Women in Real Estate

Written by Posted On Friday, 01 May 2020 05:57
Women in Real Estate Women in Real Estate

Not only Real Estate; it’s safe to say that the world has been going through a lot of changes. And a positive one has been the increasing presence of women in real estate. There have always been female real estate agents in the residential area, but it was rare to see women in commercial real estate companies, especially high up in the hierarchy. It was rare to see examples like Shark Tank’s Barbara Cocoran, a feminine real estate mogul. But now, more and more, women have been steadily appearing in leading positions thanks to initiatives like the WCR – Women’s Council of Realtors - that fight for diversity and inclusion and, of course, women’s own efforts and success.

According to a study made by CREW Network - one of those companies that fight to include women in real estate - the number of Self-Employed and Independent Women in Commercial Real Estate has been declining for the past ten years: 11% on 2015, 9% in 2010 and 6% in 2015. That’s not bad news, though! Considering that aside from the C-Suite – the highest of levels – the percentage of women inside commercial real estate companies has been increasing, it is safe to say that we are seeing a migration of women from self-employment to the traditional office space 9 to 5 world of Commercial Real Estate.

Sure, there are a lot of other aspects that need some improvements regarding the atmosphere women in business encounter: there is still a lot of work reducing the gender pay gap and the quality of life inside the office, reducing (extinguishing!) sexist comments and sexual harassment. However, this is already a great win for…  Commercial Real Estate!

Yes, real estate has more to win from women adopting it as their field of work than the other way around. Here’s why:

Empathy. To us, empathy is probably the most useful feminine trait for real estate. Agency is all about acting on someone’s behalf and to do that in good fashion we need to know how to walk in someone else’s shoes. With every new client, real estate agents and their companies must abstain a little bit from their own frame of mind, from their own preconceived notions and listen. Listen to the client and try to see it through his/her eyes. It is your duty to dispose all your experience, knowledge and services to the client, but, in the end, it’s all about his/her desires. You’re not the one who’s going to be living in the new house, right? It’s not your company that’s using that facility for the next few years. So, if the client is adamant about something you don’t think it’s a great idea, what good does it do for you to fight it? We understand the bottom line for business is profit, but there are several ways to obtain it. Our client’s satisfaction is really what we’re trying to get to, don’t you agree? And to get there, we need to show some empathy. We need to understand what’s dear to their heart to go after that. Profit will follow.

Nurturing. Buying a home (or selling a home) can be really stressful. Women in real estate know how to ease things by lending their ear to their client’s afflictions and caring for their needs. For months real estate agents will be a big presence in the life of those people; they need them to be someone nurturing, not cold. A bigger presence of women in business and their nurturing traits is also vital within a company culture: long are the days a job was a means to an end. With mobile phones and e-mails and the internet as a whole, you are almost never completely removed from your workplace. We want real estate to continue to be a place where interesting, intelligent people come to make a career, right? We truly believe that through the nurturing leadership presence of women in real estate we can better improve our work culture and make this an industry new talents continue to search for. Plus, in the end, if you think about it; it’s fair to say that all we do is nurture, actually. Our industry nurtures people’s dreams of moving up on life. A land or a property has always been a symbol of conquest for mankind. So, what we do is connect people, making sure their dream of conquest does not become a nightmare of surrender. If we can make this journey as meaningful as the destination, we will have reached our goal as above-average professionals. 

Intuition. Intuition is another feminine trait that clients benefit from the increasing presence of women in real estate. We all know that to assert prices to properties – a big part of this industry’s everyday activities – there’s nothing but reason and calculations and metric and boring stuff to the outside world, but our bread and butter – and we love bread and butter! However, there are those times when it’s “too close to call” regarding the Fair Market Value and some minor adjustments are left to, well, let’s be blunt: our best guesses. Additionally, we’ve all heard about the feminine intuition. There’s no science backing that up, but hey… we do believe it. Even if not to add (or subtract!) that extra zero on the offer, but, much because of their empathy, female real estate agents can contribute with their intuition regarding marketing tactics and reading the prospective buyer (or seller) “aura”. 

Attention to details. When someone is buying a home or selling a home, or even when it’s rent; we have to admit the whole process is very complex and filled with pitfalls. Our work was created exactly to facilitate this. We’re professionally accountable for missing any details, so real estate professionals must be attentive to all details concerning the home buying transaction and the increasing presence of women in real estate can also contribute here, as girls are always aware of every little detail. On Closing, for instance: one small mistake can cost a lot of time and money, setting back the whole deal and the client’s confidence in the process. Women in business and their capacity of list-checking and eye for details is something everyone in this industry, regardless of gender, can, and should, always be copying. 


As you see, Real Estate has a lot to gain from the continuing increasing presence of women in business. That’s what so great, not even about gender, but about humanity as a whole: as individuals, we are good, capable of a lot of cool stuff on our own. But we are flawed. Only when we get together as a group and work with everyone contributing with their best traits, hiding one’s weakness with another’s strength and vice-versa, we are capable of remarkable amazing feats. Here’s to hoping we have more and more female real estate agents and women in real estate as a whole so that, together with men, we’ll have an industry that’s able to better serve everyone and anyone.

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Theresa Hus

THERESA HUS, CONTENT WRITER AT REALESTATEAGENT.COM

Theresa Hus is a member of the content team at The OFFICIAL Real Estate Agent Directory ® producing countless informative and trendy real estate articles monthly for RealEstateAgent.com and its many outlets.

Real Estate with a twist; that's how one could define Theresa's writing. With 16 years of experience in the industry, Theresa is all about coming up with topics that go beyond the basic real estate agent advice and home buyers/home sellers "how to" articles you see around. Her main goal with her writing is providing not only information that will make readers lives easier when dealing with real estate, but a good time through a fresh, fun and insightful read. While the site is called RealEstateAgent.com, Theresa likes to keep away from generic real estate agent content; her articles are all about thinking outside the box, stepping in the consumer's shoes, and warning readers of things they might've never thought of. Sometimes they're quirky and very specific - like an article questioning if you would live in a haunted house if the price was right - sometimes they just contemplate issues that no one bothers to talk about but are very important to a lot of people, like articles regarding the pros and cons of living near a highway or real estate agents specialized in homes for the disabled.

To do that in a responsible way, Theresa is constantly talking with the many nationwide real estate agents registered on The OFFICIAL Real Estate Agent Directory ®, researching the newest real estate niches, trends, and overall best practices.

Specific areas/topics that Theresa is able and willing to share her expertise and knowledge on include:

·         Real Estate Entertainment News

·         Trending Markets Around the United States

·         Advice Columns for Home Buyers or Home Sellers

·         Articles on How to Add Value to Your Home without Breaking the Bank

 

To contact Theresa, please email [email protected].

www.realestateagent.com/

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