What are the top skills for Real Estate professionals? We asked our Recruitment Consultants and Talent Managers across Australia about it, and now can share the insights we got.
With the real estate market booming in Australia despite COVID restrictions and lockdowns, a lot of people choose to join this industry or to develop the needed skills to advance their career further, but real estate work is not for everyone, frankly speaking.
What do all the best real estate agents have in common? They are confident and unflappable, with great people skills.
And what do all the smartest customer-facing and support specialists in the real estate office have in spades? Attention to detail, strong communication skills and ability to take the initiative.
If you think about it, the traits and skills for real estate professionals that mark out truly successful individuals go far beyond learned skills. If you’re a real estate candidate wanting to get ahead, polish up these key characteristics – and give yourself a real head start.
1 Communication
Everyone working in real estate needs strong communication skills to cut through. This helps you keep clients and potential tenants or buyers in the loop, conveying just the right amount and type of information – at the right time.
You need to pitch your language to suit different people, be well versed in every aspect of negotiations and maintain a friendly, encouraging manner even when things get stressful. Communication is definitely among top skills for real estate and many other industries in the contemporary world.
2 Resilience
Are you confident in your own abilities, unshakable under pressure and supremely ethical when faced with difficult situations?
Genuine self-assurance is needed to negotiate and complete successful deals. You also need the ability to shrug it off when a deal falls through, refusing to take it personally and learning from the situation at all times. You need persistence, determination and a touch of stubbornness to see you through the down times and keep you moving forward – an inbuilt sense of motivation and purpose, if you like.
3 Conflict resolution
For many people, leasing, buying or selling a home is a major milestone in their life. For others, the future depends on how well their property investment is managed. As property prices soar, the stakes get higher, and nerves can fray.
The best real estate agents and property managers are well versed in how to untangle problems and destress the situation, whether it involves deal breakers, undesirable tenants or paperwork hold-ups.
4 Customer-centricity
Real estate may be all about bricks and mortar, but people form its heart. They are the ones who lease, buy and sell the property, so you need to be able to build positive customer relationships quickly and authentically.
Smart agents know that every transaction is critical in building – and maintaining – their career profile. Even one bad experience can have an impact on referrals, business and professional reputation. So keeping the customer in centre of your attention is one of the top skills for real estate businesses for sure!
5 Proactivity
Anyone involved in real estate or property management knows the daily work itself can get frustrating. Market lulls and tricky clients can test you.
But whatever a day throws at you, you need to be prepared and ready. If you have a plan, if you are the one to lead the game you win and you help others win, too. You do not have the time to wait, you can only act and be several steps ahead. Speed and proactivity are some very important skills for real estate!
6 Problem solving
There are plenty of regular hurdles in the real estate game – auctions that don’t go to plan, unexpected legal obstacles in the sales process or a buyer pulling out at the last minute.
You need to have the kind of mind and personality that eats problems for breakfast, coming up with an alternative just in time to save the day. If you can think on your feet and use genuine initiative, you are well placed to thrive in the property sector.
7 Organisation
The entire process of buying, selling, and managing property relies on top-notch organisation, good time management and absolute attention to detail.
Otherwise, you risk the litany of typical real estate misfires – missed appointments, advertising mistakes and misinformation. If you don’t return calls, you also let potential buyers slip away, undermining the reputation of both you and your business.
Learning the Skills for Real Estate Professionals
Learning the above-mentioned top skills for real estate professionals is not that straightforward and you can’t get certified in those. Most of the time it takes the school of life paired with a person’s natural abilities. Life experience, trial and error, more practice and more mistakes – this is what it takes to reach the goal.
For those who want to short-cut and master these skills as soon as possible and are ready to invest time and effort straight away, we suggest exploring the up-skilling options available out there – motivational speakers, personal growth groups and courses, relevant books and podcasts, life and business coaches, as well as detailed descriptions of available jobs in real estate. With the help of professionals and support from our recruiters, you will be ready to hit the real estate work-life in no time!