If you’re a self-motivated individual who shuns the thought of a 9 to 5 desk job, then a career in real estate could be right for you.

There are plenty of positives to consider, especially at the moment when Victoria’s real estate market is so dynamic! The pros of working in real estate can include: helping people find their dream home, being your own boss, becoming an expert in your field, gaining life skills, growing as a person and more.

Lets talk about money 

Many new real estate agents are attracted by the thought of six figure salaries and a glamorous lifestyle. But there are a lot of financial ups and downs in real estate, especially when you’re first starting out. It can be hard to keep afloat as a new real estate agent and make it through the first 100 days.

As Catherine Cashmere points out in her article The unglamorous life of a real estate agent:

“Contrary to popular belief, most sales agents are on no more than $60,000/$70,000 a year, and when they initially enter the business, the starting wage is more like $30,000 to $35,000 per year.”

But on a positive note, if you put in the hard yards, then you can be looking at some serious coin working in Victoria.

According to the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) for the week ending 30 August 2017, the 5 top houses sold ranged between $3.4 - $5.7 million. With average commissions in Victoria around 2.13%, that’s around $120K in commission.

Victoria also has some pretty successful agents. Though it has less agents than Sydney and Brisbane, the No.1 female agent in 2016 was Helen Yan from Ray White Balwyn in Victoria who sold over $195 million dollars worth of residential property last year.

Helen has six years experience and says the key to her success is being honest, open and fair every customer - both buyers and sellers.

How to get started in real estate

So if you’re keen to become a real estate agent in Victoria, what do you have to do?

The first step is to train to be an Agent’s representative.

New real estate agents will usually work under the guidance of an agency to learn the ropes and gain valuable tips from their more experienced colleagues. But to get hired by an agency you first need to do an Agent’s Representative course.

This course, amongst other things, develops your knowledge of how a real estate agency operates, legal and ethical requirements and the sales process.

After successfully completing the course you will be authorised to perform the functions of an real estate agent under the supervision of licensed estate agent.

This can be done through REIV or another other educational organisation of your choosing in Victoria.

The main thing to remember is to always choose an Agent’s Representative course that meets the state’s minimum educational requirements needed to work in the industry. Also that it’s run by active real estate agents who have hands-on experience and their finger on the pulse of the industry.

Why is real estate becoming such a popular job option?

Real estate is a dynamic industry because the traditional landscape is changing due to increasing use of Smartphones and online behaviour by customers.

Tech savvy real estate agents are becoming more sought after to embrace exciting new ways to present properties to potential buyers - new lead generation apps,  property management software, 3D tours, VR full immersion experiences and live streaming auctions, mean people can now view houses anytime and anywhere they may be.

Did you find this article helpful? Sign up to our monthly newsletter below for more inspiration and tips on becoming a real estate agent!