Part-Time in Real Estate, Really?

I am amazed when the office number rolls to an agent who is at work on their job, and they have to call you back.  

I agree that for most- real estate should not be a part time gig. There are going to be exceptions and I nearly fell into that category myself. I spent 16+ years working in capital markets- much of which was in a teaching and related job internally for investment banks, so the financial concepts related to real estate, sometimes teaching clients, makes for an easy transition. Additionally, I served on my condo board- turning the health of the building around- something that only a small percentage of agents out there can offer insights on for condo's and co-op's- i.e. knowing pitfalls/identifying risks that most agents can't offer. So naturally, I considered becoming an agent, working part time- and working purely on a referral basis from my network. But then everything changed...and I was getting sick of working the corporate life- and instead decided to work full time in real estate rather than select it as a part time job. I imagined that if I did it part time I would likely only close a couple of deals every year- but you get that adrenalin rush of getting a client into contract and then closing...plus the extra income.  I wouldn't have needed to invest my time on things like activerain, marketing, social media, etc. I had built in clients- as a lot of my neighbors were already asking if I would consider getting my real estate license so they could also work with me as an agent.  

Reflecting back on it- I was working a full time job at Morgan Stanley, and serving on the condo board of a sick building, and later dealing with elder care issues from a distance, and then looking at working part time in real estate, I think it would have been good for a few years, but eventually leading to burn out. I have no regrets leaving Wall Street- and have even found some of my former colleagues as agents.

We have several younger agents who work part time and obtain many of their clients from their other work, you could say they work real estate full time and the other job part time.

Thanks for sharing your insights, Leanne Smith! You really hit the nail on the head about the demands of being a real estate pro—it's a full-time gig, no doubt! I appreciate your honesty; it’s a refreshing take that helps set the right expectations for anyone considering this path.

Leanna the idea of working part time in real estate is preposterous! I look back over 35 years and think about all I put into the business and there isn't a chance I could have created all that on a part time basis. Being about excellence is about giving it ones all, which includes expertise, knowledge etc.  So when the clock strikes 1:00 what?  I should have said....sorry I'm done for the day! LOL

Don't end part-time real estate! Eventually, I would like to slow down but not be entirely out.👊

Leanne Smith - Part-time jobs are great for college students. In the real world, part-timers cannot produce as much as a Career person. If a Team hires a part-timer, the individual won't be working directly with a client and whatever tasks they are assigned to, will still require a lot of time-consuming work with higher expectations. 

We might be quibbling over the definition of part time, but I spent 20 years ramping up from what would most consider "part time" to what I'd consider a dual career life, and I was fortunate that I had enough flexibility in my engineering job and/or a willingness to pay another agent if a business trip had me unavailable.  If you've got the willingness to make the sacrifices that buy you time (my last TRUE vacation was in 2018), taking engineering job vacation days to tour with buyers, meet with new construction, etc.  Instead of watching a movie or TV during the evening, blogging every day straight for 10 years, and whatever else needs done was the order of the day.  And add to the mix taking care of our 20+ cats and dogs for dinner, etc. each day.  It can be done, and it isn't easy, but if someone has the willingness, you'll have happy clients and a happy boss from the "other" job.

Am I okay with now being retired from engineering and just down to the other stuff in my life?  You bet.

A great list of the reality of this business. It certainly is not for the faint of heart.

Real Estate is not part-time Its not a 9-5 Job Either. Real Estate is Overtime all the time.

Hello Leanne, I do not know how a Realtor can do this business part time with everything that needs done.  Great blog.

Good evening Leanne,

There are very few I've ever seen work successfully as a part time agent. Last year and this year are not the years to give it a try with all the changes!

Hi Leanne Smith   Not a part time gig for me!  I work more now than when the kids were home but back then I had a built-in stream of leads from coaching many youth sports.  

When someone would say they want to work part time, it was usually because they felt they could not afford to devote the money and time to the business. They needed that safety net.

Yes Leanne real esate agents, do a LOT of work to be a part time job. Although if you are doing it just for family and friends or for your own personal investmetns it can be worthwhile.

My first thought was of Liz/Bill Spear as mentioned above, because he basically is "part-time" as he was handling two full jobs at the same time. I do think it's possible if the agent is dedicated to making the "part-time" work, and if they are available for clients. The don't have to blog daily if they're doing other things to get themselves to be top of mind. Of course, that being said, part-time agents won't be closing tons of deals.

In general, though, for most people, real estate can work well if the person is dedicated full-time.

Even if someone tries to do it as a part-time gig, they will find out very quickly that it is a full time job if they are doing the job properly, haha.

I was part time or dual career for probably 15 years but I was always in the top 5 for production in my office   It depends on what you bring to the table.  I figured that if I wasn’t making money I was better off being home with my family

Leanne Smith 

When I first interview with a Broker, I asked if I could do it part time, the Broker said, sure. I quickly found out that it was not possible if I wanted to succeed. I was working 10-12 hours to learned all I could and be successful.

I couldn't agree more!  There is no way a successful agent could have this career part-time.  The dead give-away on a part-time agent is when they call you back at lunchtime or after 5pm.  I've worked with co-brokerages with part time agents very recently, and I can tell you, I ended up doing some of their job because they are 'not available'.  I do what it takes to get the job done and done right but it does irritate me that the part-time agent isn't pulling their weight in the partnership/transaction and then boast on their social media how great they were when it closes.  Most of them leave the business because they see how it isn't feasible.  There are some part-timers, I'm sure, that take it seriously and make it happen.  You know the saying 'one bad apple ....'