Top 10 Real Estate Agent Skills and Qualities

Finding success as a real estate agent requires hard work and dedication. It also means sharpening some of the human and technical skills necessary to interact well with potential buyers, clients, and colleagues. These can include communication, negotiation, and marketing, as well as the ability to create virtual tours of a property.

Mastering these skills might give you an advantage over other agents, which is important in this competitive industry. These abilities might also help you advance your career. Discover 10 important skills that can help you prepare to become a real estate professional or advance your career.

What do real estate agents do?

Real estate agents help people buy or sell their homes or commercial property, and in some cases, they help with rentals as well. This often involves tasks like advertising the property, holding open houses, offering advice to clients, and showing properties to prospective clients. Other tasks you might perform include:

• Maintaining and updating online listings

• Understanding real estate pricing in your area and coming up with prices for your clients

• Communicating with clients and potential clients

• Keeping up with market trends

• Presenting offers and negotiating sales  

• Ensuring all paperwork for a transaction is complete 

• Making sure all contract terms are met for a transaction 

• Learning and sharing knowledge about your community on topics such as schools, real estate laws, and entertainment

According to Lightcast™, real estate agents make an average of $99,178 annually as of May 2024 [1]. The field is expected to grow at a rate of 3 percent from 2022 through 2032, a rate on par with growth across most occupations [2]. 

Real estate agent skills to develop for your career 

The requirements for becoming a real estate agent vary from state to state, though you usually need to have a high school diploma, take certain courses, and pass an exam to obtain a license. However, much of your success on the job will actually come from honing your skills with practice and experience. You'll need technology skills and a good understanding of your local community, but you'll also need to know how to communicate, negotiate, and market your properties. 

Explore these 10 skills and qualities that any real estate agent or prospective real estate agent can work to improve:  

Negotiation

Negotiation will be a major part of your real estate career, and it's actually one reason why many people choose to work with an agent rather than buy or sell a property on their own. Many people need to practice this skill, and becoming a great negotiator may mean a higher commission for you. 

When negotiating, you'll need to be able to see things from both the buyer's and the seller's perspectives so you can help make the best possible decision for your client. You'll also need to ensure the contract negotiation aligns with local real estate laws.

Communication

Communication and negotiation go hand in hand, but as a real estate agent, you'll find that you spend most of your days communicating with people. To best serve your clients, get to know them. Some people prefer email or text. Others prefer phone calls. Some want to talk daily. Others will only contact you occasionally. Certain clients might be afraid to voice their thoughts, and you may need to understand nonverbal cues. In other words, you'll need various communication skills in your toolbox.  

These might include:  

• The ability to explain ideas without using industry words clients may not understand 

• Active listening skills 

• The ability to read nonverbal and social cues, such as body language

• Excellent written communication skills 

Local knowledge   

As you start a career as a real estate agent in a particular city or community, get to know as much about the area as possible. The more details you have, the better you can serve your clients. In addition, by showing off what you know on your website, blog, or social media accounts, you might attract a client who would have otherwise gone to one of your competitors. 

You'll also need to know about the local real estate market, and other areas you'll likely research and explore include:  

• What schools are in the area, and how they rank

• Local property taxes

• Entertainment options, like restaurants and parks

• How accessible is public transportation in the area

Relationship building

As a real estate agent, you will most likely spend a lot of time seeking new clients, and you'll need to build relationships with them as well. Meeting new people and networking are a big part of the job. Some ways to successfully build relationships in the industry include: 

• Being tactful without being harsh or overly emotional

• Showing empathy

• Being respectful

• Showing integrity

• Networking with other industry professionals 

• Being patient when a house doesn’t sell immediately

• Using communication and active listening skills to build rapport 

Technical skills

In addition to various human skills, real estate agents need to be able to keep up with the latest technology. For example, you might need to learn how to use a certain type of software to give out-of-town clients a 3D tour of a home. You'll use technology to communicate, whether you email, text, or video conference with a client or colleague. 

You'll also need to know how to securely share documents with clients who live in other cities, states, and countries if they can't come to your office to sign them or look them over. Technology is also helpful for marketing listings and for yourself as an agent. That might mean maintaining a website, social media accounts, a blog, and property listings on various websites. 

Honesty and integrity

Integrity is a must for real estate agents, so you'll need to have a strong set of principles and stick to them. The best way to do that is to always be honest with your clients. If a seller wants too much for a house, let them know. If a buyer wants a house that does not exist, be upfront with them. Always present yourself in an ethical manner. 

Follow all real estate laws and rules, including the National Association of Realtors code of ethics, which calls for realtors to protect their clients' interests, operate with honesty when dealing with all parties, and never mislead owners, buyers, tenants, landlords, or other entities involved in a transaction. Additionally, it’s essential to avoid doing things to save money, time, or effort and to do what's right for your clients. If you maintain your integrity in this profession, you will help build your reputation as a trustworthy agent. 

Marketing

Marketing is a huge part of real estate. Not only will you market the homes you help sell, but you'll also market your services to your community so you can find more clients. You'll typically need both traditional and digital marketing skills. Some marketing skills you might want to work on include: 

• Website design 

• Content creation (writing blogs, creating videos about your properties, etc.)

• Social media marketing

• Email marketing 

• Signage and other physical media creation 

Real estate law knowledge 

When moving to a new city or state, buyers and sellers may need help knowing or understanding current laws and regulations. This is one reason they may opt to work with a real estate agent, which means you must stay up-to-date on this type of real estate knowledge. Buying or selling a home usually involves a lot of paperwork, and clients will depend on you to complete it accurately and legally. 

Problem-solving 

Another skill you'll need to build when working as a real estate agent is problem-solving. For example, you might need to figure out how to sell a property that has been on the market for an extended period of time. Other issues you might need to resolve are working with a challenging client, sticking to closing dates, determining who is responsible for renovations, and deciding the contract terms. To handle these situations, you can implement certain strategies such as active listening, preparation, compromise, and negotiation.

Positivity

Even when you face problems as a real estate agent, you'll want to remain positive and resilient. If you act negatively, your clients may become upset as well. Chances are, your clients may worry about the process anyway, so your knowledge and positivity can help relieve their stress. Staying positive can also help you become a better problem solver. Rather than letting an issue get you down, you can devise a creative way to overcome it. 

Education, experience, and license

Requirements for becoming a real estate agent vary depending on the brokerage and the state you work in. At a minimum, you typically need a high school diploma. A college degree or some college courses in real estate or a related subject, like finance or law, can be helpful but aren't usually necessary. Your state will typically offer real estate courses, and you’ll need to pass an exam to earn your real estate license, which allows you to practice in that state.

Career development

Once you become a real estate agent, continue working on career development. Doing so is an effective way to enhance your knowledge of real estate trends, real estate law, and other industry standards. It also helps you further sharpen your skills and network to build relationships. Career development for real estate agents can look like this:  

• Attending workshops, conferences, and training programs

• Earning a professional designation or certification

• Joining a professional organization 

• Taking courses offered by professional organizations

• Networking with other real estate professionals 

Getting started on Coursera

To succeed as a real estate agent, you need both human and technical skills. Hone communication, negotiation, and marketing abilities alongside local knowledge and technical skills like using software for virtual tours. Honesty, integrity, and a positive attitude are also crucial for building trust with clients. 

Online courses are an excellent way to gain and improve real estate agent skills to develop your career. On Coursera, you'll find numerous real estate-related courses offered by some of the top institutions in the world, such as Fintech: Foundations & Applications of Financial Technology Specialization offered by the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.