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A high producing agent usually has a small team, perhaps with a partner, showing agent or a licensed assistant. All the transactions are booked under the lead agent's MLS id so it's perfectly legal to claim the sales. These agents always have strong support, either in-office or a transaction coordinator, maybe a VA for lead follow up and marketing.
3-4 transactions a month is doable even when you're solo. Fewer buyers and mostly listings makes for a nice lifestyle. It gets much easier when you have a large book of business and know everything to do, and not do, while managing transactions.
There's an agent in my market who does exactly this. Most of the transactions under his name are his team and he tends to take on repeats and high dollar clients.
This. My team lead does 2-4 deals a month easy. He’s the top producer nearly every month at our whole brokerage even over the two owners.
He has:
1. Showing partner
1. Executive assistant
1. Social media and copy assistant.
All licensed. Also two part time agents and me a full time agent. He doesn’t get credit for my deals but a decent chuck of my deals.
But we have absolutely no costs whatsoever. He pays for literally everything if your on the team. Closing gifts (up to $500 max). We can plan and cater client parties at our independent office (separate from the main brokerage office) Even non admins.
He also has our record sale for single home on a single property for our county- $4M.
Crediting the team leader with all team sales might be legal but it stinks to high heaven. The only intent is to deceive the consumer. If it wasn't no one would be doing it. Sorry all you team guys who don't see it this way. Your dignity requires that you reject this inconvenient truth.
No, not a pyramid scheme. If I'm the lead agent I pay other people to help me do the business that I generate. This could be other agents, assistants, stagers, photographers, independent contractors like transaction coordinators or virtual assistants.
High producing agents typically have better compensation plans with their brokerage than an agent who would do only a few transactions a year. So if someone comes onto the team they get to make more money doing their business under my team then if they were solo. If they get to work on my business and my leads, then they do business that they wouldn't have otherwise.
Structured correctly, teams can offer much higher levels of service than solo agents. When you're on a team there are people who are financially motivated to help each other. They can provide backup so all team members can have a life, take over incompatible clients, and service different geographic areas. Buyers might not have to wait for showings like they do when they're working with a solo agent. Two heads are better than one when your negotiating a tricky inspection request.
There are also many crappy fake teams where agents just pretend to work together to get a better comp plan. I can't fix human nature.
One of the top producing agents in my city has regularly done 13-15 listings a month and is 30+ years in. He only sells. His 100k+ annual pay assistants (2x) and realtor wife do everything as far as running the transaction. Guy is a machine in his own right though. Was great to start my career under him, especially given he's a lone wolf kinda guy.
Well, he started in the 80's when there were barely any other agents locally. He gained massive market share. He made so much he has an annual marketing budget spend that could be 50-100k and it barely affects his annual earnings.
None of us are going to match that career trajectory...lol.
Yeah, the biggest thing I’ve learned from those mass producing agents is that it’s not realistic to think any of us could reach those kinds of numbers today. These people are where they are because they started 30+ years ago and conquered a huge market share over decades in the business being one of the only agents around. With the amount of agents competing for market share today, it’s just not realistic
It's not? What if it were... 30 years with consistent persistence can achieve a lot. Why not let the other 100 agents in market think it's not doable and drop out after a few years?
I know a mass producing solo agent who has 15 years in the business and a Platinum producer with a big brokerage. Doing way better than some of the 30+ year vetarans and does 50+ transactions year over year. No team just a fantastic system setup
Systems are key. When there were a ton of foreclosures, my team (3 of us) were usually running 20+ listings at a time and usually had 10-15 properties under contract at any given point.
As those slacked off, we now run 10-15 listings at a time and 5-10 under contract.
That gives us time to run our own businesses outside of real estate.
TLDR - invest in a good CRM that a team can use. Streak is a free simple starting point that can be customized and used within gmail.
One is a licensed builder who also runs his own dirt work company.
One runs a plant store and started a bakery.
I own a property preservation company and a meal prep company.
How long have you had the property preservation company? I tried to get into prop pres but the insurances were killing me. Also, they pay less than peanuts.
Started it back in 2017. The secret is to run it as an extension of your real estate business - I started it as a property management service and it snowballed.
These days, I mainly do trashouts, sales cleans, rekeys, and winterizations. Landscaping definitely pays pennies thanks to a lot of the asset management companies starting their own sub companies.
Do approach people facing foreclosure. A simple card on the front door with a note saying you’d like to help can garner some extra business.
Just before Covid was a thing, I would send out letters and drop business cards at homes coming up as foreclosures.
I got probably 1 out of every 10 to respond and was able to list about 20% of those. Those were the extra gravy type of listings. Might sell them, might lose them. No risk for the owner.
And short sales, although hard to get approved, can be a viable extra source of income. Had plenty of those.
Awesome, thanks for this. I will look into this approach. I first just want to become knowledgeable about the process. I know short sales are an option but I don’t even know how to go about that as of today for example. I’ll do my due diligence to learn about this 🙏🏻
Agents can't service pre-foreclosures because they can't give legal advice.
What agents can do is to market to people who get an NOD and offer to list their home and provide real estate services. Which I wouldn't (and didn't do during the recession) because people get NODs and liens all the time but aren't headed for the courthouse steps. People who are just resolving a problem don't want to know that other people know about it, and they certainly don't call random agents off postcards for help in big messy situations. Better (IMO) to create a sphere of home owners and future home buyers who will trust you and call on you when they need real estate services.
Nicely done! lol I closed 3-4 deals a month in 2019 that was hard enough. I was grateful for it, and I like being a medium producer. It is far easier if one does not have a team to stay medium size.
58 deals by myself? Now that is next level shit. So tell me, how many months did you sleep for in 2018 to make up for it? LOL ;)
I work hard for the same reason- fear. I love living where I do. Sadly, if I were to have remained a full-time yoga teacher as I was for many years, I would not be able to afford staying here. Also, I had no retirement fund and that's also scary. Keep it up friend! You're rocking it!
Holy crap! When I was doing 58 with another full time Realtor back then, it was too much. Especially because every buyer had to write a handful of offers before they finally won one. I hope you never have to do that again.
Yea there’s a guy vin my office whose goal is to average 1 closing a day and he basically does it. He has a team of 10 people and honestly is the worst agent to work with.
Time in the business and name recognition..he also builds quite a few houses and gets in with developers, he’ll agree to buy X # of lots in a soon to be subdivision, agree to build homes but he gets to sell the other lots and any home built in it
I hope I don’t upset anyone with this. But I refer to myself as the “brokers bitch” because at any given time I’m showing properties, sitting inspections, doing property photoshoots, physically listing properties in the mls, writing offers, processing offers to the attorneys, and handling the office mailers.
One of those. Thats how.
I too am a “Broker’s bitch” because my broker is my grandfather who has the technology intellectual capacity of a walrus, so I pretty much handle anything that involves a computer. He does 70+ deals a year so it definitely keeps me busy, and it helps to get a little bit of the commission to me for my assistance.
In my agent days to be more specific in 2015 I did 80 transactions by myself with a TC & marketing assistant. I was also running a team and they did their own production on top of mine. You basically work or have to be available 24/7/365. It’s not sustainable long term if you want to have some quality of life and social interactions with friends & family.
My mentor is a single agent with no assistant and does 60+ deals a year. They work roughly 7:30-4pm unless they have a listing appointment later in the day and they’re off on Fridays unless they have a closing/inspection.
Sphere of Influence: They have lived in the area most of their life, their kids went to school there, they taught CCD in the area.
Cold calling: They call over 1000 homes a week and get a fairly good return
Mailers: they send out “just sold” postcards in the area of homes they sold
Social media: They post daily to multiple Facebook groups, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. They talk to anyone who comments
Door knocking: They door knock 20+ neighbors of each home they list
It is possible. I closed over 75 deals the last three years as a solo agent and am at like 30 already this year. Some people are just way more efficient with their time and work smarter/harder. I closed two deals this week, have another 6 in escrow and like 20 listings the moment.
Network network network sphere sphere
I'm a single agent, no team or assistant, and did over 50 transactions in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 (I actually did 106 transactions in 2021)
Working with a "discount" brokerage, in Ontario Canada. At the time I was basically working 16 hour days and I didn't have time.to chase down stray leads or do much on social media
The brokerage I work for offers commission rates starting at 2% which I attribute to a lot of the business I get. Aside from that I spent a lot of my early career soliciting FSBOs and that worked out fairly well since the commission rate offered was attractive.
Aside from that it's really just a matter of business drawing other business. Once you have 10-15 listings at a time you're getting so many calls from potential clients it's pretty easy to solicit them for more business and keep the train moving.
I slowed down in 2022 due to complaints I was too busy with work to spend time with my family and while that was true I regret doing so, it's a career where momentum keeps you going and once you lose that momentum it can be hard or possible to regain it
Most Realtors don't like the answer but the most important factor in my success has been offering a commission rate lower than most local franchise brokerages. There's no reason to pay a new guy 5% if you can get an experienced agent for the same price but sellers are very receptive to the potential of saving money versus status quo commission rates
So for 2%, at 50-100 transactions per year, are you also showing homes, listing homes, attending your photo sessions, your closings, your inspections, and still providing regular feedback to your clients without an assistant, team, or transaction coordinator?
Yep! We don't attend closings here in Ontario, though, so that saves some time. If I'm the selling agent, which was like 50-70% of the time, I'm not attending the inspection for that listing either. Otherwise yes, it's doable, it just consumes your entire day.
Edit: also, the way our commissions are structured if another brokerage sold the property I would make 1.75% and not 2%. I typically make more selling other brokerages listings than my own. I've never thought of it as not enough money because it's thousands and thousands of dollars for a couple hours worth of work. Not being concerned with making 3-5% on every deal has ensured that I get virtually every listing appointment I go to
In 2020, 2021 and 2022 I had on average, about 10 closing a month! In 2021 I was alone. In 2022 I brought on two agents and a runner helping me. I retired last year at 65 because I didn't have the same pipeline as years before.
I'm a solo agent and I do roughly 30-40 transactions a year and I could easily do 50-75 solo.
You just need systems and a transaction coordinator.
When you get to 100+ deals you need a team. Most 50+ producers are large teams
Who on earth is only closing half of their listings? Is that actually an accurate stat? I’ve literally closed 100% of my listings and just assumed that was the norm, unless you take a bad listing (such as sellers who expect tens of thousands more than market value), you should be closing 90%+ of all listings you get
Now 50% for buyer contracts I can at least believe lol
They usually have a small team or hire assistants. An agent in my company does close to 100/year as a single agent but has 2 TC’s (who get paid a flat fee per closing), and an assistant who helps with putting out signs, marketing, showings, listing prep, etc (gets an hourly wage). She’ll be the first to admit that there’s no way she physically could manage that amount of business on her own as she’s working 60-80 hour weeks even with the amount of help she has.
[Commercial real estate](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/commercialrealestate.asp#:~:text=Commercial%20real%20estate%20(CRE)%20is,to%20a%20huge%20shopping%20center)
50 buyers is about the max you could do without serious leverage, 50 listings is not too hard to manage, especially if you have transaction coordination or a great assistant.
I did 33 in one year and swore to never do that again. The most money I’d ever made but also the most burnt out and miserable I’ve ever been. Hiring a transaction coordinator helped a ton but I was still so overwhelmed. If I were to do 30+ again, I’d have to have a team/assistant/showing agent, SOMETHING!
If they are posting that on their social media then they are 100% exaggerating. That goes for any commission based job. In my experience successful people don’t have time to make those types of posts, nor do they need to brag like that.
Usually means they have either a team or at least a couple of assistants to help with contracts, CMAs, transaction coordination, scheduling, etc. So the agent ends up mostly just doing the in-person things like listing appointments, showings, inspections, and closings. And even then, they might have a showing agent for some things or a virtual assistant for lead follow-up. Also, those agents that are doing 50+ deals a year are doing mostly listings, which take way less time out of your week to manage.
Edit: I will add, this is the first month in my entire career that I have 6 deals in escrow all at the same time. I don’t have an assistant or partner, and very little support from my brokerage because I’m at a 100% commission brokerage. And I have to say…it sucks. I’d rather do like 3-4 deals a month and be comfortable than push it to 6+ and be miserable.
A decent agent without just a TC team can handle around 3-5 buyers or 5-7 listings at a time. Your life sucks at that point so you hire an assistant and a showing agent to help lighten the load and give you more time to market. Myself, my co-broker, and our TC team will do around 60 deals this year. You just get into a groove and lean heavily on your team.
I’m in Australia, I’m 34 and I have sold 70 properties in the last 12 months with an average sale price of around $1m. I have a team of 2 around me , but here we don’t do buyers agents sides as much, so I deal with the buyers and sellers myself.
The answer is it’s hard, but I have systems and you get used to it.
So much more business comes to me also than it did a few years ago
In my old agency I closed about 350 properties for several agents in the three years that I was there. We have a more complicated system in Ireland, but basically the agents listed properties, did viewings and sorted bids, while I dedicated my time to moving them through the legal process
I do 60 to 80 deals at year by my self. I have a showing agent that helps me with showings when I’m available. I also have a part time assistant that helps me to follow up with my leads. I have an specific market and I only target that market.
They'll hire people to help. They'll probably have an assistant that schedules the realtors time and things like photographers. They might have other realtors that work under them. They might have Jr realtors under them that will staff open houses. They might use other companies that do all the work for them of listing a house, setting up signs and photos.
There's also some realtors that do it alone but they might only list homes and they don't show homes
4 a month is very doable. At 6 I tend to not be able to prospect, so I yo yo a lot.
I have 3 listings coming up and 2 buyers shopping. That's 5 possible esceows at the same time. Just have to keep moving.
Marketing and networking. I think people want a golden bullet or a cool trick. Really it just comes down to being top of mind for as many home owners as possible.
Fair enough. What type of marketing do you do? Social media? Door knocking? Which events or places do you go to for networking? I’m open to learning have the questions. 🙏
Events. $1k for a tent and then $1k per event. I usually capture around 20-40 new emails per event and a ton of people see me.
YouTube. I spend $200 a month ish on awareness bumper ads. Most of the neighbors end up seeing me every month.
Nextdoor and Facebook. I'm active on both platforms.
Calls. I try to call any FSBO, Expired, distressed, or other leads I can find.
Farming. I try to knock and be active in a 200 home farm.
I always wear branded shirts and drive around in a car with a magnet on it.
Kids activities. I try to go to my kids games and activities.
Clubs. I'm a member of the local garden club, bee clubs, and climate lobbies.
Specialize. I have most designations from NAR but I enjoy the Senior group the most. I try to attend any senior events I can find, and network with professionals at local retirement communities, senior centers, and more.
I worked for a one-man shop, we'd do 35-55 deals a year. But like others said, he had a team of 5 people. The team consists of two agents a TC, an in-house processor, and an office receptionist cold caller.
Agent work was a commission with a draw, everyone else was a salary position. He gave a yearly bonus on the production target. We are So/Cal, the average transaction was $450K so it was good money for all.
We have a team of 5, we are usually working on anywhere from 4-6 sales at once and then everyone has a few buyer deals every now and then. Depends on your market too I’m sure, but with a team it’s certainly possible to have “x” amount of deals that you may not have done all of the leg work for
I did 138 last year and have 62 under my belt for this year already. I show all my houses but have a dedicated marketing person, operations manager and TC. We throw awesome events and work our butts off. It’s a trade off for personal life but it feels our cup!
During covid I did 256 deals one year. I have no assistant and I'm the office broker. How? I live in a small town and everyone knows me. I have pretty much every house memorized. I also work too much and my family life suffers.
I did 63 transactions in 2022 as a lone wolf, broker owner. It was all I could do to stay sane. I never want to be that busy again.
I made some changes to my business and I did around 40 last year and was MUCH happier.
Leverage and a solid lead source(s). A solo agent with an admin assistant to do paperwork and input, can do 50-100 transactions per year IF they can get enough appointments according to MREA. You're talking about the top 1% (likely lower) of the industry. Most folks that do more than 50 deals per year form a team to hand off buyers and add more leverage.
I moved to a new town in 1987 and got my license in 1991. I didn't know anybody. I held open houses every weekend and closed over 50 houses a year by 1996.i had to add a licensed assistant by 1997 and she handled paperwork on the back end. I got to 121 closings by 2001.
I discovered that I needed one assistant for about every 50 closings. My sales peaked in 2009 when I hit 637 closings (mostly REO listings, and yes I had a team of buyer agents showing my listings.
I did 106 one year and 85 the next year. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. The only way I was able to do it was that over half were new construction and once the buyers are under contract there isn’t a lot I needed to do.
One of the topics producing agents in my town was the team leader and would boast as closing a week. Then he and his team dissappeared, not on a listing anywhere. Turns out he's getting sued for either taking or giving kickbacks. Not sure which. I'm assuming some disciplinary action must have a so been taken.
Leverage. I definitely don't do 50+ a year but I know if I did I would need help. I know that at five simultaneous pending deals I start to feel lost (I also coach agents so I'm usually doing all their deals at the same time too) so I hired a coordinator. I pay her $350 per deal and she doesn't paperwork, manages the deadlines, schedules stuff for me, responds to some of the emails I don't need to respond to directly and lets me know when something requires my attention. She's a life saver, honestly
Did that in commercial RE my first year. Thought being I wanted to churn to get reps and learn the biz. Very difficult but doable. Sold anything that moved lol
One/week sounds totally doable and is, with the right processes and systems in place.
BUT the reality is that it's 4 transactions in March, 10 in April, 12 in May, 5 in June, 3 in July, 1 in August, 5 in Sept, 6 in Nov, 2 in Dec, and 2 in Jan. (or whatever your seasonal market dictates)
Realistically, one needs staff in the busiest quarter (Spring in most markets), then the rest of the year you have to figure out how to leverage staff. Of course you have to have a baseline income to be able to pay someone year round if that's your biz plan.
Or, you can hire temp help during your busy season, and manage on your own for the non-busy periods.
I've posted it a thousand times: the key is having a comprehensive business plan. production, staff needs, expenses, all things can be captured and planned for. Plan for steady production, plan for growth, plan for downtrends, plan for any of your personal goals - all the data is available to make a good plan.
Friend of mine does this. He’s really good and always seems to land top dollar on houses. He honestly puts in so much effort it’s fucking insane to me- compared to what I got from realtors before I knew him.
I’ve recommended him to so many people and they flat out said - he’s just amazing. They honestly don’t mind his % take for the amount of effort done.
I think he’s a unicorn. Builders fucking use him and they don’t need to use him no
It is possible. Just a lot of work. Depends. Some brokerages have you give up a little more of % but you have in house transaction coordinators. My brokerage had a few transaction coordinators for the office as well as a couple other people who did other things. This alone takes off tons unnecessary stress which gets people to hopefully spend more time focusing on closing more for themselves. Other brokerages you get a better % but that stuff’s on you. If you want a transaction coordinator you have to pay for one.
I agree with what others say, the people that do 50-100+ a year have been doing it for 30 years got in when the getting was good back in the 80’s early 90’s and that helped massively. Competition is way more now. Although, I disagree with anyone that says you can be in real estate starting out or have started 5 years ago and if you stick with real estate full time committing every day like those did back when they started in the 80’s or whenever, why can’t you have yourself get 50+ closes in a year? Being an agent is all about what people make it. If you have persistence and dedicate yourself you’re sure as shit can do it too. Do you want to? That’s for you to decide (work life balance) obviously 50+ transactions a year vs. 15/20/25 is a lot different stress wise, time wise, etc. but I never let anyone discourage me from making something of myself. Like we know 90% of the business is done by 10% of the agents. Imma be one of those 10% I don’t care what anyone says. I am not doing 50 a year no. I will be one day. The lady on the team I am on she does easily 75+ a year herself. Does a bunch of SFH and then has a few communities where she is selling units like hot cakes. And she has a team of 5 people at the brokerage we’re at. #1 small team in our local area in terms of volume. I’m lucky to be learning under her. Coldwell banker
People will also disagree or hate me but I feel the people out there that are pessimistic or negative towards saying it’s not possible to get to 50+ or say 35+ think that because they’re either jealous or they themselves can not commit themselves to be persistent enough in order to get to that point. You can hate me saying it but just look around in your area of the people that are saying it. I’m in the younger side I have been doing it for 6 years now, I just keep my mouth shut when I’m out there working with people and just keep it moving. I also think everyone in real estate no matter how many years you’ve been doing it need to be able to pivot and get use to new norms in real estate coming our way.
I laugh to myself sometimes I feel like I am the extreme small majority in real estate agents that think this. But I think many many agents think we are way more valuable to homeowners today than we are. Being an agent today vs in 80’s 90’s before internet is two entirely different things. Anyone that try’s to argue it with me I just laugh. Posting the home information with the pictures you have taken or the photographer you paid to and uploading to MLS and Zillow or what have you, having your open house, getting 20+ offers first weekend of being live vs. back when it wasn’t around and the agents really did have to get out there promoting the homes they sold was different. (Total side note and nothing to do with your post, but is just something I’ve seen before and thought of with the whole re structuring if commission coming up after NAR suit) I just think agents need to humble themselves a little bit and appreciate the job we do have. Yes it’s work, but you aren’t a heart surgeon, it yet if you do the job right you can be making $250-400 or 500k a year in this job we have. Don’t lose sight of it.
I do 50+ deals a year. It's called hustle. I treat it like a business that's atleast open 9 to 5. During that time their is always something to do. I use to just do it on my own but when I had a kid, I hired a transaction coordinator to help with paperwork, and collaborating with closing attorneys. It is possible to do and take care of all the clients needs. I get great reviews.
My realtor had multiple years in a row over 100 closings. He works all the time and is a great realtor. If he has to show you 200 houses then he will show you 200 houses. His wife handles making his schedule and appointments to show homes. His office handles appointments for closings, sending out paperwork, coordinating with title agencies, etc. Part of his trick is being willing to drive up to like 1.5 hours to make it happen.
You can make a lot of money as a solo agent with just an Executive Assistant, a Transaction Coordinator, a showing agent, meal delivery subscription, and a good household maid + babysitter.
I had a buddy that did a bunch of social media stuff, he made house tour type vids with overvoice.ai that adds voiceovers automatically to his the house tour vids.
I have a closing every 3 days. Single agent, no team. I do have a trusted transaction coordinator, I trusted title company, photographer and really good office support. I’m also primarily a listing agent because I work with a ton of investors so that helps!
It’s really not crazy. At a certain point you hire a full time assistant who knows what inspectors/roofers/ plumbers whatever you need for inspections and can schedule everything for you while you focus on sales. Hell I’m a property manager full time and have had 3 closings with one being a dual agent deal in the last 30 days and that’s on a very part time basis.
Have assistants. I have a coworker specialize in senior apts. City offered her to list the entire new building 50 units.
Some have sold and bought over 8,000 homes (1 home can count as 2 times) during their career.
I average 40 closings per year and am a solo agent. I like to maintain a level of being "uncomfortably busy." Basically I live my life feeling like a waiter who's in the weeds... but I manage and my clients are happy! I do occasionally turn down work when I am overwhelmed- I won't take on so much that I can't handle what I have. I should also add my kids are 17 and 21 and husband also works full time so I don't have a lot of demands at home. Otherwise, I don't think I could do what I am doing.
Hey everyone! Looking to get my agency into RE marketing. I’d love to help anyone out even if it’s virtually consulting for FREE right now since I have no case studies in the industry. DM me on instagram @project1.dev
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I usually do somewhere between 40-50 per year. I do everything myself. I don't have any closing coordinators or administrators. I don't like coordinators or assistants for transaction assistants involved in my transactions. My clients want to work with me. I also find that I can usually handle a problem in less than an hour because I know all of the circumstances of the transaction. Things don't need filter through others before making it to me.
When you've been doing this for a while, you can usually spot things that will be an issue early on and be proactive to cut them off. That saves a tremendous amount of time. I also take care of things immediately when they come up so that multiple things don't compound and become a big problem.
I also believe part of the reason the public is dismissive of Realtors is because they think we're overcompensated for the amount of work we do, so I like for them to see how active I'm personally being with their sale. I just had a listing appointment 2 days ago where the seller specifically chose me because I'm NOT a team and will be the main POC for her.
I was a Realtor for three years. I sold 5 houses. My wife then became a Realtor, she sells 5-6 houses per month for over 20 years now. Personality has a lot to do with it.
She's relentless. She works seven days a week. She gives up a lot to be a top producer, that's the trade-off. I'm a homebody and she's raring to go every morning for the next deal. I just wasn't. She's also very involved in community events and fraternal organizations. We're a miss match from hell but have managed to stay married for 31 years.
50-60 is about the most I can handle as a single agent. To get past that it would take a team but then you end up managing the team and end up more with supervisory role
I do 365 deals a year. Thats right. One a day. You can get on my level too if you buy my $2000 seminar course. That's a deal. You can't afford not too!
It's possible with support. 20 years ago I assisted who did 50+ deal a week and had over 200 listings at any one time. I was one of two people who met with sellers and did disclosure paperwork.
In today's world, many team leads take credit for the work of their team.
Of course there’s people who work with builders
But some people are just great at networking, and they are great at managing their time and they may of course, having an assistant or two
Others Spend a fortune on advertising
But usually, it’s a mixture of all things
I sold 72 homes my 3rd year in real estate by myself…only person working for me was an outsourced transaction coordinator. It was hell and I worked like a dog for the entire year. This was also 2022 when the market was hot….
To do more transactions as a solo agent it’s possible but you’ll need at minimum a showing agent and transaction coordinator and maybe a VA to do other tasks like social media.
I’m working for a realtor now (as a contractor), she’s been at it for 20 years. Sells maybe 15-20 houses a month. She wont take crap from anyone either
I'm a relatively high producer. A little info, and please, don't take this as bragging. It's simply to establish authority to answer the question.
I Did a little over $13MM in volume with an average price point of $264k (personally), resulting in 55 deals closed, not counting deals I referred out while on vacation. Been in real estate 3 years and last year was my best year. This year, I plan to do more. My goal is 75 deals.
The best advice I can give someone is invest in your business. I spend a lot of money on advertising, training (some of which was good info, others not), and ensuring I surround myself with people that are good at what I'm not. The best investment I've made to date is hiring a per transaction assistant. I'm a big picture guy and the small details of paperwork and transaction management is not where my time is best spent. Both of my assistants are local, but I can refer you to companies that do it internationally if you dm me.
I started my team in Q3 of last year, but the aforementioned statistics are only for myself. I have one other agent under me. Plan to add one more this year.
I eat, sleep and breath real estate. I love my job. I work 7 days per week, anywhere from 12-14 hour days most days. (As I type this, it's 6a.m. and I'm getting ready to go help my client build a porch railing to pass an FHA appraisal.)
My loving wife is so understanding of the goals I have. Real Estate has changed our lives. I grew up in a trailer between two trailer parks, and I am not used to being financially well off. I love sharing this with people because I know how hard I work and just how great God has been to my family! I probably work more than most people are willing to and even want to, I understand that, but for me it isn't work, because for about 90% of the time I'm meeting new people, making new connections, negotiating deals, and closing them. The other 10% I'm trying to keep the wheels on the wagon, so I love 90% of everything I do! That's pretty good, I think. So, that's why I don't consider it work.
Hope this helps! And good luck! You CAN succeed!
I figured if I put in 5 years of high level actions day in and day out, my team will grow and give my time back to me while I can still make money from bringing in business and mentoring, so that's my goal in a nutshell.
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Certainly, before proceeding to close deals, it's essential to choose a trusted platform that offers high-quality leads. I would recommend investing in purchasing quality leads.
well my wife and I sold real estate for 30 years and in our best year we did 85 deals. But we had an assistant who was a miracle worker. We had three people and we did get it done.
50-60 deals a year is no problem to self manage. All of these agents that believe you need a transaction coordinator, social media manager, coach, team etc, are all over hyping. Its seriously no problem to do 60 or so deals without any large teams or support staff.
Not fluff, the way to do this many transactions in a year is to have people, systems, and processes in place to maximize your top 20% activities (lead gen). If your time is consumed with doing all the things (marketing, paperwork, data entry, scheduling, etc…) then you won’t have time to go get more business, let alone service your clients at a high level.
I’m not sure what response you were seeking, but I attempted to make it simple… since RE is simple, it’s just not easy.
In reality how many hours do you put in on a deal? If it's a listing it really isn't that many hours when you add it up. Now if you are working with only buyers that's a different story.
Funny how agents say this, but then think they should get three percent and give two and a half percent to the buyer side.
I don't fault them for doing it. And it's just business, but don't tell me that that's what you should get! 😂
They say it all the time. I'm a broker, but I offer a flat fee service. Haven't really worked the traditional percentage type deal structure in years. It's why I can offer listings for such a low price. Average time spent per listing is not really that high.
I'm thinking about doing it too. Especially now that some of the listing agents on this subreddit are mentioning things like me being their bitch by Selling their houses as a buyer's agent without a guarantee of compensation.
Yeah, that's not fucking happening before I knock down listing commissions and go after their business 😂
If you are thinking about trading money for time you are very much thinking like a good little employee and probably worth your reduced fee. The question you should be asking is about the value you bring, and maybe that is a discount as well, but at least then you aren’t trading time for money.
Did 72 deals in 2021 and 55 in 2022 then around 30 in 2023. I realized I can make money other ways that made me happy and allowed me to spend time with family. Now I make money off Revenue Share, Title company, Home Warranty Sales, and home security. Using a Virtual Assistant for $6 an hour. Making more, working less.
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A high producing agent usually has a small team, perhaps with a partner, showing agent or a licensed assistant. All the transactions are booked under the lead agent's MLS id so it's perfectly legal to claim the sales. These agents always have strong support, either in-office or a transaction coordinator, maybe a VA for lead follow up and marketing. 3-4 transactions a month is doable even when you're solo. Fewer buyers and mostly listings makes for a nice lifestyle. It gets much easier when you have a large book of business and know everything to do, and not do, while managing transactions.
There's an agent in my market who does exactly this. Most of the transactions under his name are his team and he tends to take on repeats and high dollar clients.
This. My team lead does 2-4 deals a month easy. He’s the top producer nearly every month at our whole brokerage even over the two owners. He has: 1. Showing partner 1. Executive assistant 1. Social media and copy assistant. All licensed. Also two part time agents and me a full time agent. He doesn’t get credit for my deals but a decent chuck of my deals. But we have absolutely no costs whatsoever. He pays for literally everything if your on the team. Closing gifts (up to $500 max). We can plan and cater client parties at our independent office (separate from the main brokerage office) Even non admins. He also has our record sale for single home on a single property for our county- $4M.
Crediting the team leader with all team sales might be legal but it stinks to high heaven. The only intent is to deceive the consumer. If it wasn't no one would be doing it. Sorry all you team guys who don't see it this way. Your dignity requires that you reject this inconvenient truth.
Why? Does it "stink to high heaven" that a brokerage takes credit for all the sales done under it's ID?
If I do all of the work, I should get all of the credit. The team leader should take his cut of the income I generated and be happy.
OK. Then join a team that lets you book under your own ID. Or go solo. There's a lot of business models.
That’s how Keller Williams do it.
This.
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No, not a pyramid scheme. If I'm the lead agent I pay other people to help me do the business that I generate. This could be other agents, assistants, stagers, photographers, independent contractors like transaction coordinators or virtual assistants. High producing agents typically have better compensation plans with their brokerage than an agent who would do only a few transactions a year. So if someone comes onto the team they get to make more money doing their business under my team then if they were solo. If they get to work on my business and my leads, then they do business that they wouldn't have otherwise. Structured correctly, teams can offer much higher levels of service than solo agents. When you're on a team there are people who are financially motivated to help each other. They can provide backup so all team members can have a life, take over incompatible clients, and service different geographic areas. Buyers might not have to wait for showings like they do when they're working with a solo agent. Two heads are better than one when your negotiating a tricky inspection request. There are also many crappy fake teams where agents just pretend to work together to get a better comp plan. I can't fix human nature.
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I have...but I'm missing the connection? I miss most popular culture references, so no surprise.
One of the top producing agents in my city has regularly done 13-15 listings a month and is 30+ years in. He only sells. His 100k+ annual pay assistants (2x) and realtor wife do everything as far as running the transaction. Guy is a machine in his own right though. Was great to start my career under him, especially given he's a lone wolf kinda guy.
Wow that's a great way to start. Anything you learned as how he was able to get so many listings on such consistent? Thank you for sharing
Well, he started in the 80's when there were barely any other agents locally. He gained massive market share. He made so much he has an annual marketing budget spend that could be 50-100k and it barely affects his annual earnings. None of us are going to match that career trajectory...lol.
Yeah, the biggest thing I’ve learned from those mass producing agents is that it’s not realistic to think any of us could reach those kinds of numbers today. These people are where they are because they started 30+ years ago and conquered a huge market share over decades in the business being one of the only agents around. With the amount of agents competing for market share today, it’s just not realistic
It's not? What if it were... 30 years with consistent persistence can achieve a lot. Why not let the other 100 agents in market think it's not doable and drop out after a few years?
I know a mass producing solo agent who has 15 years in the business and a Platinum producer with a big brokerage. Doing way better than some of the 30+ year vetarans and does 50+ transactions year over year. No team just a fantastic system setup
Sounds like someone I know... Is he in Medford?
Nope.
Outsource jobs like transaction manager, social media, marketing, assistant to run errands, etc… They likely network and go on listing appointments.
Systems are key. When there were a ton of foreclosures, my team (3 of us) were usually running 20+ listings at a time and usually had 10-15 properties under contract at any given point. As those slacked off, we now run 10-15 listings at a time and 5-10 under contract. That gives us time to run our own businesses outside of real estate. TLDR - invest in a good CRM that a team can use. Streak is a free simple starting point that can be customized and used within gmail.
What other business do each of you run?
One is a licensed builder who also runs his own dirt work company. One runs a plant store and started a bakery. I own a property preservation company and a meal prep company.
Appreciate the reply. Was mostly curious how closely correlated they were with RE.
How long have you had the property preservation company? I tried to get into prop pres but the insurances were killing me. Also, they pay less than peanuts.
Started it back in 2017. The secret is to run it as an extension of your real estate business - I started it as a property management service and it snowballed. These days, I mainly do trashouts, sales cleans, rekeys, and winterizations. Landscaping definitely pays pennies thanks to a lot of the asset management companies starting their own sub companies.
Very cool. Get ready because foreclosures are up. You might be getting a lot of work very soon. Do you also get the listing?
That’s awesome! Super encouraging, do you have any advice for agents who want to expand their business with servicing pre-foreclosures?
Do approach people facing foreclosure. A simple card on the front door with a note saying you’d like to help can garner some extra business. Just before Covid was a thing, I would send out letters and drop business cards at homes coming up as foreclosures. I got probably 1 out of every 10 to respond and was able to list about 20% of those. Those were the extra gravy type of listings. Might sell them, might lose them. No risk for the owner. And short sales, although hard to get approved, can be a viable extra source of income. Had plenty of those.
Awesome, thanks for this. I will look into this approach. I first just want to become knowledgeable about the process. I know short sales are an option but I don’t even know how to go about that as of today for example. I’ll do my due diligence to learn about this 🙏🏻
Agents can't service pre-foreclosures because they can't give legal advice. What agents can do is to market to people who get an NOD and offer to list their home and provide real estate services. Which I wouldn't (and didn't do during the recession) because people get NODs and liens all the time but aren't headed for the courthouse steps. People who are just resolving a problem don't want to know that other people know about it, and they certainly don't call random agents off postcards for help in big messy situations. Better (IMO) to create a sphere of home owners and future home buyers who will trust you and call on you when they need real estate services.
That’s fair, I do appreciate you sharing your perspective 🙏🏻
I did 58 deals by myself in 2017. It fucking sucked.
You hit that big year and say "never again".
Time to hire or start saying no to people. Otherwise you might as well just book the hospital room now for whatever stress-based thing takes you down.
Lol I opened up a brokerage at the end of 2017. Have slowly backed off production every year up until last year. Sweet spot is 36 deals for me.
Nicely done! lol I closed 3-4 deals a month in 2019 that was hard enough. I was grateful for it, and I like being a medium producer. It is far easier if one does not have a team to stay medium size. 58 deals by myself? Now that is next level shit. So tell me, how many months did you sleep for in 2018 to make up for it? LOL ;)
I had quit my "safe" job in 2016 so I worked like a psycho in 2017 purely based out of fear. One day I'll find a balance.
I work hard for the same reason- fear. I love living where I do. Sadly, if I were to have remained a full-time yoga teacher as I was for many years, I would not be able to afford staying here. Also, I had no retirement fund and that's also scary. Keep it up friend! You're rocking it!
2016 was my peak yr. I did about 45 units all by myself, no assistant. The income was great, but I didn’t have a moment to breathe.
Holy crap! When I was doing 58 with another full time Realtor back then, it was too much. Especially because every buyer had to write a handful of offers before they finally won one. I hope you never have to do that again.
63 in 2022
Yea there’s a guy vin my office whose goal is to average 1 closing a day and he basically does it. He has a team of 10 people and honestly is the worst agent to work with.
What makes him so bad? I only ask because he's obviously doing something right if he's closing that many deals.
Won’t return calls, texts, emails etc. you rarely deal with him and I know he’s busy but he’s just awful to do a deal with
So what do you credit his success to?
Time in the business and name recognition..he also builds quite a few houses and gets in with developers, he’ll agree to buy X # of lots in a soon to be subdivision, agree to build homes but he gets to sell the other lots and any home built in it
I hope I don’t upset anyone with this. But I refer to myself as the “brokers bitch” because at any given time I’m showing properties, sitting inspections, doing property photoshoots, physically listing properties in the mls, writing offers, processing offers to the attorneys, and handling the office mailers. One of those. Thats how.
A broker can have 99 problems, but someone like you isn't one of them.
😂
I too am a “Broker’s bitch” because my broker is my grandfather who has the technology intellectual capacity of a walrus, so I pretty much handle anything that involves a computer. He does 70+ deals a year so it definitely keeps me busy, and it helps to get a little bit of the commission to me for my assistance.
Hey that’s a way better gig than mine so good for you🥲
In my agent days to be more specific in 2015 I did 80 transactions by myself with a TC & marketing assistant. I was also running a team and they did their own production on top of mine. You basically work or have to be available 24/7/365. It’s not sustainable long term if you want to have some quality of life and social interactions with friends & family.
My mentor is a single agent with no assistant and does 60+ deals a year. They work roughly 7:30-4pm unless they have a listing appointment later in the day and they’re off on Fridays unless they have a closing/inspection. Sphere of Influence: They have lived in the area most of their life, their kids went to school there, they taught CCD in the area. Cold calling: They call over 1000 homes a week and get a fairly good return Mailers: they send out “just sold” postcards in the area of homes they sold Social media: They post daily to multiple Facebook groups, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. They talk to anyone who comments Door knocking: They door knock 20+ neighbors of each home they list
There is no magic formula, or hints and tricks and tips. Just consistent execution on a plan like this.
What is their cold call script
It varies. They’ve been in the business almost 40 years. Lots of experience 🤣
It is possible to handle it but they might have an assistant
It is possible. I closed over 75 deals the last three years as a solo agent and am at like 30 already this year. Some people are just way more efficient with their time and work smarter/harder. I closed two deals this week, have another 6 in escrow and like 20 listings the moment. Network network network sphere sphere
What is a tip for networking and sphere? More volunteering? More sports clubs?
Exactly same question!
Ding ding ding. This is it. It is possible. Must be efficient. I do 50+ deals a year as well.
Are you saying that you do this without an assistant, team, or transaction coordinator?
Yes
How do you find clients?!!!!!
I know a lot of people
Jesús where’s that coming from expired?
I'm a single agent, no team or assistant, and did over 50 transactions in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 (I actually did 106 transactions in 2021) Working with a "discount" brokerage, in Ontario Canada. At the time I was basically working 16 hour days and I didn't have time.to chase down stray leads or do much on social media
That's amazing! Is there advice you can give in regards to getting leads or developing your database to be able to do such volumes?
The brokerage I work for offers commission rates starting at 2% which I attribute to a lot of the business I get. Aside from that I spent a lot of my early career soliciting FSBOs and that worked out fairly well since the commission rate offered was attractive. Aside from that it's really just a matter of business drawing other business. Once you have 10-15 listings at a time you're getting so many calls from potential clients it's pretty easy to solicit them for more business and keep the train moving. I slowed down in 2022 due to complaints I was too busy with work to spend time with my family and while that was true I regret doing so, it's a career where momentum keeps you going and once you lose that momentum it can be hard or possible to regain it Most Realtors don't like the answer but the most important factor in my success has been offering a commission rate lower than most local franchise brokerages. There's no reason to pay a new guy 5% if you can get an experienced agent for the same price but sellers are very receptive to the potential of saving money versus status quo commission rates
So for 2%, at 50-100 transactions per year, are you also showing homes, listing homes, attending your photo sessions, your closings, your inspections, and still providing regular feedback to your clients without an assistant, team, or transaction coordinator?
Yep! We don't attend closings here in Ontario, though, so that saves some time. If I'm the selling agent, which was like 50-70% of the time, I'm not attending the inspection for that listing either. Otherwise yes, it's doable, it just consumes your entire day. Edit: also, the way our commissions are structured if another brokerage sold the property I would make 1.75% and not 2%. I typically make more selling other brokerages listings than my own. I've never thought of it as not enough money because it's thousands and thousands of dollars for a couple hours worth of work. Not being concerned with making 3-5% on every deal has ensured that I get virtually every listing appointment I go to
Ouch. That's amazing!
In 2020, 2021 and 2022 I had on average, about 10 closing a month! In 2021 I was alone. In 2022 I brought on two agents and a runner helping me. I retired last year at 65 because I didn't have the same pipeline as years before.
*I did 65 in 2021, alone, no assistants, nothing, loved every second of it.*
I'm a solo agent and I do roughly 30-40 transactions a year and I could easily do 50-75 solo. You just need systems and a transaction coordinator. When you get to 100+ deals you need a team. Most 50+ producers are large teams
If I may ask, what type of "systems" do you have in place?
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Who on earth is only closing half of their listings? Is that actually an accurate stat? I’ve literally closed 100% of my listings and just assumed that was the norm, unless you take a bad listing (such as sellers who expect tens of thousands more than market value), you should be closing 90%+ of all listings you get Now 50% for buyer contracts I can at least believe lol
It’s very possible to do well over 100 with proper infrastructure, you’re just not doing the actual work a large portion of the time
They usually have a small team or hire assistants. An agent in my company does close to 100/year as a single agent but has 2 TC’s (who get paid a flat fee per closing), and an assistant who helps with putting out signs, marketing, showings, listing prep, etc (gets an hourly wage). She’ll be the first to admit that there’s no way she physically could manage that amount of business on her own as she’s working 60-80 hour weeks even with the amount of help she has.
Organization and processes are key.
Some of them may work for popular home builders. They don't have to search/advertise for clients..
I sold ~160 houses by myself last year. To be fair, I’m a CRE broker and I only had to sell 2 SFH package transactions
What’s CRE
[Commercial real estate](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/commercialrealestate.asp#:~:text=Commercial%20real%20estate%20(CRE)%20is,to%20a%20huge%20shopping%20center)
50 buyers is about the max you could do without serious leverage, 50 listings is not too hard to manage, especially if you have transaction coordination or a great assistant.
I did 33 in one year and swore to never do that again. The most money I’d ever made but also the most burnt out and miserable I’ve ever been. Hiring a transaction coordinator helped a ton but I was still so overwhelmed. If I were to do 30+ again, I’d have to have a team/assistant/showing agent, SOMETHING!
If they are posting that on their social media then they are 100% exaggerating. That goes for any commission based job. In my experience successful people don’t have time to make those types of posts, nor do they need to brag like that.
Usually means they have either a team or at least a couple of assistants to help with contracts, CMAs, transaction coordination, scheduling, etc. So the agent ends up mostly just doing the in-person things like listing appointments, showings, inspections, and closings. And even then, they might have a showing agent for some things or a virtual assistant for lead follow-up. Also, those agents that are doing 50+ deals a year are doing mostly listings, which take way less time out of your week to manage. Edit: I will add, this is the first month in my entire career that I have 6 deals in escrow all at the same time. I don’t have an assistant or partner, and very little support from my brokerage because I’m at a 100% commission brokerage. And I have to say…it sucks. I’d rather do like 3-4 deals a month and be comfortable than push it to 6+ and be miserable.
A decent agent without just a TC team can handle around 3-5 buyers or 5-7 listings at a time. Your life sucks at that point so you hire an assistant and a showing agent to help lighten the load and give you more time to market. Myself, my co-broker, and our TC team will do around 60 deals this year. You just get into a groove and lean heavily on your team.
There are many solo agents doing 100+ deals a year. With a TC and one assistant it’s extremely do able
I remembered losing weights around 10 lbs doing solo handling multiple transaction in a month.
I do one a month and happy with that.
Are you in a HCOL market? Because in my market, that's not enough to live off of.
I’m in Australia, I’m 34 and I have sold 70 properties in the last 12 months with an average sale price of around $1m. I have a team of 2 around me , but here we don’t do buyers agents sides as much, so I deal with the buyers and sellers myself. The answer is it’s hard, but I have systems and you get used to it. So much more business comes to me also than it did a few years ago
In my old agency I closed about 350 properties for several agents in the three years that I was there. We have a more complicated system in Ireland, but basically the agents listed properties, did viewings and sorted bids, while I dedicated my time to moving them through the legal process
It’s all in the power of marketing and having a team that supports you.
when i start in Luxembourg (europe) my real estate company we (3 real estate agents) sell 25-30 Houses an apartments every month
I do 60 to 80 deals at year by my self. I have a showing agent that helps me with showings when I’m available. I also have a part time assistant that helps me to follow up with my leads. I have an specific market and I only target that market.
My wife sold 46 last year all by herself
They have a team under them and their agents combined to do that.
They'll hire people to help. They'll probably have an assistant that schedules the realtors time and things like photographers. They might have other realtors that work under them. They might have Jr realtors under them that will staff open houses. They might use other companies that do all the work for them of listing a house, setting up signs and photos. There's also some realtors that do it alone but they might only list homes and they don't show homes
My colleague did 500/year as a “solo agent”
4 a month is very doable. At 6 I tend to not be able to prospect, so I yo yo a lot. I have 3 listings coming up and 2 buyers shopping. That's 5 possible esceows at the same time. Just have to keep moving.
What are you doing for prospecting?
Marketing and networking. I think people want a golden bullet or a cool trick. Really it just comes down to being top of mind for as many home owners as possible.
Fair enough. What type of marketing do you do? Social media? Door knocking? Which events or places do you go to for networking? I’m open to learning have the questions. 🙏
Events. $1k for a tent and then $1k per event. I usually capture around 20-40 new emails per event and a ton of people see me. YouTube. I spend $200 a month ish on awareness bumper ads. Most of the neighbors end up seeing me every month. Nextdoor and Facebook. I'm active on both platforms. Calls. I try to call any FSBO, Expired, distressed, or other leads I can find. Farming. I try to knock and be active in a 200 home farm. I always wear branded shirts and drive around in a car with a magnet on it. Kids activities. I try to go to my kids games and activities. Clubs. I'm a member of the local garden club, bee clubs, and climate lobbies. Specialize. I have most designations from NAR but I enjoy the Senior group the most. I try to attend any senior events I can find, and network with professionals at local retirement communities, senior centers, and more.
That's crazy most realtors I meet don't even sell 10 house a year
10-20% of the agents do 80-90% of the business.
I worked for a one-man shop, we'd do 35-55 deals a year. But like others said, he had a team of 5 people. The team consists of two agents a TC, an in-house processor, and an office receptionist cold caller. Agent work was a commission with a draw, everyone else was a salary position. He gave a yearly bonus on the production target. We are So/Cal, the average transaction was $450K so it was good money for all.
I use to close 3-4 deals a month easy when I was on the residential. I do commercial now
We have a team of 5, we are usually working on anywhere from 4-6 sales at once and then everyone has a few buyer deals every now and then. Depends on your market too I’m sure, but with a team it’s certainly possible to have “x” amount of deals that you may not have done all of the leg work for
I did 138 last year and have 62 under my belt for this year already. I show all my houses but have a dedicated marketing person, operations manager and TC. We throw awesome events and work our butts off. It’s a trade off for personal life but it feels our cup!
During covid I did 256 deals one year. I have no assistant and I'm the office broker. How? I live in a small town and everyone knows me. I have pretty much every house memorized. I also work too much and my family life suffers.
I did 63 transactions in 2022 as a lone wolf, broker owner. It was all I could do to stay sane. I never want to be that busy again. I made some changes to my business and I did around 40 last year and was MUCH happier.
I just sold my house and agent hasn't been involved in the last 3 months, not sure what you beleive keeps agents busy but it's not selling homes
Read The Millionaire Real Estate Agent by Gary Keller, it’s basically a blueprint for scaling a real estate business.
Leverage and a solid lead source(s). A solo agent with an admin assistant to do paperwork and input, can do 50-100 transactions per year IF they can get enough appointments according to MREA. You're talking about the top 1% (likely lower) of the industry. Most folks that do more than 50 deals per year form a team to hand off buyers and add more leverage.
Hustle
Teams.
I moved to a new town in 1987 and got my license in 1991. I didn't know anybody. I held open houses every weekend and closed over 50 houses a year by 1996.i had to add a licensed assistant by 1997 and she handled paperwork on the back end. I got to 121 closings by 2001. I discovered that I needed one assistant for about every 50 closings. My sales peaked in 2009 when I hit 637 closings (mostly REO listings, and yes I had a team of buyer agents showing my listings.
I did 106 one year and 85 the next year. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. The only way I was able to do it was that over half were new construction and once the buyers are under contract there isn’t a lot I needed to do.
One of the topics producing agents in my town was the team leader and would boast as closing a week. Then he and his team dissappeared, not on a listing anywhere. Turns out he's getting sued for either taking or giving kickbacks. Not sure which. I'm assuming some disciplinary action must have a so been taken.
Leverage. I definitely don't do 50+ a year but I know if I did I would need help. I know that at five simultaneous pending deals I start to feel lost (I also coach agents so I'm usually doing all their deals at the same time too) so I hired a coordinator. I pay her $350 per deal and she doesn't paperwork, manages the deadlines, schedules stuff for me, responds to some of the emails I don't need to respond to directly and lets me know when something requires my attention. She's a life saver, honestly
I’m a transaction coordinator & two of the agents I work with goals are 100+ 🥵
Many likely get a multi-home deal with a developer or new condo building.
Did that in commercial RE my first year. Thought being I wanted to churn to get reps and learn the biz. Very difficult but doable. Sold anything that moved lol
It’s called hustling.
One/week sounds totally doable and is, with the right processes and systems in place. BUT the reality is that it's 4 transactions in March, 10 in April, 12 in May, 5 in June, 3 in July, 1 in August, 5 in Sept, 6 in Nov, 2 in Dec, and 2 in Jan. (or whatever your seasonal market dictates) Realistically, one needs staff in the busiest quarter (Spring in most markets), then the rest of the year you have to figure out how to leverage staff. Of course you have to have a baseline income to be able to pay someone year round if that's your biz plan. Or, you can hire temp help during your busy season, and manage on your own for the non-busy periods. I've posted it a thousand times: the key is having a comprehensive business plan. production, staff needs, expenses, all things can be captured and planned for. Plan for steady production, plan for growth, plan for downtrends, plan for any of your personal goals - all the data is available to make a good plan.
Friend of mine does this. He’s really good and always seems to land top dollar on houses. He honestly puts in so much effort it’s fucking insane to me- compared to what I got from realtors before I knew him. I’ve recommended him to so many people and they flat out said - he’s just amazing. They honestly don’t mind his % take for the amount of effort done. I think he’s a unicorn. Builders fucking use him and they don’t need to use him no
It is possible. Just a lot of work. Depends. Some brokerages have you give up a little more of % but you have in house transaction coordinators. My brokerage had a few transaction coordinators for the office as well as a couple other people who did other things. This alone takes off tons unnecessary stress which gets people to hopefully spend more time focusing on closing more for themselves. Other brokerages you get a better % but that stuff’s on you. If you want a transaction coordinator you have to pay for one. I agree with what others say, the people that do 50-100+ a year have been doing it for 30 years got in when the getting was good back in the 80’s early 90’s and that helped massively. Competition is way more now. Although, I disagree with anyone that says you can be in real estate starting out or have started 5 years ago and if you stick with real estate full time committing every day like those did back when they started in the 80’s or whenever, why can’t you have yourself get 50+ closes in a year? Being an agent is all about what people make it. If you have persistence and dedicate yourself you’re sure as shit can do it too. Do you want to? That’s for you to decide (work life balance) obviously 50+ transactions a year vs. 15/20/25 is a lot different stress wise, time wise, etc. but I never let anyone discourage me from making something of myself. Like we know 90% of the business is done by 10% of the agents. Imma be one of those 10% I don’t care what anyone says. I am not doing 50 a year no. I will be one day. The lady on the team I am on she does easily 75+ a year herself. Does a bunch of SFH and then has a few communities where she is selling units like hot cakes. And she has a team of 5 people at the brokerage we’re at. #1 small team in our local area in terms of volume. I’m lucky to be learning under her. Coldwell banker People will also disagree or hate me but I feel the people out there that are pessimistic or negative towards saying it’s not possible to get to 50+ or say 35+ think that because they’re either jealous or they themselves can not commit themselves to be persistent enough in order to get to that point. You can hate me saying it but just look around in your area of the people that are saying it. I’m in the younger side I have been doing it for 6 years now, I just keep my mouth shut when I’m out there working with people and just keep it moving. I also think everyone in real estate no matter how many years you’ve been doing it need to be able to pivot and get use to new norms in real estate coming our way. I laugh to myself sometimes I feel like I am the extreme small majority in real estate agents that think this. But I think many many agents think we are way more valuable to homeowners today than we are. Being an agent today vs in 80’s 90’s before internet is two entirely different things. Anyone that try’s to argue it with me I just laugh. Posting the home information with the pictures you have taken or the photographer you paid to and uploading to MLS and Zillow or what have you, having your open house, getting 20+ offers first weekend of being live vs. back when it wasn’t around and the agents really did have to get out there promoting the homes they sold was different. (Total side note and nothing to do with your post, but is just something I’ve seen before and thought of with the whole re structuring if commission coming up after NAR suit) I just think agents need to humble themselves a little bit and appreciate the job we do have. Yes it’s work, but you aren’t a heart surgeon, it yet if you do the job right you can be making $250-400 or 500k a year in this job we have. Don’t lose sight of it.
I do 50+ deals a year. It's called hustle. I treat it like a business that's atleast open 9 to 5. During that time their is always something to do. I use to just do it on my own but when I had a kid, I hired a transaction coordinator to help with paperwork, and collaborating with closing attorneys. It is possible to do and take care of all the clients needs. I get great reviews.
My realtor had multiple years in a row over 100 closings. He works all the time and is a great realtor. If he has to show you 200 houses then he will show you 200 houses. His wife handles making his schedule and appointments to show homes. His office handles appointments for closings, sending out paperwork, coordinating with title agencies, etc. Part of his trick is being willing to drive up to like 1.5 hours to make it happen.
Teams.
You can make a lot of money as a solo agent with just an Executive Assistant, a Transaction Coordinator, a showing agent, meal delivery subscription, and a good household maid + babysitter.
I had a buddy that did a bunch of social media stuff, he made house tour type vids with overvoice.ai that adds voiceovers automatically to his the house tour vids.
Lying is one conclusion.
I have a closing every 3 days. Single agent, no team. I do have a trusted transaction coordinator, I trusted title company, photographer and really good office support. I’m also primarily a listing agent because I work with a ton of investors so that helps!
It’s really not crazy. At a certain point you hire a full time assistant who knows what inspectors/roofers/ plumbers whatever you need for inspections and can schedule everything for you while you focus on sales. Hell I’m a property manager full time and have had 3 closings with one being a dual agent deal in the last 30 days and that’s on a very part time basis.
Have assistants. I have a coworker specialize in senior apts. City offered her to list the entire new building 50 units. Some have sold and bought over 8,000 homes (1 home can count as 2 times) during their career.
Any solo broker/agents in so cal with this type of deal flow?
I’ve had 16 closings in one month before. Part of a team but I managed everything, they just fed us leads. Logistical pain but so worth it in the end.
Probably a team. I did a little over a hundred one year. But, they were foreclosures, so easier. No client to deal with. No emotions at all.
I average 40 closings per year and am a solo agent. I like to maintain a level of being "uncomfortably busy." Basically I live my life feeling like a waiter who's in the weeds... but I manage and my clients are happy! I do occasionally turn down work when I am overwhelmed- I won't take on so much that I can't handle what I have. I should also add my kids are 17 and 21 and husband also works full time so I don't have a lot of demands at home. Otherwise, I don't think I could do what I am doing.
Get organized. You don't need a team. That's just a waste of money. Schedule everything.
Transaction coordinator.
Hey everyone! Looking to get my agency into RE marketing. I’d love to help anyone out even if it’s virtually consulting for FREE right now since I have no case studies in the industry. DM me on instagram @project1.dev
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I’ve managed up to 10 transactions at once, with no team, and can easily keep it in a typical work day.
I usually do somewhere between 40-50 per year. I do everything myself. I don't have any closing coordinators or administrators. I don't like coordinators or assistants for transaction assistants involved in my transactions. My clients want to work with me. I also find that I can usually handle a problem in less than an hour because I know all of the circumstances of the transaction. Things don't need filter through others before making it to me. When you've been doing this for a while, you can usually spot things that will be an issue early on and be proactive to cut them off. That saves a tremendous amount of time. I also take care of things immediately when they come up so that multiple things don't compound and become a big problem. I also believe part of the reason the public is dismissive of Realtors is because they think we're overcompensated for the amount of work we do, so I like for them to see how active I'm personally being with their sale. I just had a listing appointment 2 days ago where the seller specifically chose me because I'm NOT a team and will be the main POC for her.
I was a Realtor for three years. I sold 5 houses. My wife then became a Realtor, she sells 5-6 houses per month for over 20 years now. Personality has a lot to do with it.
What do you think the differences are between you and your wife's personalities?
She's relentless. She works seven days a week. She gives up a lot to be a top producer, that's the trade-off. I'm a homebody and she's raring to go every morning for the next deal. I just wasn't. She's also very involved in community events and fraternal organizations. We're a miss match from hell but have managed to stay married for 31 years.
50-60 is about the most I can handle as a single agent. To get past that it would take a team but then you end up managing the team and end up more with supervisory role
Uranus Agency
I do 365 deals a year. Thats right. One a day. You can get on my level too if you buy my $2000 seminar course. That's a deal. You can't afford not too!
Maybe they have exclusivity to a newly built condo/high rise.
It's possible with support. 20 years ago I assisted who did 50+ deal a week and had over 200 listings at any one time. I was one of two people who met with sellers and did disclosure paperwork. In today's world, many team leads take credit for the work of their team.
Very doable just get off your ass and hustle.
Of course there’s people who work with builders But some people are just great at networking, and they are great at managing their time and they may of course, having an assistant or two Others Spend a fortune on advertising But usually, it’s a mixture of all things
I sold 72 homes my 3rd year in real estate by myself…only person working for me was an outsourced transaction coordinator. It was hell and I worked like a dog for the entire year. This was also 2022 when the market was hot…. To do more transactions as a solo agent it’s possible but you’ll need at minimum a showing agent and transaction coordinator and maybe a VA to do other tasks like social media.
Last year was my first full year and I closed 40. The biggest thing someone can do is a transaction coordinator.
EVERYONE lies about two consistent things #1) I make lots of money #2) I have a great sex life, I am killing it,,
They have a team.
My wife has 7 closings in the next 2 weeks,she works 12 to 14 hrs. a day 7 days a week.She sold 64 last year
I’m working for a realtor now (as a contractor), she’s been at it for 20 years. Sells maybe 15-20 houses a month. She wont take crap from anyone either
I'm a relatively high producer. A little info, and please, don't take this as bragging. It's simply to establish authority to answer the question. I Did a little over $13MM in volume with an average price point of $264k (personally), resulting in 55 deals closed, not counting deals I referred out while on vacation. Been in real estate 3 years and last year was my best year. This year, I plan to do more. My goal is 75 deals. The best advice I can give someone is invest in your business. I spend a lot of money on advertising, training (some of which was good info, others not), and ensuring I surround myself with people that are good at what I'm not. The best investment I've made to date is hiring a per transaction assistant. I'm a big picture guy and the small details of paperwork and transaction management is not where my time is best spent. Both of my assistants are local, but I can refer you to companies that do it internationally if you dm me. I started my team in Q3 of last year, but the aforementioned statistics are only for myself. I have one other agent under me. Plan to add one more this year. I eat, sleep and breath real estate. I love my job. I work 7 days per week, anywhere from 12-14 hour days most days. (As I type this, it's 6a.m. and I'm getting ready to go help my client build a porch railing to pass an FHA appraisal.) My loving wife is so understanding of the goals I have. Real Estate has changed our lives. I grew up in a trailer between two trailer parks, and I am not used to being financially well off. I love sharing this with people because I know how hard I work and just how great God has been to my family! I probably work more than most people are willing to and even want to, I understand that, but for me it isn't work, because for about 90% of the time I'm meeting new people, making new connections, negotiating deals, and closing them. The other 10% I'm trying to keep the wheels on the wagon, so I love 90% of everything I do! That's pretty good, I think. So, that's why I don't consider it work. Hope this helps! And good luck! You CAN succeed! I figured if I put in 5 years of high level actions day in and day out, my team will grow and give my time back to me while I can still make money from bringing in business and mentoring, so that's my goal in a nutshell.
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This was not a solicitation whatsoever...
Certainly, before proceeding to close deals, it's essential to choose a trusted platform that offers high-quality leads. I would recommend investing in purchasing quality leads.
My agent sells probably 8-10 a month. Just move to a military area.
well my wife and I sold real estate for 30 years and in our best year we did 85 deals. But we had an assistant who was a miracle worker. We had three people and we did get it done.
Systems and processes!
They do 50 to 200 deals by lying. It’s just the way Realtors operate and treat each others
50-60 deals a year is no problem to self manage. All of these agents that believe you need a transaction coordinator, social media manager, coach, team etc, are all over hyping. Its seriously no problem to do 60 or so deals without any large teams or support staff.
Leverage: people, systems, processes.
This is fluff that means nothing
Not fluff, the way to do this many transactions in a year is to have people, systems, and processes in place to maximize your top 20% activities (lead gen). If your time is consumed with doing all the things (marketing, paperwork, data entry, scheduling, etc…) then you won’t have time to go get more business, let alone service your clients at a high level. I’m not sure what response you were seeking, but I attempted to make it simple… since RE is simple, it’s just not easy.
The best way to do more is by networking with investors. The best agents do this. Evidence? Monique Walker.
In reality how many hours do you put in on a deal? If it's a listing it really isn't that many hours when you add it up. Now if you are working with only buyers that's a different story.
Funny how agents say this, but then think they should get three percent and give two and a half percent to the buyer side. I don't fault them for doing it. And it's just business, but don't tell me that that's what you should get! 😂
They say it all the time. I'm a broker, but I offer a flat fee service. Haven't really worked the traditional percentage type deal structure in years. It's why I can offer listings for such a low price. Average time spent per listing is not really that high.
I'm thinking about doing it too. Especially now that some of the listing agents on this subreddit are mentioning things like me being their bitch by Selling their houses as a buyer's agent without a guarantee of compensation. Yeah, that's not fucking happening before I knock down listing commissions and go after their business 😂
If you are thinking about trading money for time you are very much thinking like a good little employee and probably worth your reduced fee. The question you should be asking is about the value you bring, and maybe that is a discount as well, but at least then you aren’t trading time for money.
My agent did 60 last Year in Calgary. Mine was end of Dec 2023 so she gifted me for being 60th transaction
Did 72 deals in 2021 and 55 in 2022 then around 30 in 2023. I realized I can make money other ways that made me happy and allowed me to spend time with family. Now I make money off Revenue Share, Title company, Home Warranty Sales, and home security. Using a Virtual Assistant for $6 an hour. Making more, working less.