It would be fair to question my credentials on this topic; for obvious reasons. However, all 19 of my staff are women from a variety of backgrounds and of varying ages so I have at least some daily experiences to draw on.
Generally speaking, women are fabulous at selling residential real estate and make the best property managers.
Women tend to develop a rapport with a property owner from their genuinely empathetic approach and have a better appreciation of the stresses associated with selling or renting a home. In these early exchanges, women also tend to take time to listen to the home owner and feedback advice that is in tune with their property needs.
For a long time, real estate practitioners have had a reputation of resorting to unethical behaviours. Thankfully, for a variety of reasons, this has necessarily changed and on the whole agents now enjoy strong endorsement from the broader community for the fine work they do. However, the remnants of these biases float about from time-to-time with such negative perceptions usually targeting male sales representatives who are seen as being prepared to sell their grandmothers for a quid. Such views are almost always born out of ignorance with such stereotypes fast becoming a thing of the past.
Yet if any such stigma remains, it is interesting that it doesn’t appear to apply to women real estate practitioners. And perceptions are powerful motivators.
There is a perception that women are more trustworthy, more honest and better organised than men; important qualities for a real estate agent. But such perceptions are, of course, a generalisation and cannot be broadly applied to any professional sector.
March 8th is International Women’s Day and in part is a celebration of the empowerment of women across society, including the work force. On average, we still pay women less than men to do the same job, although this certainly does not apply to women in real estate who often take the lioness’ share.
In fact, the numbers have more women in real estate jobs than men albeit by a narrow margin.
So, in anticipation of International Women’s Day, congratulations to all women involved in real estate, may they continue to grow the professionalism of our industry to the benefit of all.
By Hayden Groves
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