Property Agent

A property agent (often called a real estate agent) represents owners through the sale of a property: appraising, recommending a marketing approach, running the campaign, negotiating with buyers and carrying the transaction through to settlement. Most of the role is relationship work — prospecting, following up and keeping people informed — rather than the auction-day moments the industry is known for.

• Early prospecting block: calls and messages to past appraisals, database contacts and street-level enquiries.
• Appraisals and listing presentations, usually in the late morning or evening around owners' availability.
• Buyer management: enquiry responses, private inspections, feedback calls to vendors.
• Campaign admin: copy approval, photography bookings, portal and compliance paperwork.
• Saturday open homes and, in auction markets, Saturday auctions.

• Generating and converting appraisal opportunities from a defined area or database
• Preparing evidence-based pricing and campaign recommendations
• Managing marketing, inspections, buyer feedback and negotiation
• Keeping vendors informed with regular, honest campaign reporting
• Meeting agency agreement, disclosure and trust-account compliance obligations

• Disciplined prospecting and follow-up over months, not days
• Negotiation and expectation management with both sides of a deal
• Genuine local market knowledge and comparable-sales literacy
• Clear written communication and accurate CRM habits
• Resilience — listings are lost more often than won early on

• Sales associate or agent's assistant to an established agent (the most common route)
• Moving across from property management, leasing or business development
• Reception or sales administration inside an agency, then stepping into an associate role
• Direct entry with strong prior sales experience from another industry

Pay structures vary widely: a base plus commission, a retainer against commission, or commission only for experienced agents. Ask any prospective employer for the specific split, whether marketing and car costs are deducted, when commission is paid, and what happens to pipeline if you leave. Settld. only shows salary figures where an employer has supplied them.

Sales associate → agent → senior agent or lead agent → team leader with your own associates → sales manager, principal or business owner. Some agents instead specialise (prestige, project marketing, rural, auctioneering) rather than moving into management.

Beyond licensing, the development that moves the needle is listing presentations, pricing conversations, negotiation, auction process, vendor-management communication and marketing. Many agents also invest in coaching for prospecting consistency.

• Check your state licensing requirements

  Registration, certificates of registration, agent representative and licence rules are set state by state. Confirm current requirements with the regulator in the state you will work in (for example NSW Fair Trading, Consumer Affairs Victoria, the Queensland Office of Fair Trading, Consumer Protection WA, Consumer and Business Services SA).

• Build a 90-day prospecting plan before you start

  Write down the number of contacts, appraisals and listings you need per week to hit your target, then agree it with your employer in the interview. Agents who leave the industry usually leave in the first year, and almost always because the prospecting routine never got built.

• Ask for the agency's data before you accept

  Average days on market, listing-to-sale conversion, how many agents are in the same territory, and who owns the database contacts you generate. These four answers tell you more about your likely income than the commission split does.

• Use the Settld. application checklist

  Paste your résumé and a target ad to get a tailored, private list of what to strengthen before you apply.

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Do I need a licence to start?

In most states you need an entry-level registration or certificate before you can work in an agency, and a full licence later if you want to run a business or hold a trust account. Requirements and names differ by state — check with your state regulator.

Is commission-only realistic for a first role?

Rarely. Most people starting out do better on a base or retainer while they build a pipeline, because listings written in month one often do not pay until month four or five.

How long before I write my first listing?

It varies enormously with market, territory and prior network. Ask employers what their last three new agents took, and treat vague answers as a signal.