Key skills for success in the real estate sector after high school

Challenging, attractive, and innovative, the real estate sector continues to hold its appeal. Faced with environmental, social, and technological challenges, it is evolving and reinventing itself, offering numerous career opportunities. Tempted to give it a try? To succeed in the real estate sector after high school, you need to have certain key skills. What are they? What training should you pursue to develop them? Find the answers in this article!

Knowing the real estate market and its prices

As a real estate professional, you must have in-depth knowledge of the local area and real estate market. This includes market prices and trends, as well as the specific characteristics of the region and the economic, cultural, and social factors that impact the market. Depending on your role (real estate agent, real estate negotiator, agency manager, etc.), you will need to be able to advise your clients on the best location choices, taking into account their needs and expectations. In order to accurately assess property prices and maximize the chances of a quick rental or sale, a good knowledge of valuation techniques is essential, as is regular monitoring of market developments in order to adjust prices accordingly.

Real estate marketing skills

Some real estate professions require marketing skills. To market real estate properties and promote them effectively, certain marketing techniques are necessary. These include professional photography tailored to real estate, writing attractive advertisements, creating real estate videos to highlight the features of a property, and using social media to communicate with and attract your target audience.

Skills in property management and administration

Another crucial skill for success in real estate is property management, which encompasses rental management and transactions. You need to know how to manage a portfolio of rental properties as well as purchase and sale transactions.
In addition to property management, you need to be familiar with administrative and accounting management, especially if you work in a real estate agency. This involves knowing how to manage all administrative aspects, including contracts, invoices, and communications with clients and other stakeholders. The goal? To carry out all operations rigorously and ensure their compliance with current regulations.

Mastering the legal fundamentals of real estate

Real estate is a technical, complex, and highly regulated sector. It is therefore essential to be familiar with the regulations in force and to keep up to date with legislative changes. Legal aspects that must be mastered include real estate laws and regulations, sales contracts, leases, property rights, and home ownership assistance programs. This ensures that transactions are legally compliant and secure, which in turn strengthens client confidence and satisfaction.

Digital skills

In a world marked by the rise of new technologies and the ubiquity of social media, it is essential to know how to use certain digital tools such as AI for home staging, photo editing applications, dedicated software for creating interactive virtual tours, and real estate analysis tools. Digital skills are also expected when working in real estate, such as SEO, social media, and email marketing to attract and retain customers.

Real estate negotiation skills

Negotiating is an art form. While some people are naturally gifted in this area, this is not the case for everyone. Rest assured, this skill can be learned and developed. There are negotiation techniques suited to every situation, helping you understand your customers' needs and use persuasion to reach a mutually beneficial agreement. Knowing how to negotiate well contributes to customer satisfaction and the completion of transactions!

Essential qualities for a career in real estate

Success in the real estate sector depends not only on the key skills mentioned above, but also on certain essential qualities:

• A genuine interpersonal skills: real estate is a profession based on human relations, where contact with clients, partners, and other stakeholders is a daily occurrence.
• Diplomacy in dealing with demanding customers.
• Knowing how to listen in order to identify customers' needs and understand their expectations and concerns.
• Be organized so you can juggle property viewings, negotiations, administrative and accounting tasks, etc. To help you optimize your schedule, you can use calendar management tools or software that allows you to track the progress of your files.
• Be punctual: both in keeping client appointments and meeting deadlines. This will help build trust with clients and partners.
• Be available and adaptable: you need to be able to adapt to customers' availability by being flexible, even outside normal office hours. You also need to be able to manage busy periods and continue to offer customers high-quality service during quiet periods.

What post-secondary education is needed to develop key skills in real estate?

Key skills in real estate cannot be improvised. They are acquired by following a specialized course of study. In France, there is no shortage of real estate training programs. These are generally accessible after high school graduation. The IMSI school, located on The Land campus in Rennes, offers several comprehensive and professional training programs, including the BTS Professions immobilières (Real Estate Professions) program, which is open to holders of a general, technological, or professional high school diploma. The program lasts two years, with the first year spent in initial training and the second year in an apprenticeship. This allows for a smooth transition into the workforce, with skills acquired in the first year and put into practice in the second.

The program is taught by real estate specialists and consists of general courses (English for real estate, law and legal monitoring, real estate economics, etc.) and professional courses (transactions, rental management, social housing, climate issues, architecture and urban planning, etc.).
There are a variety of career opportunities: junior real estate negotiator, rental management assistant, co-ownership management assistant, etc. To access positions with greater responsibility, you can choose to continue your studies with the Bachelor's degree in Real Estate Management and Negotiation or the MCS in Real Estate Services Management offered by the IMSI school in Rennes.

As you can see, to succeed in real estate after high school, it is essential to develop key skills by following an appropriate training program, such as the one offered by the IMSI school in Rennes.