For the most part, real estate agents work weekends because this is when the majority of their clients are available to show properties and negotiate offers.
There are several reasons that real estate agents work weekends. It comes down to client availability and property availability. We will also cover why real estate agents have such crazy schedules, what different schedules may look like, and agents can have more control over when they are working.
Table of Contents
- Real Estate Agents Work Weekends Because of Client Availability
- Properties Are Easier to Show on Weekends
- Why Real Estate Agents Have Crazy Schedules
- What Does a Real Estate Agent’s Schedule Look Like?
- How Agents Can Take Control of Their Schedule
1. Real Estate Agents Work Weekends Because of Client Availability
Real estate agents work as independent contractors. They earn their income via commissions on each deal they close. Closing deals requires showing properties to clients and submitting offers.
Working Weekends Helps Agents Grow Their Businesses Quickly
To fit in most showings, agents need to be working when their clients are available. For the most part, home buyers are not taking paid time off (PTO) to tour homes. They are not looking at houses between 8 am and 5 pm on weekdays. Home buyers are looking at homes after work and on the weekends.
Knowing this, it makes sense that a highly efficient agent is showing as many properties as possible when their clients are free. Fitting all your showings into the evenings and weekends allows you to finish the rest of your work during the day.
New agents especially benefit from showing properties on weekends. Many of the older and more established agents are working when they want to, so this is an opportunity for new agents to begin building their market presence.
Buyers will always have to look at homes after hours and on weekends.
2. Properties Are Easier to Show on Weekends
Real estate agents work weekends because showing occupied homes is easier on the weekends. During weekdays with so many homeowners working from home, stepping away long enough for showings is hard for them.
On the weekends, homeowners are more willing to leave the house for showings to take place privately. Knowing this as an agent is important and will lead to more closings, which means more income. Buyers do not enjoy looking at homes while the owner is there. It makes them uncomfortable.
Showing your clients houses on the weekends when the homes are empty leaves them feeling more comfortable walking around and looking at the house. The more comfortable your client is, the more likely they will be to write an offer.
3. Why Real Estate Agents Have Crazy Schedules
Real estate agents have crazy schedules and work weekends and nights because they live on commission. Hungry real estate agents work whenever they have clients that are willing to tour properties. Clients will call agents and ask to tour properties at all hours, even as late as 9 pm.
As a new agent, jumping on this and showing the property is tempting, but it isn’t always the best thing you can do for your business. In the short term, showing properties at all hours will help in growing your client base and bank account. In the long term, you will be burning out much sooner than the agents with set schedules.
4. What Does a Real Estate Agent’s Schedule Look Like?
A typical day in the life of a real estate agent will be different for everyone. Depending on how long they have been working or what their responsibilities are, they can vary widely.
Usually, the mornings start out with scheduling the day’s meetings, showings, and phone calls. After that, responding to emails, texts, and voicemails.
By the time an agent is working with a large number of clients, they will need to time block. This means handling phone calls, lead generation, office work in the morning, and scheduling appointments for afternoons and evenings.
A new agent commonly tries to squeeze in everything whenever they can. This means cold calling leads between showings, eating lunch outside a property, and sending emails and texts at 11 pm.
This is not sustainable in the long run, so as agents become more busy, they must better allocate their time. Time is the most valuable resource in real estate, and finding new ways to conserve it is important.
5. How Agents Can Take Control of Their Schedule
Too many real estate agents work weekends and think there is no other way. Luckily, many agents have found success working their own hours and not giving up nights and weekends with family.
How can agents go from working long nights and weekends to setting their own schedule? It starts with setting expectations for yourself and your clients.
Creating Your Ideal Schedule
Visualize your ideal schedule, and write it out on your calendar. I like to use a large whiteboard so that I can easily change things. Google Calendar works great too. Time block what you would like to be doing each day from when you wake up to when you lay down your head each night. As you begin selling more properties, you will find that focusing on appointments in the afternoons usually allows you to be more productive. Schedule your office hours in the morning until after lunch, and your afternoon and evening for calls, meetings, and showings.
We highly recommend using Tom Ferry’s template for the perfect day, which can be downloaded here.
Make Sure Your Clients Know, and That You Follow Through
No schedule is worth keeping if you don’t keep it yourself. Be upfront with your clients and let them know what days and times they can get in touch with you. Ensure they know you will respond the next day if they call after your working hours.
Clients that are not willing to respect your schedule are not clients you want to do business with. Plenty of people are out there looking to buy and sell real estate. The people you serve well bring more clients to you, so focus on working with people you enjoy serving.
By working with great people, you naturally attract more clients that are great people. Clients who share your values and respect your time with family in the evenings are important to a long-lasting career in real estate.
Focus on Listing Properties, Not Showing Properties
As you climb the rungs of real estate experience, you will find yourself juggling more deals at any given time. You will have more closings and transactions but not feel as busy.
This is because more experienced agents are naturally shifting their focus to listing properties for sellers instead of touring with buyers. It is possible to handle far more clients when you are listing homes for sale than when you are touring properties for hours every day with buyers.
Sell Real Estate While You Are Relaxing By Representing Sellers
When listing properties, they are being sold while you are out generating new business. Other agents are showing your listings and bringing you contracts while you are out on appointments, meeting with new sellers, and generating more business.
When you only represent buyers, you cannot generate new leads or handle other clients while you are showing houses. You are not creating income for yourself unless you are showing houses. You are not getting new business while you are showing houses, so you must generate leads in the evenings and weekends.
Listing Agents Can Handle Far More Clients At One Time
Buyer agents can only handle so many buyers at one time. Let’s say, at any given time, you can actively show properties to 5-10 clients.
A listing agent can handle 10-15 listings more easily at a time while still giving all clients the care and attention they need. This is on top of generating new business, growing their brand, and spending more time with family than buyer agents.
Take Control of Your Schedule and Build a Listing-Based Business
Find a way to shift to generating seller leads and listings as early as possible in your career if you value evenings and weekends. Build a more scalable business from the outset and take control of your schedule. If you aren’t sure how to get listings, start using these 6 methods that the top listing agents use to reliably generate seller leads.
