There are so many benefits to working in the property industry and, in particular, in an estate agency. Becoming an estate agent is a really rewarding job and it is very appealing to people who have an interest in property. Whilst there is an abundance of property jobs to choose from when you graduate from university, many are still drawn to becoming an estate agent and will start looking into graduate estate agent jobs.
Of course, when starting a career as an estate agent, you will need to decide whether you’d like to work in residential property or commercial property and these two markets are completely different for agents. If you’re currently contemplating which type of estate agent job will be right for you when you graduate, below we have explored some of the main differences between residential and commercial property.
The type of properties you sell
It goes without saying really that the biggest difference between these two types of estate agent jobs is the type of property that you sell. Residential property relates to properties that are used for living in like houses and apartments, whereas commercial property involves properties that are used for business purposes like office buildings, hotels and retail stores.
As you may expect, when you work as a commercial estate agent, you will often be dealing with properties that are much more expensive than they would be if you were a residential estate agent. For many, this means that they make more commission per sale and they end up earning more annually. However, it is worth noting that commercial sales sometimes aren’t as regular as residential sales and the number of sales you make each year will often be lower.
The buyers that you work with
Another obvious difference between these two job roles is the buyers that you will be working with. Residential estate agents will handle people like first time buyers, families and developers, whereas commercial estate agents will have clients that are business owners and entrepreneurs. As you may expect, this greatly impacts the role as a whole.
When working in commercial property, in addition to being a good negotiator and having sales skills, you often need to have a basic understanding of finance so that you can discuss things like capitalization rates with clients to inform the decisions that they make. This isn’t as important when you work in residential property and instead, you will usually need to be more of a ‘people’s person’ and have good emotional intelligence.
The sale cycle time frame
Generally speaking, the length of the sale cycle will differ between these two markets as well. Often, residential properties will have fairly quick turnaround times, whereas commercial properties will have much longer processes. The overall amount of time that you’re dealing with a prospective buyer will be significantly different depending on the type of property you sell.
You may find that the way prospective buyers are throughout the sale cycle, particularly when they’re waiting for a deal to complete, will be very different as well and therefore, the amount of contact you have with them won’t be the same. Often, commercial estate agents will spend more time updating their clients and they can push for the sale to be completed in a certain time frame to ensure that this is suitable for their business needs too.
Finding graduate estate agent jobs in London
When deciding whether you’d like to become a residential estate agent or a commercial estate agent, hopefully the information above will be useful to you. Now that you’re aware of some of the biggest differences between these two roles, you should find it slightly easier to decide which is more suitable for you. If you’d like to speak with an experienced property recruitment agency about estate agent jobs in more detail, please contact us here at PEAR Recruitment.
Our expert team will happily take the time to answer any questions that you may have relating to these two markets and when you’re looking for graduate estate agent jobs in London, whether you choose residential or commercial, they can help you find the perfect job for you too. We will get to know you, your achievements and your specific needs, enabling us to recommend the best graduate estate agent jobs and we can assure you that you will be in very experienced hands when you turn to our team.
