Variety, financial reward, challenge, growth, and meaningful connection. There are many benefits to pursuing real estate, making it the career of choice for over 64,000 Australians and counting.
If you have a passion for property and are ready to embark on the next chapter of your professional life, you are face-to-face with a tricky question: Which real estate careers are right for me?
That’s right. There’s more to the real estate industry than being an agent. In fact, we’ve listed six separate career paths in this article, all of which empower you to take advantage of the country’s booming market.
Let’s explore each of these six real estate careers in more detail so you can decide which will best fit your personal, professional, and lifestyle goals.
Career path #1: Real estate agent
First up is the real estate agent. Perhaps the best-known career path in real estate, agents oversee the buying and selling of property, including apartments, houses, buildings, and commercial premises.
Real estate agents are property market experts and typically advise their sales clients on the price range, the best time to sell, local competition, and suitable marketing tactics. In addition, they may organise photographs, lead the marketing campaign, host open homes, show potential buyers around the property, and act as a mediator throughout the buyer-seller negation process.
To secure real estate agent jobs, Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane residents and budding agents across the country must first become qualified. Each state in Australia has its own qualification requirements.
For example, if you want real estate jobs in Melbourne, you’ll need to complete Victoria’s entry-level course. The good news? Earning your qualification doesn’t have to be time-consuming. You can even complete the entire course from start to finish in the comfort of your own home and in your own time.
Entry Education gives you access to accredited, state-specific real estate courses that you can do anywhere.
Career path #2: Property manager
Property managers deal with rentals on behalf of investors, owners, and landlords. They are responsible for managing and supervising the leasing of residential, commercial, and retail properties. A day in the life of a property manager might include the following:
- Listing properties for rent online
- Organising inspections with prospective tenants
- Preparing tenancy agreements
- Collecting rental income
- Inspecting rental properties and coordinating tradespeople if repairs or maintenance are required
- Working with owners or tenants to resolve concerns or conflicts
- Navigating difficult tenants and providing termination notices if needed
Career path #3: Property valuer
Property valuers – also called real estate appraisers – are another, perhaps lesser-known option among the many real estate careers.
Property valuers assess the value of residential, commercial, and industrial properties.
In some cases, their role is to provide a price guide for sales agents, sellers, buyers, investors, landlords,
or tenants. In other cases, property valuers also perform the duties of Assessors.
Assessors estimate the value of properties for government tax purposes and use mass appraisal techniques and high-tech
appraisal software to value entire suburbs or land areas.
Property valuers might also determine the value of land and building before redevelopment or estimate
the cost of rebuilding a home or commercial premises for insurance purposes.
Career path #4: Leasing agent
Next, we have leasing agents. Leasing agents assist real estate agents and property managers in leasing residential, commercial, and industrial buildings. Leasing agents are also called assistant property managers.
Leasing agents have varied responsibilities, which may include the following:
- Processing prospective tenant applications
- Conducting rental viewings with potential tenants privately or during an open home
- Monitoring and responding to phone and email enquiries, escalating to the senior property manager where required
- Compiling and completing condition reports
- Uploading properties to online real estate portals
- Providing general support and assistance to other team members
If you’re the kind of person who thrives when helping others and you have excellent people skills, a leasing agent position might be the right choice. Customer service and care are a significant part of leasing agent roles, so keep this in mind as you weigh your real estate career options.
Career path #5: Real estate marketing specialist
Real estate agents can’t exceed their clients’ expectations if they can’t reach the right buyers. That’s where our next career path comes into the fold.
A real estate marketing specialist – sometimes called a property marketing specialist or real estate marketing coordinator – works with an agent or agency to improve their marketing initiatives and boost return on marketing investment. These initiatives might take place online or offline and aim to promote the agency’s reputation, increase brand awareness, and reach more leads.
Some duties that fall under the real estate marketing umbrella include:
- Planning marketing campaigns and coordinating related deliverables using in-house or outsourced staff
- Crafting digital marketing content, including blog articles, web pages, and guest posts
- Creating and executing a social media marketing strategy, including writing social media posts, organising imagery, scheduling posts, responding to messages and comments, reviewing and interpreting performance analytics, providing monthly reports, and planning and running paid advertisements
- Assessing the agency’s top competitors
- Shaping brand messaging and the agency’s visual identity
If real estate marketing sounds like the pathway for you, note that some jobs require you to have a bachelor’s degree in marketing and relevant experience in digital marketing, website management, and social media. You’ll also need to keep your finger on the industry’s pulse and be agile enough to adopt new marketing tactics and technologies as they emerge.
Career path #6: Mortgage broker
Mortgage brokers help buyers find and secure the right loan for their needs.
Buying a property is a significant financial investment, and the wrong mortgage structure can leave property owners out of pocket. Before suggesting potential mortgage products, mortgage brokers assess buyers’ goals, unique circumstances, and budgets. Then, when the buyer agrees to a product and structure, the broker takes care of the application process. In short, mortgage brokers make buyers’ lives a whole lot easier and less stressful, which is why brokers write more than two in three home loans.
Generally, mortgage broking services come free of charge. Buyers don’t pay anything upfront or throughout the lifetime of their loan. Instead, the bank pays the broker a commission for securing it a new customer.
Mortgage broking is another one of the real estate careers that require qualifications:
- Certificate IV in Finance and Mortgage Broking can help you break into your broking career.
- The nationally accredited Diploma of Finance and Mortgage Broking Management can give you the edge needed to move into a leadership role in the financial services sector, including broking.
You can complete both qualifications online and at your own pace with Entry Education.
Kick-start your chosen real estate career
There’s never been a better time to dive head-first into real estate careers, and with so much choice and variety, you can shape a work-life that propels you toward your personal and professional aspirations.
Whether it’s real estate agent jobs you crave, life as a property manager you want, or a career in mortgage broking you desire, Entry Education gives you access to the accredited courses you need anywhere, anytime.
Explore Entry Recruitment, Australia’s real estate recruitment agency, if you’re ready to find a job. Your dream position awaits.
