Real Estate Agent

In this article, I will explore what a real estate consultant represents, their relevance, and their main functions. I will also address the context of the Portuguese real estate market and the future perspectives for this profession.

Índice

• Definition of Real Estate Consultant
• Tasks and Responsibilities
• Skills and Recommended Talents
• Career, Training, and Regulation
  • Required Training
  • Regulation of the Profession
• How much do real estate consultants earn in Portugal?
• Radiography of real estate consultants: who they are and how many are there?
• Context of Portuguese Real Estate
• Future Perspectives
  • Trends of the Portuguese Real Estate Market
  • Employment Perspectives for Real Estate Consultants
• Frequently Asked Questions about Real Estate Consultants

(Top▲)Introduction

(Top▲)Definition of Real Estate Consultant

A real estate consultant is a professional who provides real estate brokerage services, assisting owners and buyers in the purchase, sale, or rental of properties.

There are essentially two types of real estate consultants: "Listing Agents" and "Buyer Agents":

• The Listing Agent carries out prospecting of owners, lists their properties for sale or rental, promotes them, organizes visits, and accompanies the owner from the initial moment until the signing of the sale or rental contract. It is the owner who pays them a commission for the services provided.
• The Buyer Agent looks for properties to meet the purchase or rental needs of their clients. Organizes visits and accompanies the client until the deed of purchase and sale or signing of the rental contract. It is the property owner who pays the commission, in most cases through the agency or listing agent, under a sharing regime: usually 50% for the Listing Agent and 50% for the Buyer Agent.

Although the trend is towards specialization in each of these categories, there are real estate consultants, like me, who dedicate themselves to both segments.

Real estate consultants are essential for the proper functioning of the real estate market, as they provide value-added services to owners and buyers. Their main functions include:

Assisting owners to:

• Sell or rent their properties faster and for the best possible price. Gone are the days when it was enough to put a sign in the window; today, the strong market competitiveness requires a significant investment in promotion and commercial skills to negotiate the price and terms of purchase and sale.
• Advise on the most suitable sale or rental price, in line with real estate market trends.
• Avoid mistakes and unnecessary costs. Being one of the most expensive commercial transactions an individual will make in their life, mistakes can cost a very high price.
• Obtain specialized advice on the real estate market. No one better than an experienced real estate consultant to point out the best path to success.

Assisting buyers to:

• Find the right property according to their needs. Searching among the thousands of properties on the market, selecting, scheduling visits, and assisting in formalizing the transaction, at no cost to the buyer client, because it is the owner who pays the commission, is a truly irresistible proposal.
• Negotiate the best price and conditions. Negotiating the sale or rental price is a matter for professionals. When clients, buyer and seller, negotiate directly, the outcome is always unfavorable for one of the parties, if not for both.
• Get advice on legal and tax aspects. Selling or renting a house today is a complex process and not free of "traps", bureaucracies, and legal and tax difficulties, which a well-advised consultant can facilitate.

(Top▲)Tasks and Responsibilities

Contrary to what many think, the role of a consultant goes far beyond simply opening doors and making sales. A real estate consultant is not merely a salesperson, playing a diverse and valuable role in providing real estate brokerage services to owners and buyers.

Their functions and responsibilities are varied and include:

• Client Acquisition and Prospecting - Client prospecting is the first step in the real estate brokerage process. The real estate consultant must identify potential clients interested in buying, selling, or renting properties, whether through personal contacts, their database, marketing campaigns, or other means. Their goal is to establish a term mediation contract with the owners (usually 6 months), with the aim of listing their properties for promotion and carrying out the commercial transaction.
• Suggesting the Appropriate Price for Sale or Rental - Although it is not a formal property valuation, which can only be done by a professional appraiser with a professional license, helping owners and suggesting the most appropriate price for selling or renting a property is a fundamental step in the real estate brokerage process. The real estate consultant should use specific computer tools, their own knowledge of the real estate market, and the characteristics of the properties, to make an estimate of the market value of the properties they intend to list.
• Real Estate Negotiation - Negotiation is a delicate and crucial phase of the real estate brokerage process. The real estate consultant must negotiate the price and terms of purchase, sale, or rental of the properties, in order to achieve a balance between the expectations and realities of sellers and buyers, but also to ensure the satisfaction of both parties. For this, they must have negotiation skills and interpersonal skills, essential for creating a bridge of trust and mutual understanding between the parties involved.
• Client Accompaniment - The real estate consultant must accompany their clients throughout the entire process of buying, selling, or renting properties. For this, they must prepare reports on the promotional and mediation activities carried out, be proactive and available to respond to the needs of the clients. Their added value lies in their experience and the team that advises them on legal and fiscal matters.
• Property Search - Searching for houses or other types of property that meet the needs of their clients, buyers or tenants, is another common task, usually performed by the "Buyer Agent" or Buyer’s Agent. To do this, they must have an extensive network of contacts and stay updated about the offers available in the market. In this sense, they should feel comfortable using the best real estate listing platforms (Idealista, Supercasa, Imovirtual, etc.) or applications like Casafari, Infocasa, etc., which gather in one place all the properties for sale or rent.

To be successful in these responsibilities, the real estate consultant must be able to perform various tasks:

• Administrative: Answer phone calls and emails; schedule visits, appointments, and presentations; create and update their property listings; prepare and deliver documents and reports, etc.
• Prospecting: Conduct real estate market analyses; prepare "market studies" to suggest sale and rental prices; stay updated with real estate markets, trends, and best practices; research properties using various tools and platforms; prospect seller clients; etc.
• Marketing: Create and distribute promotional material; manage online presence and social media; create and manage communication with potential client network; execute advertising campaigns; create a blog or website, etc. Sometimes the consultant delegates part of these tasks to a professional or specialized company.

(Top▲)Recommended Skills and Talents

To successfully perform their functions and responsibilities, real estate consultants must have a set of specific skills and abilities. Some are innate, others require training and practice that only experience can provide. These include:

• Communication: They must be able to communicate clearly and effectively, both in writing and orally. For this, they must be able to convey information to clients and colleagues in a clear and concise manner. Proficiency in languages, especially English, is also a very important requirement.
• Commercial Skills: Involve knowledge of the property and the market, good client relations, negotiation and communication ability, focus and resilience, and acting always with ethics and integrity. They should be able to identify client needs and find solutions that satisfy those needs. The focus should always be on finalizing the transaction, but ethics and respect must prevail.
• Social Relationship: They should have the ability to establish trustful relationships with their clients. For this, they must be friendly, empathetic, courteous, and above all professional.
• Negotiation Ability: They should have the ability to negotiate prices, terms, and conditions of purchase, sale, or rental of a property, in order to achieve a balance between the expectations of the owner and those of the buyer or tenant. For this, they must be able to remain calm under pressure, unlock deadlock situations, suggest and advise, solve problems quickly and efficiently, in order to achieve the intended objectives and the satisfaction of both parties.
• Marketing Skills: Without marketing, the promotion of their property portfolio will always be deficient. Digital has invaded the real estate sector, and knowledge about digital marketing has become a 'must' for many consultants.
• Organizational Ability: Real estate consultants must be organized and efficient and able to manage their time, meetings, and visits, as well as the multiple day-to-day tasks effectively and without failures.
• Teamwork: Real estate consultants often work in teams with other professionals in the field, such as other consultants, marketing and multimedia professionals, solicitors, lawyers, and appraisers. They must be able to work in harmony with other people, in order to achieve a common goal.
• Knowledge of the Real Estate Market - Real estate consultants must have a deep understanding of the real estate market, including trends, prices, regulations, and applicable laws. For this, they must stay updated on the latest news and trends in the real estate market, particularly in their preferred working area.

In addition to the skills mentioned above, real estate consultants must also have:

• Adaptability: The real estate market is dynamic and always changing. Real estate consultants must be able to adapt to these changes and find new opportunities. Consultants and agencies that are not able to assimilate the new tools and practices imposed by the change in the industry will wither and lose market share.
• Entrepreneurship: Although most consultants belong to a real estate agency, real estate consultants are generally autonomous and work for themselves. They must be willing to take risks, invest, and have an entrepreneurial spirit: seek to do differently to achieve different and better results.
• Passion for the Sector: It is essential that real estate consultants have a true passion for their activity and enjoy working with people, as this is, fundamentally, a 'people's business for people'. Motivation is a key element in this area. Contrary to common belief, for a 'Top Producer', money is not the main motivation, but rather the satisfaction of their clients, as these clients will, in the future, recommend them to other potential interested parties.

These skills are essential for real estate consultants who aim to succeed in their career. On this page, you can consult a more detailed analysis: https://ana-macao-kw.pt/en/requirements-be-successful-real-estate-consultant

(Top▲)Career, Training, and Regulation

(Top▲)Required Training

Currently, there is no mandatory training required to practice as a real estate consultant in Portugal. However, there are training courses that can help professionals acquire essential skills for the activity, and most of the large real estate agencies have a continuous training plan, as is the case with Keller Williams (KW Portugal).

In addition to internal training, there are courses taught by public or private entities, which vary in duration between 120 and 240 hours. The contents of the courses differ depending on the training entity but generally cover areas such as:

• Knowledge of the real estate market
• Commercial skills
• Communication skills
• Relationship abilities
• Negotiation techniques

Here are some suggestions of certified entities with a wide variety of recommended entities:

Paid Training:

• Academia da Domínio Binário: 40 courses, mostly online, in the following areas: Mediation, CRM, Photography and Video, Personal Development, Real Estate Investment, Real Estate Marketing, and Real Estate Law: https://academia.centralimo.pt/areas-formacao
• ASMIP Courses and Trainings: Online courses with different prices for members and non-members, taught by qualified professionals: https://www.asmip.pt/en/trainings/courses_4/
• APEMIP Academy Courses: Online and face-to-face courses, with different prices for members and non-members, taught by qualified professionals: https://www.academiaapemip.pt/calendar
• ESAI - Higher School of Real Estate Activities: Bachelor's Degree in Real Estate Management, Master's Degree in Real Estate and Asset Valuation, MBA in Real Estate Management and Mediation, MBA in Real Estate Valuation and various short-term courses, online and face-to-face.
• REAL: An online e-learning platform with short, affordable video courses, endorsed by one of Portugal's leading real estate experts, Massimo Forte: https://massimoforte.com/e-learning-real/

Free Training:

• Idealista: Free training workshops, short in duration, covering various areas related to real estate activities, in connection with Idealista's tools and platform: https://www.idealista.pt/en/courses/

(Top▲)Regulation of the Profession

Currently, the career of a real estate consultant in Portugal is not regulated by specific legislation or a code of ethics, although efforts are underway to create regulation for this profession. This professional activity is generally carried out through a connection to a real estate agency, which holds an AMI license. The contractual relationship between the consultant and the agency can vary, including fixed-term contracts with fixed and variable remuneration or, more commonly, through a flexible link based on a service provision contract.

However, for a professional who decides to apply for an AMI License, thus becoming an independent real estate consultant, they must meet specific criteria:

• Complete the requirements, for individuals or companies Online, through the website of the Institute of Public Markets, Real Estate and Construction (IMPIC) or the Entrepreneur Counter, or in person, at the IMPIC service locations.
• Have civil liability insurance, with a minimum insured capital amount of 150,000 euros, or equivalent guarantee.
• If self-employed, submit the declaration of commencement, change, or resumption of activity.
• Not have criminal records for intentional crimes, providing proof through the criminal record of the individual or legal representatives, in case of a company.
• If a company, submit the permanent company certificate.

(Top▲)How much do real estate consultants earn in Portugal?

Most real estate consultants sign a service contract with a real estate agency, which establishes the clauses of mutual rights and duties, but does not mention a specific fixed remuneration system. Normally, the consultant is only remunerated after successfully formalizing a real estate transaction: the sale or rental of a house, or other type of property.

In general, the real estate commission charged to clients varies between 3% and 5% of the sale price, with the latter being the most common. For rentals, the commission ranges between 1 and 2 rents. In most real estate agencies, the part of this commission due to the consultant is linked to their productivity and depends on how many transactions they can make during a year, but usually varies between 40% and 98% of the commission charged to the client. This disparity in values is due to the different business models of the many real estate agencies operating in Portugal. Some agencies invest more in marketing, training, etc., and therefore retain a larger slice of the commission, while others hand over a larger percentage of the commission to the consultant, so that they can invest in promoting their property portfolio. This is the case with Keller Williams, which aims to stimulate the entrepreneurial spirit of its consultants.

Regarding the commissions charged to clients, a significant portion of real estate transactions is carried out in a sharing regime. That is, while one agency is responsible for acquiring the property through a mediation contract with the owner, another is in charge of acquiring the buyer client. Thus, when distributing the value of the commission charged to the selling client, it is divided 50% for each agency.

Although uncertain, the incomes can be significantly higher than those of other professional areas. In Portugal, some hundreds of Top Producers earn annual gross incomes, close to or even exceeding 200,000€. However, this scenario is not the most common for the majority of consultants. The most common annual gross income ranges between 40,000€ and 70,000€.

On my page https://ana-macao-kw.pt/how-much-does-a-real-estate-consultant-earn-portugal-2024 you can find more information.

(Top▲)Radiography of Real Estate Consultants: Who Are They and How Many Are They?

Most real estate consultants sign a service contract with a real estate agency, which establishes the clauses of mutual rights and duties, but does not mention a specific fixed remuneration system. More than 95% of consultants do not have a salary and only receive payment when the sale of a property is completed or upon signing a rental contract.

Being a profession with strong labor unpredictability (without a fixed salary or labor rights), most real estate consultants fit into the category of self-employed professionals and can be characterized by:

• This is one of the few professions in the tertiary sector where age is not an obstacle. We observe a wide age range, from 18 to 68 years old. However, most professionals have solid professional experience and are over 36 years old. It is not uncommon to find retired workers who find in this activity a salary complement to their pension and obviously a professional fulfillment.
• Most consultants belong to the female gender, but there are many male consultants. Understandably, whether due to intrinsic characteristics or as a result of education, the behavioral profile of women adapts well to the profession of real estate consultant: resistance to pressure and stress, communication skills, effective time management, sensitivity, empathy, emotional understanding, and interpersonal relationship skills.
• To be a real estate consultant, university education is not a mandatory requirement but obviously the minimum mandatory education is a common rule. However, a large part of the younger successful consultants have higher academic education and postgraduate courses, as well as specialized training in various support areas (Marketing, Sales and Commercial Negotiation, Real Estate Law, etc.). Continuous training is recommended for this profession.
• Mastery of more than the mother tongue is a desirable requirement. Most speak or 'scratch' English, but there are also those who master several languages, just like me (Portuguese, English, French, and Spanish). Considering the significant weight of international buyers in this market, knowledge of the English language is almost mandatory.
• Professional experience is very important, hence, despite finding many "rookies", most have a diversified resume with an emphasis on commercial and human relations professions. That is why in the resume of most successful consultants, there are references to companies with commercial or public relations activities.
• Portugal is a country with a strongly urban demographic distribution and a large concentration on the coast, as well as on the islands. Therefore, it is in these areas that most professionals practice their activity. In the case of KW Portugal, its Market Centers are mostly distributed along the coast and on the islands (Azores and Madeira). However, in the last decade, even due to the saturation of the markets in the large metropolitan areas of Lisbon and Porto, there has been a strong growth in the number of agencies throughout the country, with special emphasis on the coast and district capitals.
• It is difficult to quantify the number of consultants operating in Portugal, as a significant part does not develop this activity exclusively and many of them do not even have a consistent fixed or variable remuneration. However, INE points to a total of professionals in the real estate sector of around 50,000 (including consultants, administrative staff, etc.), but I would say that full-time professionals with consistent remuneration on which they can depend, we can count half this number. At the end of 2023, there were 9,805 entities with AMI License in Portugal, of which 91% belonged to companies and 9% to individuals. 30% of the licenses are attributed to entities in Lisbon or Porto. In other words, these numbers indicate that most real estate consultants are not independent and carry out their mediation activities on behalf of a real estate agency.
• Most are of Portuguese nationality, although in recent years there has been an increase in foreign professionals working in mediation, notably from the vast Brazilian community. But it is also not uncommon to find French, Chinese, English, and Americans who take advantage of privileged connections with their home country to succeed in the real estate career.

(Top▲)Portuguese Real Estate Context

The Portuguese real estate market is one of the most dynamic and resilient in Europe, with steady growth over the last decade, which has withstood all kinds of shocks. This growth is due to a series of factors, including:

• The economic growth of Portugal, particularly tourism, has led to an increased demand for properties.
• The increase in population, largely due to a strong movement of immigration, has also put pressure on the real estate market.
• The entry of foreign investors and buyers, contributing to the rise in property prices, but also to the dynamization of the market.
• The arrival in the Portuguese market of various international real estate mediation companies, including KW Portugal for which I work, have contributed to dynamizing and professionalizing this market.
• The investment of foreign capital in the promotion and construction of new real estate developments.

(Top▲)Future Perspectives

(Top▲)Portuguese Real Estate Market Trends

It is expected that the Portuguese real estate market will continue to expand in the coming years, driven by factors such as:

• Economic growth
• Demographic increase
• Foreign investment

The main trends projected for the Portuguese real estate market are:

• Continued increase in the prices of new construction properties in areas outside the metropolitan areas of Lisbon and Porto, but with some deceleration in the prices of used houses. The price of land will continue to appreciate in urban areas.
• Increasing demand for rental properties. At a time when access to credit is a problem, due to high interest rates, the demand for houses to rent tends to be higher.
• Entry of new international investors. Portugal continues to be a country under the international investment spotlight, attracting more foreign buyers and, in turn, more international developers, keeping the dynamization of the Portuguese real estate market.
• Effects of the "Simplex Licensing". The exemption from the approval of architectural projects, as well as the Use License, will have a great impact, especially through the entry into the market of unlicensed houses. The acceleration of the time needed to design, build, and sell a house is undoubtedly a positive factor to increase the supply of properties.
• Increase in demand for holiday properties. Although there has been a reduction in the demand for this type of property during the last decade, it is expected that this market segment will grow in the coming years.

(Top▲)Employment Prospects for Real Estate Consultants

The employment prospects for real estate consultants are encouraging, as the growth of the real estate market is expected to generate more job opportunities. All the factors mentioned earlier are positive and will continue to fuel the demand for real estate consultants, especially from large real estate franchising brands (most of them international brands). However, the trend will be towards greater professionalization of the sector, creating a positive differentiation between the best professionals and the most productive agencies. The current "flat" landscape, where an inexperienced consultant gathers properties alongside experienced consultants with proven track records, will tend to decrease. The costs of promotion and mediation are too high to be borne by an unproductive consultant.

The job market in this activity is saturated, leading to a very aggressive 'door-to-door' commercial attitude, which will tend to further hinder acquisitions by inexperienced consultants. But this is not necessarily bad.

The Portuguese real estate market is only interested in greater professionalization of those working in this area, so it is important that their success is associated with experience in their area and commitment to their career. A consultant who lives from various expedients, without focusing on this profession, does not deserve to be rewarded and only 'hinders' the career progression of professionals who truly commit and believe in it and have a passion for real estate mediation.

In addition, the increasing demand for properties by international buyers will enhance the value of consultants specialized in buyers, that is, the 'buyer agents'. This is a trend experienced in more mature markets, leading to increased specialization, allowing those who do not have a property portfolio to succeed in this profession and increasing the weight of shares among consultants.

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(Top▲)Frequently Asked Questions about Real Estate Consultants

In summary, a career as a real estate consultant is a challenging yet rewarding activity for those who appreciate a profession that combines flexibility, the potential for high earnings, and a variety of tasks. It is ideal for those who value autonomy and human contact, offers continuous opportunities for learning and professional growth, along with the personal satisfaction of helping others achieve their dreams, whether it's finding the ideal home or investing in the real estate sector.