Estate agent

As an estate agent, you'll specialise in the sale and/or letting of homes, commercial properties, businesses, or land, on behalf of your clients. You'll value, market, and lead viewings on properties, with the aim of negotiating the best price for the buyer or buyers.

Your role will involve frequent liaison with banks, building societies, mortgage brokers, surveyors, conveyancers and solicitors, and other estate agencies during transactions. You may also handle sales that take place via auction.

Types of estate agent

You'll usually specialise in one area of estate agency, such as:

• residential sales
• residential lettings
• commercial sales
• commercial lettings
• rural estate.

Responsibilities

As an estate agent in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, you'll need to:

• collect information about a property and arrange for photographs to be taken
• visit and talk to sellers about their property and its special features
• estimate the value of a property
• market and promote properties for sale
• arrange and carry out viewings for prospective buyers
• represent the sellers in negotiation with the buyers
• monitor sales as they proceed, as well as liaise with all interested parties, including mortgage brokers, solicitors, conveyancers, surveyors, and other estate agents
• recommend properties to clients, matching their needs with their budget
• make sure the price agreed is acceptable to both buyer and seller
• keep up to date with trends, legislation, and regulation in the relevant property market.

If you work in lettings, you'll need to:

• vet prospective tenants by collecting references and performing credit checks
• ensure properties meet legal and health and safety requirements, e.g. gas safety certificates
• draw up tenancy agreement contracts
• collect or organise rent payments
• act as a property manager and resolve any issues related to the property.

In Scotland, property sales are usually handled by a solicitor estate agent, who handles marketing as well as conveyancing.

Salary

• Starting salaries for trainee estate agents in the UK are around £17,000, paying an average of £21,000 for on-target earnings (OTE).
• With experience, salaries can be between £34,000 and £45,000, plus commission.
• At the higher end of the scale, in certain management positions, particularly if you're in a central London agency, you could earn up to £100,000, if not more.

Salaries are typically made up of a basic pay rate plus commission, which is usually based on a percentage of your own or your branch's sales. Commission rates vary, but tend to range between 0.9% and 3.6%, with an average of 1.42%. Determining factors are location, the size of the firm, your base salary, and the economic climate. You may be employed on a guaranteed initial commission at first. This may be for a limited period to give you a chance to gain experience and start securing deals. Some estate agencies offer branch commission, meaning all workers get a proportional share of the company’s sales.

You're also likely to receive employee benefits as an estate agent. These differ, depending on the role and organisation, but can include perks such as a company car, fuel allowance, bonus schemes, pension, industry qualifications, and an employee discount on your home purchases. You may also receive referral incentives when you successfully engage a buyer with associate professionals, such as surveyors and conveyancers.

Income figures are intended as a guide only.

Working hours

You'll generally work a basic 35 to 40-hour week, although it can be longer, especially when completing deals for clients. Working hours typically include evenings and Saturdays on a rota system. Some employers offer time off in lieu if you're regularly working more antisocial hours.

Self-employment or freelance work is possible, and with experience, you could establish your own business. Success depends on the economic state of the property market. Part-time work is common.

What to expect

• Work is mostly done in the office, but you'll also spend a significant amount of time visiting properties, either for valuations and marketing opportunities or for viewings with potential buyers.
• The busy nature of the role, having frequent targets to meet, and dealing with difficult clients means you'll need to be comfortable working under pressure and in stressful situations.
• Work is fast-paced and varied. You get to meet new people frequently and it can be rewarding to help them find and secure a property.
• You'll regularly travel during your working day, so a full driving licence is extremely helpful and likely to be a job requirement.
• You'll be expected to dress smartly and act with professionalism at all times.

Qualifications

Formal qualifications are not essential to becoming an estate agent. However, transferable skills gained from degree level study will be an advantage. Having subject knowledge from a degree, foundation degree, or HND in the following subject areas would be especially relevant and desirable:

• business-related studies
• civil and structural engineering
• estate management
• property development or property management
• surveying
• urban and land studies
• law.

A postgraduate qualification is not required for entering the career, and professional exams can be taken once you're in the role.

You may be able to enter the profession at an administrator level. From there, it's possible to progress to an estate agent as you gain experience, but this is not usually necessary.

Previous experience in the industry is also not typical. However, a sales, administrative, or customer service background can be helpful and may be a requirement for some roles.

There are increasing amounts of legislation applicable to property transactions, which needs to be understood by industry professionals, so experience of legal work will be advantageous.

Skills

You will need to show:

• skills in negotiation and persuasion to win clients and close deals
• a confident and outgoing manner to gain trust
• commercial awareness and the ability to achieve sales targets
• excellent verbal and written communication skills for liaising with professional contacts and writing or checking complex documents
• high levels of customer service to support clients and keep them happy
• determination, perseverance, and patience to complete timely and complicated deals
• professionalism and good time management, prioritising tasks effectively and instilling confidence in clients
• general IT skills, including knowledge of Microsoft Office and other essential office tools.

Work experience

Starting a career as an estate agent is relatively straightforward, as it's common to find trainee negotiator opportunities where no prior experience is required. Full training is usually given.

Experience in a related area, such as sales, customer service, or administration may help your application, as will having good IT skills.

It could be beneficial to shadow someone in an agency while you search for jobs. This would demonstrate your interest in the property sector, help you make contacts, and may even lead to a position.

Find out more about the different kinds of work experience and internships that are available.

Employers

Most estate agents and practices operate in the private sector. Agencies range in size, from small one-branch businesses to larger chains that have multiple offices.

Bigger agencies often have specialist divisions in commercial, rural, corporate, or residential property, as well as areas in planning, surveying, and property investment.

You may be able to find graduate recruitment schemes with larger estate agencies, which are most likely to be within multi-branch firms.

Competition for entry varies according to the state of the economy, particularly the property market. Finding vacancies in buoyant times is relatively easy, but positions may not always be advertised, so you might need to make general enquiries on an informal basis.

Look for job vacancies at:

• The Negotiator - useful for general industry information
• Estate Agent Jobs
• Property Personnel
• Estates Gazette
• Property Week 4 Jobs

Professional development

You may start as a trainee or assistant sales or lettings negotiator before progressing to a more senior position. In this role, you would build on your experience of selling and letting different types of properties, as well as potentially performing valuations.

Training takes place on the job and in-house. You'll likely have an induction, which can last one or two weeks, giving you an insight into the running of the business and the legislation attached to estate agency work.

Training can include areas such as:

• conveyancing practice and procedure
• dealing with difficult people
• effective estate agency
• effective leadership
• essential law for residential estate agents
• first-class customer service.

Continuing professional development (CPD) is encouraged and there are opportunities to study for professional qualifications. Propertymark, the UK's leading professional body for estate agencies, offers a range of training, qualifications, and short courses for those working in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

A separate range of courses is offered for those working in Scotland. Larger agencies may also have in-house training schemes, but qualifications from these will not be transferable or widely recognised by other firms, which could affect your future job prospects.

Career prospects

A common progression route involves moving into the role of a senior sales negotiator, which can happen fairly quickly. It's possible to progress with as little as one year of experience in a trainee post.

With around three to five years of experience, you could move into the role of branch manager. As branch manager, you would be responsible for staff, carry out senior-level sales or lettings negotiations, and mentor junior sales negotiators.

At this point in your career, there can be a bottleneck in promotion opportunities. However, with substantial experience, you could progress to the position of area manager, in which you would manage several branches.

Mobility can be important for career development, as it may be necessary to move branches or companies to achieve promotion to a senior level. You might also consider self-employment, becoming a partner, or sole principal of your own firm.

Low-cost online estate agents are now mainstream but have not disrupted the sector as much as predicted, despite traditional high street agents having higher fees. Online estate agents account for around 3% to 6% of the market, so there are opportunities in this area, but they are much less common than roles in high-street agencies. There are also 'hybrid agents' who opt to have both an online and high-street presence. Online estate agents are also more likely to offer remote or hybrid working roles, which could open up options for senior positions without relocation.