What does a real estate agent do? A realistic week
Open homes are the part everyone sees. They're a small slice of the week. Here is what a sales agent's time actually goes on.
What does a real estate agent do? Most people picture open homes and sold signs. Those are real, but they’re the visible end of a week that is mostly phone calls, preparation and follow-up. A sales agent’s job is to win listings, market them, find buyers, negotiate a sale and keep both sides informed until settlement.
Here is roughly how that breaks down.
Winning the listing
Every sale starts with an owner choosing an agent. That usually begins with an appraisal: the agent visits the home, studies recent sales nearby and gives an opinion on what it might sell for.
Then comes the pitch. The owner wants to know how the agent will market the home, what it will cost and why they should trust them. Many owners interview two or three agents. Winning the listing is a sales job in its own right.
Running the campaign
Once the home is listed, the agent manages the campaign:
- Organising photos, floor plans, copy and online listings
- Running open homes and private inspections
- Taking enquiries and calling every buyer back
- Reporting to the vendor each week on interest, feedback and competing listings
A campaign might run three to six weeks, and an agent may run several at once.
Negotiating the sale
When a buyer is interested, the agent negotiates between them and the vendor. That means presenting offers, managing expectations on both sides and keeping the deal together when it wobbles over price, finance or settlement dates. If the home goes to auction, the agent manages registrations, bidders and the vendor’s decisions on the day.
Prospecting: the part nobody sees
Some of the most important work happens away from any listing. Agents call past clients, follow up open home visitors, door-knock and keep in touch with people who might sell in a year or two. In a slow market this becomes a bigger share of the week, because fewer owners are selling.
Most agents block out time for this every day, because a pipeline that’s ignored for a month shows up as an empty diary three months later.
The paperwork
Real estate is a regulated industry, and a lot of the job is getting the detail right: agency agreements, contracts, disclosure documents, trust account records and file notes. It isn’t glamorous, but it protects the client and the agent. Our article on why compliance is non-negotiable explains why it matters.
Sales isn’t the only path
Property management is a different job with a different rhythm, built around tenants, landlords, maintenance and inspections. If that sounds more like you, read a day in the life of a property manager.
If you’re thinking about getting into real estate
The best agents are rarely the loudest people in the room. They’re organised, follow up when they say they will and genuinely like helping people through a big decision. If that sounds like you, our find your path tool is a good place to start.