Real Estate Jobs Not looking good in 2004

Sales and Marketing Management published a story on the job outlook for a number of industries in their Feb 2004 edition. Their outlook for the Real Estate industry looks pretty cool in comparison to other industries surveyed:

If you’re thinking of breaking into the real estate industry in the next couple of years, it’s going to be a rough ride. “It’s a very difficult market for neophytes and will continue to be that way,” warns Richard Warshauer, sales manager at GVA Williams, a commercial real estate firm in New York. “Even if you’re a crackerjack salesperson, you’re not going to make much right away.”

Real estate insiders are forecasting a down year for the industry. They say that anxiety about the war and the economy has impacted the real estate market detrimentally, and while the consumer market has been booming recently (thanks to historically low mortgage rates), the commercial real estate sector has been hit hard. “No one should go into this business for a six-month stint,” says Ed Friedman, executive managing director at Newmark, a commercial realty firm in New York.

“Six, seven years ago, you could do this part-time and bring in plenty of money,” says Mike Burns, a broker manager for the Denver branch of Re/Max, a national residential realtor. “Now sales are harder and our guys are probably putting in fifty-plus-hour workweeks.” Though the hardworking brokers bring in consistent sales, work will continue to be long and arduous, says Burns, who doesn’t expect that to change much in the next few years.

Still, there is some upbeat news. Sales, though long in the making, are happening. And as realtors say, space doesn’t disappear. For the resilient brokers that hang in there, experts point out, there’s decent, even great, money to be made. You just have to be good. “Like the Marines,” Warshauer says, “there’s always room for a few good people.” -Christopher Stewart

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