When most people think about what a career in real estate looks like, they think about the nuts and bolts of helping people buy and sell properties.
That is a great career choice, offering plenty of flexibility and earning potential, but what many people may not realise is that real estate skills, knowledge and experience can set you up for a range of career options.We’d always recommend you start by studying to obtain your real estate sales certificate, and work for a number of years in sales to give yourself a sound knowledge of how the sector works and what the job entails.
From there you can branch out into a huge range of different roles. Such as:
Business ownership – As a franchised organisation Harcourts offers a unique opportunity to successful sales consultants or branch managers who want to super-charge their earning power and take their career to the next level by owning their own real estate business.
Sometimes, even our most successful sales consultants can find that at a certain point in their career their earnings plateau. Or they become frustrated that, while real estate offers them flexibility in their working hours, when they don’t work, they don’t earn.
That’s when they start to think about owning their own Harcourts franchise, so they can maintain some flexibility, maximise their earnings, without working out in the field quite as much.
Recruitment of salespeople and people management become big focuses for those moving into business ownership.
Often our people take the first step into business ownership by entering into a joint venture with an existing Harcourts business owner. This allows them to take on the responsibilities and some of the rewards of ownership in an already successful business, and over time may look to “buy out” the remaining shareholding of that franchise.
Branch managers – Senior management positions in Harcourts franchises are another great career move for those looking to move away from the coal face. These roles often draw regular salaries rather than purely commission-based income and often more regular working hours. But crucially, they also allow you to work closely with sales consultants to mentor them and help them grow their own success, as well as helping the franchise as a whole to develop with sales strategies and recruitment.
Auctioneer – Auctioneering is a hugely popular career choice within Harcourts. It’s an action-packed, fast-paced job which offers a huge amount of variety and the chance to work closely with vendors and sellers during the most crucial part of any sale. At Harcourts we are big believers in auctions as a method of sale and as such we put a lot of effort into making sure our auctioneers around the country are the best, with regular training and competitions. Our auctioneers always feature among the top-ranked competitors at the annual REINZ Auction Championship.
Corporate roles – At Harcourts most of our corporate team have come from a real estate sales background and have taken that knowledge into new career directions such as business development, business operations, Academy training, growth and recruitment, financial management – or even the CEO!
Sales diversity – And remember, real estate sales does not mean you can only sell homes. Selling commercial property or selling businesses with our NAI Harcourts team are other options to consider.
Property management – The other career choice available in the real estate sector is property management. This is often a great way to enter the real estate sector, or earn a regular income while you study for your sales certificate. Or you can continue on in property management as it is a varied and fast-paced business in its own right. Property managers do not need to have a sales certificate but as a Harcourts property manager you will often be working in the same office as the sales team so it can be a great opportunity to learn the business and learn more about the Harcourts brand.
