Common Real Estate Interview Questions

At some point during your real estate career, you'll likely need to interview for a job with a firm or agency. Just like with any other job, the person who hires you will want to know about your experience, your ideas, and how you'll handle certain situations as they arise. 

Prepping for an interview is essential. That might mean researching the company, practicing your voice, and picking out suitable clothing. It also usually means practicing answering questions. While you won't know exactly what a prospective employer will ask, you can study this list of commonly asked real estate interview questions, along with what the interviewer wants to know and some suggestions on how to answer.  

Why did you decide to become a real estate agent?

What they really want to know: What fuels your interest or passion in the field?   

The best way to answer: Interviewers want to know why you want to work in a particular field, so you'll usually hear this question no matter the industry. If you're genuinely passionate about a job, you're less likely to quit when you encounter a challenging situation. Brokers and real estate hiring managers will ask this question to understand your motivation better, but also because it helps them assess your approach with buyers and sellers.

Answer this question with as much authenticity as possible. Let them know why you chose real estate. Many people get into the field because they want to make money—you can mention this if it's true. Perhaps you also enjoy helping people find their dream homes. You may enjoy negotiating and helping people find good deals. Maybe seeing homes or commercial properties reach their full potential interests you. 

You can also add some personal experience. You may have moved around as a child and enjoyed learning about different houses. Did you start with a passion for a related field, like architecture, and end up discovering real estate? Whatever the case, your interviewers will appreciate you sharing your experience. 

What are your preferred methods for communicating with clients, and how do you handle difficult clients? 

What they really want to know: How are your customer service skills? 

The best way to answer: Communication is a significant part of your job as a real estate agent. You'll communicate with prospective, current, and previous clients daily. Your interviewer wants to know how you'll handle this. 

The first part of the question shows the interviewer you understand the importance of communication in the real estate industry. Start by highlighting your communication skills. For instance, you might expound upon how crucial active listening skills are or how much you value integrity and honesty in all client contact. Finish your answer by saying that when it comes to communication methods, you're willing to text, email, make phone calls, or whatever your clients prefer.  

As for handling demanding clients, this is a question you'll often hear in any customer-oriented field because all employers want to know what you will do when you inevitably run into someone who isn't easy to work with. If you have work experience, you might describe a successful tactic you used in the past. If you have not gained significant experience, let the interviewer know what you would do.

It usually involves remaining calm and practicing empathy while attempting to see things from another perspective. It's also important to point out that every scenario is different, so you'd have to approach each one differently, but don’t use that as an excuse to get out of answering the question.  

How do you market new properties, and what websites do you use to post listings? 

What they really want to know: Are you up to date with current marketing practices? 

The best way to answer: Just like communication, marketing is a massive part of your job as a real estate agent. So is staying abreast of the real estate industry’s latest trends and strategies and understanding effective ways to sell a property. Your interviewer wants to know if you have any marketing savvy and are willing to stay on top of the latest trends and technology.  

Go ahead and share your successful marketing strategies. Talk about the great photographer you use to take pictures of homes, show off your social media presence, or explain your website-building process. 

If you have yet to gain experience, research before the interview. Talk to other real estate agents. Read trade websites and publications. Form a potential strategy that includes current trends and technology, like social media and virtual tours.  

How many homes have you sold in the last (year, month, quarter)?

What they really want to know: How successful are you, and will that translate to this job? 

The best way to answer: If you're new to real estate, you won't have to answer this question. However, if you have even a little experience, you'll need to prepare yourself, whether you've sold one house or 100 houses in the last year, month, quarter, or another time frame. Of course, a large number will sound impressive, but even if you have yet to sell many houses, you should still take the opportunity to highlight your successes. 

If the number is small, discuss how you succeeded in selling those homes translates to a win with your new job. For example, you may have a niche, like selling homes to young families or selling condos to retirees who want to downsize. You may have sold multiple homes in a local community and know it well. Provide anecdotes that back up and highlight your work.

How do you manage the busy schedule of a real estate agent?

What they really want to know: How do you stay organized? 

The best way to answer: Real estate agents typically work irregular hours. You'll find yourself showing houses on weekends, evenings, and possibly holidays. You'll have clients contacting you at all hours. You'll have multiple transactions taking place at once. 

Start by highlighting the human skills that help you maintain this busy schedule. For example, you might explain that organization and being on time are high priorities. Then, you can describe the steps to stay organized and on time. You could use certain apps or software or keep an old-fashioned planner or notebook with all your appointments. Explain your system so that the interviewer knows you have one in place.  

What makes a real estate agent successful? 

What they really want to know: What insight do you have about what this role requires to thrive?  

The best way to answer: This isn't a question to show off your experience. Instead, it shows off your knowledge about the real estate industry and how you can apply your skills.   

Several human skills are important for a career in real estate, including communication, negotiation, empathy, and organization. Consider these and more, pick a few you excel in, and explain why they're important and how they contribute to your personal success. If you feel like the interviewer wants more, you can talk about more technical skills, like marketing or knowledge of the real estate market. 

Share a great experience you had as a real estate agent and what went well to make the experience positive. 

What they really want to know: What is important to you?  

The best way to answer: Listing your most positive experience as a real estate agent is an excellent way for interviewers to gain insight into what's important to you. It can also show how hard you work or give them more insight into your past experience. 

Be honest when answering this question, but consider the company’s values. For example, suppose your greatest experience was making a certain amount of money in one month. You could rephrase it as reaching a specific sales goal in one month by working hard and dedicating yourself to a new marketing plan. 

You can talk about an award you won and what went into achieving it. You can also talk about a time that you went above and beyond to ensure a client got what they wanted, which shows off your persistence and empathy skills. 

Share a negative experience you had as a real estate agent and what went wrong. 

What they really want to know: How do you handle adversity and challenging situations?  

The best way to answer: Interviewers ask this to understand how you'll deal with adverse situations going forward. Turning this negative situation into a positive experience or highlighting the lessons you learned is critical.  

You can answer this question in many ways. For example, briefly describe something that went wrong in the past and what you learned from it. Keep your explanation of the negative experience brief, and focus more on your learning experience description, which also offers an opportunity to highlight your problem-solving abilities. Remain positive and provide an overview of your actions and the result, avoiding making excuses or using negative terms. 

What makes you different from other real estate agents? 

What they really want to know: Why should I hire you and not another applicant? 

The best way to answer: This is your opportunity to show your potential employer what sets you apart from other job candidates. Before you go to your interview, ensure you've reviewed the job description so you can make sure your answer mirrors what they're looking for as much as possible. 

Talk about your experience and skills in a way that reflects how you'll fit in at that company. It not only gives you a chance to highlight anything you didn't get to talk about during the rest of the interview but also shows that you've researched the company and understand what they're looking for. Avoid talking too much about yourself or coming across as arrogant, but don't undersell yourself, either. Remember that they want to know about the value you bring with you. 

Next steps 

When you're ready to start a career in the real estate industry, preparing yourself for the interview can make all the difference when applying for a job. Practicing these basic questions can help you gain the confidence you need to stand out to your potential employers. 

Consider setting yourself even further apart from your competition by taking some courses on Coursera. You'll find options from some of the top institutions in the world that can help you hone essential real estate skills, like Foundations of Digital Marketing and E-commerce offered by Google, or Successful Negotiation: Essential Strategies and Skills from the University of Michigan.