Real estate agent – Mary Young

Let me introduce myself: I’m  Mary Young , I’m 46 years old and I live in Sydney.
I am a real estate agent; I sell and rent houses, apartments, properties, ...

You need a lot of discipline as a real estate agent, you need to have the motivation and initiative to say, 'Today I'm going to go and knock on people’s doors', which is one of the most difficult aspects of the job. 

You also have to be cheerful, because people need to feel the positivity and confidence of an agent to buy a property from them. 

When I started in this business, I chose to sell houses in a place I liked, because I think if you start with something you like, then you sell with emotion and you succeed better. 

I now specialise in commercial investments because of my background in computer engineering, and I've also bought a few properties myself. 

Although I started in real estate at the age of 28, which is quite young, my determination and love of people have kept me in the job. 

I've found that communication skills are also important. I mean, listening, as well as being able to talk to people. You need to let people  talk about themselves, so that you can understand their expectations. 

It also helps you to match a buyer with a property because you understand their interests and needs better. 

I would advise anyone interested in becoming a real estate agent to have a long-term plan, and not just enter the industry for a short time, as it takes 12 months to build a client base. 

You will also need financial backing because you work on commission and it can take some time to become established. You may need to survive without an income for some time. 

To get an idea, you could also start as a personal assistant or receptionist in a real estate office. This will give you a very good understanding of real estate and the property market.