The real estate industry is very sensitive to economic changes like interest rates and the cost of materials in building houses. Interest rates in particular can easily swing the number of sales that are completed during any quarter of the year. Rising interest rates will slow down the sales and falling rates will aid the sales of real estate. This is an important fact in the real estate business as this can absolutely cause rapid changes in income from the sales that can be made.
With this in mind, the time to buy an agency that comes up for sale may be when the real estate business is in the doldrums. A hot real estate market will make an existing firm worth more, as their income will be higher during this period of time. Of course if you follow this course of action, you will have to wait out the slow down in the markets. Another factor in the purchase or start-up a real estate company is the state licensing requirements.
Most states have serious requirements for real estate agents and brokers. Brokers have a much stiffer requirement in most states than an agent. The requirements include passing exams and a fixed number of educational hours for both agents and brokers. There is also a requirement for continuing education. These state mandated steps to a career in the real estate business would have to be met before an agency could be purchased or started. Since this industry is regulated and has strong legal steps to comply with, this licensing plus experience would be an initial step to being an owner in this field. This is not a business that can be stepped into by just paying out some money.
An agent can have the goal of owning their own firm, but it will take planning and meeting the state rules to make this happen. Once a potential owner has these steps out of the way, finding an existing business to buy will be in order. A quick check of real estate business listings reveals that they are usually found in larger cities and the asking price is significant. There are also resales of franchise companies. Just typing into a search engine, "Real estate businesses for sale", came up with this quick check. A buyer could also check with business brokers and real estate brokers in their city. Another source worth checking out would be a franchise connection. An in place real estate business is advantages as the name is already known and will get clients due to this. When you start a company from the ground up you do not have this advantage. An existing business with several locations will come with a higher price tag than what you could start your own business for. Visit duchoacity.com
Another way to gain ownership would be buying into an existing business. This could work if you have a solid relationship with the current owner. The problem is you will not have the final say in most decisions unless you are buying controlling interest.
Specialty real estate firms
Most people think about a firm that helps with the buying and selling a home. There are several other areas of specialization. A real estate firm could become expert in buying and selling commercial property, farmland and farms, farm product processing plants, rental properties and shopping centers. Actually a broker could cut out a niche market from many that are available in the real estate business. If you have an area of expertise, this could become something that could be marketable and cut out a lot of competition in certain situations. Some real estate firms have unique departments that handle certain types of real estate marketing. The decision you must make is what kind of a firm are you going to own. You may have to start your own in order to make it happen.
You could also get into real estate management and the buying and selling of these rental properties, which is a very unique part of the industry. Shopping center related firms could be in from the start of a project. They can help with the formation of the firm to build and own the property and then handle the rentals and day-to-day management of the center