Real estate agent vs property manager: which job suits you?
Both are real estate. They're very different jobs. Here's how sales and property management compare, day to day, so you can work out which one fits.
A real estate sales agent helps owners sell property. A property manager looks after rental properties for landlords, and the tenants who live in them. Both work in the same agencies and need many of the same people skills, but the work, the pace and the pressure are very different.
If you’re weighing up which way to go, the comparison below is a good starting point.
The two jobs side by side
| Sales agent | Property manager | |
|---|---|---|
| Main clients | Owners selling, and buyers | Landlords, and tenants |
| How long you work with a client | Weeks, for one campaign | Years, for as long as the property is managed |
| Typical week | Appraisals, open homes, negotiating, prospecting | Inspections, maintenance, leasing, arrears, landlord updates |
| Pace | Peaks around campaigns and weekends | Steady, with a constant flow of small problems to solve |
| Pressure point | Winning listings and getting deals done | Keeping a large portfolio running smoothly |
| Weekend work | Common, for open homes and auctions | Less common, apart from some leasing inspections |
What a sales agent’s work is like
Sales is project-based. Each listing is a campaign with a start, a finish and a result. The highs are high, and the job rewards people who are self-driven, competitive in a healthy way and comfortable picking up the phone to people they don’t know. Read more about what a sales agent actually does.
What a property manager’s work is like
Property management is about relationships that last. A property manager might look after more than a hundred properties at once, each with a landlord who wants a good return and a tenant who wants things fixed quickly. It suits people who are organised, calm under pressure and good at keeping several things moving at once. Our day in the life of a property manager shows what that looks like.
Questions to ask yourself
- Do you prefer finishing projects, or keeping things running well over time?
- Are you energised by meeting new people, or by building long relationships?
- How do you feel about weekend work?
- Would you rather negotiate a price, or solve a tenant’s problem?
There isn’t a right answer. Plenty of people start in one and move to the other, and many agency leaders have done both.
If you’re thinking about getting into real estate
The qualifications and registration steps differ by state and role, so it’s worth checking what applies where you live before you start. Our find your path tool takes you through the options for your state in a few questions.