Real Estate Sales Agents

A Day in the Life

As a real estate agent, your typical day begins early with an overview of the real estate in your area. Success as an agent depends on thorough knowledge of your region's prices, so you'll check the MLS site and read over the latest reports to see any movement. You'll also skim the news to find any information that may affect real estate prices or practices in the near future.

If your first showing of the day isn't until later, you may focus on preparing a listing presentation for prospective sellers. Many sellers come to you, but sometimes you'll need to compete with other agents for the opportunity to represent a seller. When preparing your listing presentation, you'll gather tax records and prepare a comparative market analysis (CMA) to refine the price. You may spend some time thinking of the questions you'll ask the seller. The more you know about the seller's time frame and needs, the better you're able to suit those needs.

Depending on your schedule, you may have an hour or two free to prepare for your first home showing of the day. A big part of your job is showing properties. Although buyers never see the preparation you do for a successful showing, you put in hours on your presentation. You'll gather the necessary home inspection documents, photos and maintenance information provided by the seller.

When it's time for the showing, you'll arrive well before the buyers so that you can do any last-minute staging of the property. Home staging, the practice of making a house look appealing to buyers, is essential to securing a good price. You've already worked with the home's current owners to create a welcoming environment, but shortly before the showing, you might open the curtains or set out a bowl of potpourri. By the time you welcome potential buyers, you've already become familiar with the property and can answer their questions.

After returning to the office, you start the buyer qualification process. Qualifying buyers means going through the financial information they provide and assessing their ability to afford the property. Buyers who have already spoken to a lender and obtained pre-qualification are good prospects, but that's only the first step; you may also arrange interviews with buyers to find the best match for your seller's needs.

If you're a real estate sales agent and not a broker, you'll spend some part of your day with a broker who can conduct the sale for you. Brokers and agents are similar, but they are not quite the same; only a broker can finalize a sale. Many sales agents start by working for a broker and eventually become brokers themselves.