The Pros and Cons of Joining a Real Estate Team

By Realty Times Published Jul 11, 2023 05:19 am

It’s becoming increasingly common for real estate agents to work with a team. In 2018, the National Association of Realtors conducted a survey and found 26% of agents work with a team or in a partnership.

That number is likely higher now.

When you work on a team, you’re sharing commissions with other agents, but there are some big advantages.

You’re working with the entire team from a client’s perspective rather than just one agent. There’s no particular set of rules or procedures a real estate team has to follow, but the general idea is a sense of collaboration and helping one another out so you can all succeed.

There is generally a team leader who is the agent handling the listings. The team leaders will list, and the team members will work with buyers.

The leader is often the person who brings in the business.

Leaders can compensate members in any number of ways. For example, the pay might be a flat rate for a salaried associate. The pay might also be a percentage of the team leader’s commission or a percentage split based on performance. Compensation can also be a combination.

The National Association of Realtors reports most teams use a fixed commission split. In a fixed commission split, the splits stay consistent between a lead agent and other agents that are part of the team.

So, what are both the pros and cons of joining a team if you’re a real estate professional?

Pros of Being Part of a Team
The advantages of joining a team if you’re a real estate agent include:

You can get help with generating leads. Many team leaders have steady flows of referrals from their past clients, and they also have lead-generation practices in place. Then, the team leader distributes those leads so that team members can follow up. Once the team members follow up, they become the client’s primary point of contact. If you’re just starting in real estate or have a hard time generating leads, being part of a team is a good way to drive consistent revenue and build your business.
If you’re a new or less experienced agent, working with a team helps you learn from people who are already successful. It can be like mentorship, and you learn in a hands-on way.
You have access to shared support staff like an assistant, so you can then focus on building your business rather than administrative tasks and save money in the process.
Along with sharing support staff and administrative resources, you can share other resources as well, such as the cost of content creation, branding, and marketing. You may be able to create more high-end digital and traditional marketing materials than you’d be able to afford on your own.

What Are the Downsides of Working on a Team?
As with anything, while there are some real upsides of working on a team, you have to think about downsides.

If you want to build your personal brand in real estate, it will be harder to do when you’re part of the team. The brand is built around the team lead, so you’re going to have a harder time being noticed and recognized on your own.
You might not be able to pursue the things you’re most interested in as far as differentiating your brand.
There are also competing personalities on the team, which can have its advantages and disadvantages.
Finally, you’re, of course, also going to get a smaller portion of the commission. The volume of working with so many clients may offset this, though.

If you’re an experienced real estate professional, you might consider leveraging your brand and business by building your team. That’s a big decision, and before making it, you need to think about your short-term and long-term goals.

Be honest with yourself about whether the collaborative team dynamic will work for not only your business goals but your personality.