15 real estate side hustles to earn extra income
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In a commission-only business like real estate, it can sometimes be months between paychecks. If you need to fill in the gaps between closings, consider these ideas for your real estate side hustle. As a bonus, some of them even do double-duty as lead generation activities and could bring you more real estate clients while providing a paycheck.
1. Showing assistant
Showing assistants work with other agents to cover the showings for their buyer clients. The buyer’s agent will sign the client and handle the offer once the right property is identified. The showing assistant’s role is simply to do the showings and communicate feedback to the buyer’s agent.
This real estate side hustle is perfect for newer agents who want to get hands-on experience and earn extra income while they build their own businesses. Depending on your state, a real estate license may be required for this position.
2. Real estate runner
A runner is someone who runs errands and completes tasks for busy agents, such as placing and removing lockboxes at listings, opening doors for an inspector to pick up a radon test or picking up an agent’s staging items from a listing. These tasks typically don’t require any client interaction, just lots of driving around. No real estate license required.
3. Transaction coordinator (TC)
Transaction coordinators play an incredibly helpful role in the real estate industry. If you’re an agent who’s very organized, detail-oriented and you enjoy the paperwork side of the business, being a TC could be the best real estate side hustle for you. Typical tasks include communicating with all parties to move the transaction through the process, making sure all paperwork is filled out correctly, keeping ahead of deadlines and being the main point of contact during a deal.
It’s recommended that TCs are licensed in the state where they work, but not required in every state. In terms of education, you will need to be knowledgeable about the forms, processes and laws in your area. This is often a remote position, and you could work for multiple agents at once.
4. Administrative assistant
Similar to a TC yet more comprehensive, an administrative or executive assistant in real estate is someone who handles all the tasks a successful real estate agent doesn’t have the time to do. This can be anything from marketing to planning client appreciation events to requesting reviews from recently closed clients.
It’s best to have your real estate license for this side hustle, as it will allow you the flexibility to talk to clients if necessary. Some agents prefer a full-time admin, but many would welcome the opportunity to hire someone part-time. This can be a learn-on-the-job role with no specific education required.
5. Social media manager
For agents who are skilled at social media marketing, being a social media manager is a great option for real estate freelance work, especially since many agents struggle with this form of marketing. Social media managers plan content and post on behalf of their clients (other agents) to help them stay top of mind and generate more business online.
No license required. You will need to be educated/knowledgeable about social media algorithms, running ads, creating content and strategic interactions with followers. Canva skills can be helpful, as well. This is a flexible side hustle that’s easy to scale up or down, depending on how much you’d like to work in it.
6. Inbound/outbound sales agent (ISA/OSA)
An inbound sales agent is someone who follows up on warm leads, while an outbound sales agent focuses on reaching out and procuring new leads (often cold calling but not always). These roles are usually found on larger teams that have the budget to pay for agents to do this legwork to find and nurture leads. The team will often provide training on what to say and how to follow up.
You will need to be licensed, but no special skills or education are required. This can be a good way to dive in headfirst to prospecting and follow up, mastering those skills to bring to your own real estate business in the future. If you’re learning-based and not afraid to call strangers, this could be a great side hustle for you.