There has been a lot of emphasis in the real estate world of technology and social media. There are new ways that people communicate today, that they never even thought about  just half a decade ago. Using these tools and mediums real estate agents and mortgage professionals can be more effective.

The big challenge is that not all real estate clients use these new mediums of communication. So what do you do about it?

The answer is really quite simple:

Ask your clients what they are using to search homes for sale, and what they do to communicate. Do they text? Do they facebook? How often do they check their emails?

If you know these things, you can better communicate and serve your clients. Some people are easiest to reach, and communicate best through facebook! For other text messaging is the way to go. If your client prefers a certain method of communication, use it.

If they don’t use these tools, then don’t scare them by trying to communicate with them in a way that is unfamiliar to them. Someone looking for Orange County Real Estate might be far more likely to use a high tech communication device than someone looking for Logan Utah Real Estate.

If you can communicate in a way that meets their needs, you are more likely to connect, and convert them to clients.

One of the reasons that it’s a good time to be a real estate agent is that there are far less Realtors than there were a few years ago. Now, not all real estate agents are Realtors, but most are, and usually all of the “producing” real estate agents are members of the National Association of Realtors.

According to Brian Buffini at the Wells Fargo Seminar I went to this morning, there are 40% less Realtors than there were at the peak of NAR membership. This represents an outstanding time to be in real estate, as there is far less competition. Among these registered Realtors, many of them do not make a livable salary. Only 16% of real estate agents have gross commissions of more than $100,000 a year.

It is also a good time to be in real estate because it is a great time to buy real estate. Home prices are down, and interest rates are low. Helping people get great deals in real estate brings lots of satisfaction.

But to be a good real estate agent, one needs leads. Real estate lead generation is a crucial aspect of real estate that all successful agents spend a great deal of time focusing on.

One of the less than fun things about being a real estate agent is taking CE credits. State law requires that real estate agents take a certain number of continuing education in order for a real estate agent to renew their real estate license. Utah Real Estate law requires its agents to take 18 CE credits every two years, and nine of them must be “CORE” classes, courses that the state deems to be fundamentally important.

Now I get the point. I get the reason the state does want agents to take continuing education. As the regulatory agency behind enforcing state laws and practices it is important that real estate agents know what they are doing. Real education is absolutely valuable. It’s for the public good. In reality though CE credits don’t actually provide much actual education, but are usually performed for the sole purpose of getting that credit needed to practice real estate. I guess it’s not that much different from the way that the overall American education system is set up.

There are usually times throughout the year when Title Companies, or various organizations sponsor FREE CE Classes in effort to provide some good will and free advertising. But most of the time, real estate licensees are required to “pay for these courses.”

Because most agents are slackers, and wait until the last moment to get things done, this often means taking CE classes online. I fit right in that classification. My real estate license expires at the end of the month, and I have spent the last week taking classes to fulfill the nine credits in which I was deficient.

The company Mckissock, was on top of things and sent me regular mailers reminding me to take courses before my license expires. So I did. The format was pretty simple, pay money, read content on their website, take some quizzes, get credit. If you got the questions wrong, which I did a few times, you can just retake the quiz as many times as it takes until you get the credits right.

The first class I took, on Foreclosures and Short Sales was actually very good. It was a Core class, and was needed. It talked about the different cycles of the economy, and explained a bit why the housing market is currently where it is.

I’m currently in the process of starting up a real estate brokerage, and there was an optional class about “Business Planning for Brokerages.” I thought it would be great, and provide me with some good things to think about that I wouldn’t have otherwise considered. I was way wrong. This class was horrible.

The first two chapters explained things in the way you would explain business formation to a second grader. The concepts were so basic it was embarrassing. Then, things flipped a complete 180. It was as if the next chapter was written by someone else. This chapter focused on “technology.” I have a technical background, and this information was way beyond anything a real estate brokerage would ever need. In addition, the information was completely outdated. Why would a real estate brokerage need to know about a wired local area network, when everything these days is done so simply and wirelessly? The contrast between the chapters was so different it was almost comical.

There might be some better online classes, and some better ways to really educate real estate agents. But I guess I got what I really wanted after all, credit hours I need so that I can renew my real estate license. I also got some good content I can use for my real estate blog.

People who have ever sold a house know how real estate agents make money, they get a percentage of the total sales price. Most first time buyers have no idea how real estate agents make a living. Most people don’t understand the concept of “commission sales” or being paid only for actual financial results incurred.

Real estate agents only get paid when homes sell. There are a few exceptions where flat fee brokerages charge up front fees, but most full service real estate brokerages don’t make a dime until houses actually sell. Real estate agents aren’t paid by the hour, they don’t make a salary, they make commissions based off the sales price of the property they aided to sell.

One of the most frustrating things for real estate agents is that they can spend hours and hours with clients and never make a dime. They can get homes under contract, aid with arranging home inspection repairs, show hundreds of houses, and then get nothing from it. If a potential buyer fails to qualify for thier home loan, the agent gets nothing. There are also those rare occasions where real estate agents do relatively little, yet still get large commission checks. During the glory days of the housing boom, real estate agents would simply place a house on the MLS, then present a few offers to the sellers the next day, and receive a $10,000 commission check a few weeks later.

Now real estate agents rarely make all of the money that sellers actually pay. In most real estate transactions there are actually two brokerages involved; the listing broker and the buyers broker. The listing agent belongs to a brokerage that represents the seller. If a house sells, the brokerage is entitled to a portion of the real estate commission, usually about 2-3% of the gross sales price. Real estate agents are generally on “commission splits” meaning the percentage of the close they actually gets. Typical splits are between about 50-85%. So, if a $200,000 listed at 6% sells, a listing agent would get 3% while the buyers agent would also get 3%. This is a brokerage commission of $6,000 for each brokerage. Now, if the real estate agent had a 70% split, they would then be entitled to $4,200.

The average person thinks that real estate agents spend most of their time showing houses, writing up contracts, and cashing huge commission checks. Nobody likes paying 6% of their gross sales price when they sell a house. Sellers always think that real estate agents make a fortune.

Real Estate agents, at least the successful ones spend the majority of their time “prospecting” and working real estate leads. They spend their time trying to find business, and keeping track of past clients in order to get future business and referrals.

Once in a while there are agents who do spend most of their time showing homes and writing contracts. These are agents who have been in business for years, or who have a surplus of quality real estate leads. New agents rarely ever have this problem. It’s not uncommon for new real estate agents to have their licenses for months before they ever show a house.