Career Profile: Real Estate
 Real estate is a challenging career that focuses on everything from buying and selling property to land development. When most people think of real estate they think of real estate agents posting “For Sale” signs outside of a quaint, suburban home. In reality, real estate is an industry populated with more than just real estate agents.
Real estate is a profession in which industry members work together to execute the buying and selling of space. Before real estate agents can even begin to think about selling a home, a home has to be built. Before building can begin land developers make investments in land, whether residential or commercial, to meet the real estate needs of that particular area. Real estate agents can then market the new development to potential buyers. Aside from the exchanges between a realtor and developer, other professionals in real estate include the following:
- Appraisers are responsible for estimating the value of a property in order to calculate the real estate valuation.
- Mortgage Brokers work to find mortgages that meet their clients’ financial need in order to make a real estate purchase. While they primarily work on the residential side, some brokers may specialize in commercial lending for office or retail space.
- Property Managers handle a multitude of different activities that include taking care of tenant requests and leases. Property management is present in commercial and residential areas such as apartment complexes or office parks.
In comparison to other business sectors, real estate is one of the primary industries to feel the impact of any economic upturns or downturns in the market. However, similar to other industries, the real estate market is not entirely controlled by the economy, despite the influence it carries. Instead, those that can deal with the cyclical nature of real estate and learn to look for opportunities no matter what the state of the economy is will be successful.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, real estate is expected to grow about as fast as the average for all other industries through 2016. That may increase or decrease depending on the economic demands of the market and interest rates. Currently the housing market is at an all time low. Nonetheless, it is still an attractive career option, particularly for individuals looking to make a comfortable income.
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