you have read newspapers and related books as well to keep yourself well-informed about the current industry trends. 

Understanding of Architecture 

As real estate agents mostly work with brick and mortar properties, a sound knowledge of architecture will surely provide an edge over the competitors. If you understand design and structures, you can not only find the best deals for your clients but also can find the best property of their preference. Further, you suggest and assist your clients in such regards. You can help your clients in checking the important things before buying a property. This will greatly help you to gain the trust of the clients and build integrity. Most importantly, it will help you to most efficiently complete your job. 

Time Management Skills 

All other qualities will be useless if a real estate agent cannot manage time efficiently. As a real estate agent, if you fail to meet the deadlines, cannot provide valuable information in time, unable to prepare the right paperwork, you will lose clients rapidly. You will lose the trust of your clients, and your reputation will be severely dented. Hence, as a real estate agent, you must use your time efficiently. You always have to maintain a routine life and perform your tasks in a systematic manner. 

Summary 

Expert real estate agents come from different backgrounds and may have varying personalities and methods of handling clients. But all of them possess the mentioned qualities. There are other qualities that will provide more extra edges over the competitors. But the mentioned qualities are the absolute must-have if a real estate agent wants to stay in business for long and climb the very top of the ladder. 

F.A.Q

What Degree Do I Need to Become a Real Estate Agent?

Ans: Normally, you do not need a specific university degree to become a real estate agent. Rather you need specific education and training in the industry. 

How Much Do Real Estate Agents Make?

Ans: It varies. Some real estate agents get employed and earn from salaries. But most earn their livelihood via commissions. 

What Percentage Do Most Real Estate Agents Charge?

Ans: The percentage varies depending on the property. But the industry standard commission typically ranges between 4 percent to 6 percent of a property’s sale price. 

Can I Use a Real Estate Broker to Rent a Property?

Ans: Yes. In addition to helping clients to buy or sell their properties, a real estate agent can also assist you in finding the best place for you to rent. 

From Where I can Appoint an Expert Real Estate Agent?

Ans: Mir Real Estate is a hub for the industry’s most expert real estate agents. You can easily contact them and convey your needs.