Im 19 and just wondreing is real estate hard? I heard you have to take a lot. How much do you get per house? How hard is it cuase i see job posts on Cragslist for real estate jobs..please help
It is not easy. Selling real estate is tougher than most sales jobs because you don't have a product to sell all the time. Instead you have to sell yourself to a homeowner to gain their trust to market their house, or find an able buyer to represent them. Basically becoming an agent is like opening up your own business because you are your own boss and are only paid on how well you do your job. You could work at it full time and get paid nothing, which isn't uncommon for many new agents. Generally new agents are paid about 1.8% of the price of the houses they sell. This starts out with a 3% commission but because you have to split the money with your broker (often 60/40) it comes out less and then your have to pay taxes on the money including self employment tax. So if you sell a $200,000 house you would make about $3600 before taxes. But if you are lucky enough to sell 4 houses in your first year that is only $14,400. If you got a job flipping burgers you would make more. But if you are an incredible sales person you could make hundreds of thousands of dollars. The reason you see real estate jobs offered is because real estate is 100% commissioned. This means it doesn't cost the company anything to hire you, and if you do make money, the company makes money. Becoming a real estate agent does take an investment in education and other fees to get licensed and could be a great career for you. But as an agent, I highly suggest you find a different type of sales job first, to learn how to sell and build up your sales abilities. Then consider real estate. Maybe by then the market will be better too.
