Top Real Estate Firms – Choosing The Right Brokerage

If you are currently a licensed real estate agent with another brokerage or just starting your career in real estate, you have to do your research to find the top real estate firms that will best fit your needs. Are you more comfortable in a smaller, boutique type company or would your do better in a larger, more corporate environment. Either way, do your due diligence to make sure you have the best opportunity to build a successful career.

Larger real estate brokerages have typically been the places most agents are drawn to due to the heavy advertisements from franchises to attract new talent. This proves to be successful for all parties when the market is booming, since no real skill is required to sell homes during this cycle in the economy; agents are seen more as order takers than professionals. But what about when the market is suffering? Many of the top franchises in the industry have seen their numbers drop drastically since their business model doesn’t support training and education of agents. With no real support from the broker, agents are simply told to get out there and close deals; when they can’t do that, they start searching for a better option. With today’s buyers and sellers needing more than just a warm body with a license to help them, they are turning to professionals that have up-to-date knowledge of the current real estate market.

Smaller, boutique firms can be great if you prefer a more one-on-one approach, but don’t let that be your only reason for choosing this option. Everyone needs education and if your broker is competing right along side of you in a tough market, chances are you won’t get the support that you need since they will be focusing on their business and less concerned with yours. Many times new agents choose this option because they know the broker or feel an office with only a few agents will give them a better opportunity to make more sales.

In the end, it really doesn’t matter how many agents are in your office or how much advertising your broker does; people are going to choose to work with you because of your knowledge of the market, neighborhoods, industry, etc. When researching top real estate firms, the bottom line is making sure you are going to get the best agent training, education, support and are shown how to best run your business. With the changing market, your broker must be invested in keeping your up-to-date with how to thrive in all real estate markets, not just the good ones. This is your business, not theirs and having a broker that supports your growth will take you to the highest level in your career.