Are you a real estate agent looking to supplement your agent’s commission income from property sales? Here’s the good news: with your skills and experience, there are plenty of opportunities to start a business and make money.Â
As a realtor, you can earn a secondary income using your knowledge about market trends, investment opportunities and client preferences. You could start a real estate business to manage properties, educate prospective buyers and agents or stage properties.Â
In this guide, you’ll learn how to make money as a real estate agent and stay afloat in the volatile real estate market.
How to make money as a real estate agent
Our top 14 ideas for the best real estate agent income generators are:
Learn more:
01. Traditional property sales
For a real estate agent, the most conventional way of making money is through commissions from property sales. According to the National Association of Realtors®, 70% of realtors consider residential brokerage as their primary specialty.Â
You can be a buyer's agent or a seller's agent. As a buyer’s agent, you show your clients properties on sale, help them choose a property and negotiate a deal.Â
As a listing (seller’s) agent, you create property listings, market the property, conduct open houses and help the seller negotiate a deal.Â
How can a realtor make money through property sales?Â
A real estate agent earns commissions for property sales, often 5-6% of the property’s sale price. Usually, the buyer and seller agents take a commission split, which means each real estate broker gets a portion of the commission. However, some agents refuse commission splits and charge the buyer or seller upfront fees instead.Â
Marketing yourself, networking with other agents and potential buyers and focusing on client satisfaction will get you more referrals.Â
For example, Michael J. Balbuena is a Massachusetts-based realtor who is passionate about helping home sellers and buyers. His website focuses on his journey and vision as a real estate agent, building trust with his clients.
02. Property management
As a real estate agent, your career centers around properties. So, managing properties is a great way to make an additional income. Property management includes:
Overseeing rental properties on behalf of landlords
Maintaining unsold properties until they sell
Managing short-term rental properties
Managing commercial properties like offices and malls
Finding and vetting tenants
Collecting rent
Handling complaints
Marketing rentals
How to make money as a real estate agent in property managementÂ
Property management is a lucrative side hustle for a real estate agent. You may charge a flat fee or a percentage of the rental income as the commission. You may take up multiple properties once you have a trusted group of vendors. Creating a portfolio of these properties on your website helps to spread the word and increase tenant applications, especially if you use a tool like Wix’s form builder to make it easy for tenants to inquire directly from your website.
Property management also offers networking opportunities to boost your real estate career. For example, renters may be planning to buy a home, and property owners may sell their property or buy more investment properties.Â
Learn more:Â Starting a rental property business
03. Real estate consulting
In the real estate business, practical experience is of great value. As an experienced and successful real estate agent, you can monetize your knowledge through real estate consulting. A real estate consultant helps home buyers and sellers with topics like:
Market trends
Investment opportunities
Property valuationÂ
Tax-related issuesÂ
How can you make money from real estate consulting?Â
According to Salary.com, the average hourly rate of a real estate agent is $53/hour. However, once you’ve established yourself as a consultant, you might be able to acquire higher-paying consultation contracts.
Real estate consultation is also a great way to meet new clients for traditional property sales.
Learn more:Â
04. Real estate education and training
Do you enjoy explaining real estate business and market trends to your friends and clients? You’re a natural fit for a great real estate business idea. Teach others how to maximize their real estate career. Here are a few ways to use your real estate experience and make money as a trainer:
Conduct training sessions for aspiring real estate agents
Create webinars and online courses
Conduct workshops for real estate investors
Partner with real estate schools.Â
Create content on TikTok and YouTube
Release courses on educational websites like Udemy
How do you make money from real estate training?
When teaching, you generally charge a registration fee for offline sessions and sell your courses and webinars online. You can also earn money from TikTok and YouTube if you get enough views or look into paid speaking engagements at conventions.
Â
Working as a real estate trainer helps you establish yourself as an authority in your business. Your courses also act as lead magnets, attracting clients to your real estate business.
05. Real estate blogging
Do you have a flair for writing? You could make money by turning your real estate expertise into blogs. Subject ideas include:
Finding the perfect home
Negotiating a good deal
Staging your home for sale
Real estate market trends
Investment strategies
Making money through real estate blogging
A successful blog helps you make money through advertisements and affiliate marketing. For example, when writing a post about an open house, you may include affiliate links to purchase home decor from an online store.Â
Other real estate firms and magazines also need real estate content writers.Â
Check out the Charles Frieda blog for inspiration. This real estate blog has a great deal of information for investors and first-time home buyers.Â
In addition to making money, real estate blogging showcases your expertise and connects with your clients. For example, realtor Chris Della Rosa has a blog that shares his personal experience as well as real estate wisdom.
06. Real estate photography and videography
High-quality photography and videos help properties sell faster. Many real estate agents start learning real estate photography to avoid paying freelancers. However, it’s also a great source of income on its own.
How to make money as a real estate agent with photography?
You can work for individual homeowners or other real estate firms for a fee. New home photoshoots are another way to make money as a real estate photographer. Showcase your portfolio on a website to make it easy for clients to see the quality of your work. You can even let clients set appointments through your website.
In addition, photography helps you meet prospective clients ready to sell their homes.
07. Real estate staging services
Staging could be a great way to make money if you have a good eye for aesthetics and decor trends. Every real estate agency needs staging services to highlight the best features of a house. Staging is an art that involves:
Decluttering and cleaning the house
Choosing a color palette for a room
Arranging furniture and decorÂ
Choosing lighting and fixtures
How to make money as a home staging professional?Â
According to Glassdoor.com, a home staging professional makes an average of $90,978/year. Staging professionals work with individual homeowners or real estate brokers to provide home staging services.Â
Consider building a separate website for your staging services. For example, you could create a business like Afford2Stage to focus on staging topics.
Learn more:
08. Real estate investment
As a real estate agent, you know which areas and properties are in high demand. You can use this insider knowledge to make wise investment choices. It’s a great idea to identify under-appreciated properties ripe for investment.
How to make money from real estate investing?
Properties can be rented out or remodeled and sold at a profit. As a real estate agent, you’ll be able to identify property with great potential and negotiate a good deal. You could also look out for investment opportunities when the market is down and sell at a higher price when the market picks up.
Making successful investments will also improve your credibility as a realtor.Â
Learn more: Creating a rental property business plan
Private Elite Realty is a boutique real estate agency specializing in high-end properties and exclusive client experiences. Its site includes a blog managed by owner Kendall Griffin and an easy-to-navigate home search portal.Â
09. Virtual tours
According to research conducted at Harvard Business School, 22% of home sales involve a virtual tour of the house. The same study found that creating a virtual tour or 360-degree photography costs as little as $300, and real estate firms are keen to hire a professional.
Virtual home tours and 360-degree views can be an extension of your real estate photography business. Great virtual tours could also make your listings more attractive.Â
How to make money from designing virtual tours
Virtual tours can enrich your listing and lead to more sales. You can use them to enhance sales of your listings or offer them as a service for a fee. For example, you may work for a leading real estate broker to create virtual tours of their properties.
Incorporating virtual tours on a personal branded mobile app and placing QR codes on your listing signs is also a great way to generate interest when potential buyers drive by a property in person.
10. Real estate networking events
If you are good at throwing a great party, hosting real estate networking events can be a fun way to make money. These events help real estate professionals, investors and home sellers meet.Â
How to make money with networking events
You can make money from a real estate networking event in many ways, including:
Charging an entree fee for the event
Selling advertising spots or stalls to local businesses
Securing event sponsorsÂ
In addition to making some extra income, hosting real estate networking events helps you find partners in the real estate industry and understand industry trends. Be sure take plenty of marketing materials and business cards with you.
11. Real estate podcasting
Edison Research has found that 42% of people in America listened to a podcast in 2023. With the increasing number of podcast listeners, real estate podcasts are also rising in demand.
How to make money as a real estate agent with podcasts?
Audio content is in high demand as it helps people spend their time efficiently while on the move or doing chores. Creating a real estate podcast will help you make money by:
Affiliate marketing
In-podcast advertisements
Premium contentÂ
Building brand awareness
12. Commercial real estate brokerage
As a commercial real estate agent, you’ll be an agent for buying, selling and leasing commercial buildings. You can specialize in large enterprises or small businesses.
How to make money in commercial real estate brokerage
Use your residential sales contacts to gain introductions to entrepreneurs interested in commercial properties. Being a commercial broker helps you diversify your income and weather market shifts if the housing market cools off for a while.
13. International real estate transactions
Statista reports that residential property sales to foreigners amounted to $53 billion in the U.S. in 2023. If you are a real estate agent focusing on domestic buyers, you can expand your business by representing international transactions.
How to make money with international real estate transactions
While international real estate transactions are more complex than domestic transactions, you often make a higher commission and access a new customer base. However, before getting into the international real estate business, you need to understand its laws.
For more real estate business inspiration check out:
14. Listing agent for brokers
A listing agent helps home sellers to list their property on the housing market. If you are currently working as a buyer’s agent, you can supplement your income by becoming a listing agent. It helps you diversify your business and stay afloat with changing market trends.Â
How to make money as a real estate agent working as a listing agent for brokers?
Becoming a listing agent for a real estate broker means you’ll work for the broker to find and list properties. In turn, the broker will give you a part of the commission they make from the sales. You might also get a fixed salary and bonus from the real estate firm.
How to market yourself as a real estate agent
A 2023 survey shows that home buyers have three main expectations from a real estate agent: help them find the right home, help them understand the buying process and negotiate a sales contract. So, to become successful, you should market yourself as a knowledgeable and dependable agent.Â
Here are a few ways to showcase your skills and market yourself to your potential clients.Â
Create a website to promote yourself
The National Association of Realtors® reports that 66% of real estate agents have websites. Creating a real estate website is a great way to market yourself. Here are a few things to include in your real estate website:
Testimonials from satisfied clients
Details of the deals that you closed
Your listings and other services
Information about yourself and your journey as a real estate agent
Developing a website is easy with website builders like Wix. Using Wix’s real estate templates and the drag-and-drop website builder makes creating a professional website easy with a few clicks. Wix also has real estate apps to create and manage listings.Â
You can also use a variety of real estate marketing automation tools to optimize processes.
Go to realtor networking events
As a real estate agent, you must collaborate with others in your industry. Realtor networking events give you a great opportunity to meet your fellow agents, home sellers and investors. Attending a networking event helps you:
Understand industry trends: Meeting with fellow agents and leaders in real estate brokerage can help you stay up-to-date on market trends.
Meet potential clients:Â Meeting and connecting with potential investors and home sellers will help you widen your client base.
Expand professional network: It’s always great to have connections within your industry. It helps you get referral business and know about potential opportunities.
Promote yourself on social media
According to the Real Estate in Digital Age report, social media is the top lead generation tool, with 52% of real estate leads originating from it. To succeed as a real estate agent, you need to be active on social media.Â
Here are a few tips to market yourself on social media:
Post consistently on your social media handles
Respond to all the comments and queries on your posts
Use high-quality images and videos in posting
Use social media marketing toolsÂ
How to make money as a real estate agent FAQ
How do real estate agents earn money?
Traditionally, real estate agents make money from commissions on sales. Apart from commissions, you can use your expertise to earn money through the 14 income ideas above.