The demand to work from home has increased, and real estate is no exception. Across all industries, increased flexibility is the number one reason professionals want to work remotely. Real estate already offers this benefit. As a real estate agent, you can create your own schedule and maximize your time. However, working entirely from home is not a good idea if you want to be a successful real estate agent in Boston. Boston is a competitive market that requires you to constantly meet people, build relationships, and interact with a variety of real estate professionals so you can improve your strategies and closing skills.
Working in an office is an advantage
Although many experienced agents take this for granted, there is an undeniable truth that offices with a high personal presence have more knowledgeable agents and close a larger number of deals. New agents should take note of this and ask themselves why.
The reason is simple: although agents are independent contractors working with their own clients, they talk to each other about offers and market trends. Collaboration is key. A smart new agent would be on the lookout and make sure to learn from those with more experience. Different experienced agents bring different perspectives on how to complete both simple and complex transactions. The variety of thoughts involved in organizing a plan for a successful transaction can have a significant impact on an agent’s overall success. Additionally, being a high-paying real estate agent in Boston requires multiple disciplines of knowledge.
Knowing how to do the right things at the right time is important. Many agents create their own schedules based on their internal beliefs, but these can differ greatly from experienced agents. It is important for both new and experienced agents to spend some time in the office to discuss what is working NOW in today’s market. Success can often change quickly, and home isolation can often leave an agent stuck to patterns that used to work but are no longer generating customers and transactions. By doing the right things at the right time, you can achieve better results, close more deals, and maximize your time.
Lasting professional relationships require connection
Working in the real estate industry is about more than just housing-related transactions – it’s about human connections and relationships. Buying or renting clients will always choose an agent who they feel has their best interests at heart. This requires a face-to-face exchange where the agent can convince the client that they have the right team, most offerings and the tools to find a home in a competitive environment. It requires the assurance that they are working with the best! If you only email your clients and send them lists instead of taking them to demos, it doesn’t feel personal. Soon, they won’t even remember the exchange — or you.
The same applies to landlords who want to rent or sell their property. Real estate owners and smaller landlords in particular want to work with smart brokers who know the market well – and are often happy to meet with them. How can you help an owner get the right price for their property if you can’t see it in person? Or if you don’t know the local market well enough because you are always at home? In Boston, every neighborhood is extremely different. In some cases, one street is very different from the other in terms of prices and demand. This can only be learned through experience and through personal conversations with owners, clients and other real estate agents. Nothing beats Facetime. They generate a far higher level of trust.
When is home office worthwhile?
Working from home can be full of distractions — roommates, family members, or pets can demand your attention and make it difficult to focus. To make matters worse, the kitchen is steps away from your bedroom or makeshift office, and excessive snacking can become a problem. We hear from many stay-at-home agents that working-at-home isolation can have some unintended health consequences. However, if used correctly, a home office can benefit you with a high degree of personal responsibility and discipline. As a real estate agent, you are freed from the constraints of commuting during peak hours. It also means you’ll likely need to take calls early in the morning or late at night — and it helps to have a quiet place to focus on work at home. In addition, you can use certain time slots. For example, you can maximize your time by avoiding the 7:00am to 9:00am or 5:00pm to 7:00pm traffic rush hours in Boston. You can use this time to plan your day, read emails, and make phone calls. Your commute to the office will be shorter and you can seamlessly jump into work to retrieve keys and show properties. Use your home office even late at night to check your email or post ads before bed.
Can Great Boston Real Estate Agents Work From Home?
Real estate agents in Boston can work from home—but they shouldn’t work primarily from home. Having a dedicated workspace at home is smart, but there’s a lot more to gain by being in a fully integrated and heavily transactional office. Resources are important. Having access to a large amount of keys in one place gives you 10-20 hours a week of additional presentation opportunities. Time is money. Real estate is based on operational efficiency and best practices. Property owners do not give keys to agents who work from home. It’s just too responsible to give an agent keys to properties they keep at home. Waiting for tenants or the owner to show up to give you access to a property is a recipe for being an average transaction volume agent at best. Over time you will find that the offices with the most keys have the most productive and happiest agents. Many real estate agents are burned out from not having easy access to properties due to the stress of not having keys and having to constantly reschedule their clients. Agents tend to get bad reviews when a show is going badly because they couldn’t get access and the client feels their time is wasted.
The fact is, as a new agent, you don’t know what you don’t know. You should be asking lots of questions at all times to anyone involved in real estate. You only learn that from others or through mistakes – and the former is certainly less painful. Working from an office allows you to learn quickly and optimize every month or quarter. Each year Boston real estate creates significant new patterns or opportunities, and it’s easier to discover them through face-to-face communication with the successful realtors who are finding new ways to win.
The offices operated by Boston Pads are the most successful leasing teams in New England history — and the experts when it comes to multi-family home sales. If you’re looking to take your career as a new or veteran agent to a level you never thought possible, please come and see what’s all about a fully integrated technology platform that you can use from your home and office off optimized. Your wallet will thank you.
Demetrius Salpoglou
Release date: October 17, 2022
Demetrios Salpoglou is CEO of bostonpads.com, an information and technology based services company that provides real estate companies with state-of-the-art resources. Demetrios has developed over 90 real estate related websites and owns hundreds of domain names. Demetrios also owns and operates six leading real estate offices with over 140 agents.
Demetrios has assembled the largest home rental team in the Boston area and is responsible for sourcing more rental homes than anyone else in New England – with over 100,000 people finding housing through his services. Demetrios is an enthusiastic real estate developer, peak performance coach, educator, guest lecturer and motivational speaker.
