Real estate agents face challenges of all shapes and sizes, just like in any career, but in recent years new challenges have arisen. Low housing inventory has always plagued real estate agents, but with the growing presence of social media and online platforms, being a real estate agent has become even more challenging.
Before you get started in your real estate journey, here are five of the biggest challenges real estate agents encounter today:
1. Low Housing Inventory
The housing market constantly experiences ups and downs when it comes to inventory. Bad news for real estate agents: no inventory to sell means no commission for you. Even for more experienced real estate agents, a low inventory period is difficult to navigate. If you’re new to real estate, it’s even harder to find clients because people are less likely to take a chance with someone with little to no experience.
In a low inventory period, word-of-mouth recommendations and referrals mean everything. Getting involved with local businesses and networking groups can give you much needed exposure in the community and hopefully a foot-in-the-door with potential clients.
2. Changing Online Trends
Though this may be easier for younger agents, more experienced real estate agents are having trouble adjusting to ever changing technology trends. That said, as a new real estate agent, keeping up with online trends is just one more thing to worry about.
If you’re just starting out, take time to set up a professional email address, social media accounts, and maybe a basic one page website. After those are set up, try posting a couple times a week to make you and your business credible.
3. Real Estate Apps
Another new challenge real estate agents are facing is having to compete with real estate platforms such as Zillow. Online apps are starting to do more and more work that was previously done by real estate agents, so agents are struggling to find their place.
Try to match the online platforms by scouting new homes for your clients right as they are posted or even before they are posted. Your clients will appreciate your commitment to finding the best fit for them without having to be asked.
4. Nurturing Existing Clients
With everything else going on, real estate agents also have to keep in touch with their current clients so they stay on their radar. Most business for real estate agents comes from referrals and business from past clients. If you have happy clients, keep them happy by engaging them with emails, texts, and incentives.
A great way to keep up with your client database is using a customer relationship management system (CRM) with the ability to automate emails and marketing strategies. Finding the right CRM is crucial when it comes to your business’ success.
5. Expensive Leads
The last challenge we’ll highlight is the increasing cost of social media ads. As real estate agents, we’re constantly being told to invest in marketing and lead generation, but is it really worth it?
Our advice is to use that money to hire an SEO expert to assist you with boosting your website’s presence. Improving your Google visibility in your area allows potential clients to easily find you.
Another great way to boost your social media showing is by frequently posting on your social platforms to increase engagement and brand awareness. Organic traffic is almost more valuable than paid lead generation, so take advantage of free traffic on your accounts.
Facing challenges as a new real estate agent?
Although there are more than 5 challenges that real estate agents face on a day-to-day basis, these are some of the biggest and newest in 2022.
We’d love to help you as a new real estate agent. Give us a call at (574) 551-0316 or visit the contact page to speak to one of our team members about our pre- and post-licensing programs!