10 Types of Agents You’ll Find in Every Real Estate Office

Real estate agents come in all shapes and sizes. Tall agents, small agents, medium sized… you get the point. While there are agents that come from all over the spectrum, some patterns do tend to emerge if you pay close attention. If you’re an agent yourself, or have worked in an office at any point then you’ll easily recognize some of these. In fact, you may actually be one of them yourself. So read all the way through and then see which one you are:

1. The Rookie

Every agent was once a rookie, but not every rookie stays long enough to make real estate a career. Some dip their toes in and think it’s what they want to do until they’re crying in the bathroom at the end of their second month. Others stay, grind it out, and build a book of business and a career. Every office has seen its share of rookies come and go.

2. The Big Shot

There’s one (or more) of these in every geographical area. Their faces are on every sign and billboard, they are dining with clients at every restaurant, and they trade in their BMW 7-Series every year when the new model comes out. Their personality can be a bit prickly, but they will tell you that to whom much is given, much is expected.

3. The Classic

This is type of agent is your quintessential, tried-and-true real estate professional. She (or he) knew exactly that they would go into the business from the time they were kids, and they love every single minute of it. If there’s such a thing as destiny, then these were the ones chosen to become real estate agents. There’s nothing else that the classic could have possibly ended up doing.

4. The Stress Case

From a client perspective, this is the worst type of agent to end up with because the second something goes slightly off plan, they panic and make everyone else panic along with them. A short appraisal leads to heart palpitations, and a short sale leads to shortness of breath. This type of agent is the reason why Xanax was invented.

5. The Back-up Planner

This agent secretly (or not so secretly) resents the fact that they work in real estate because it was never part of their plan. They were originally going to be a movie director in Hollywood and even went to film school to the tune of $100k. But when they tried breaking in, they realized just how difficult it would actually be to find success and “settled” for real estate.

6. The Vacationer

This type of agent claims they’re listing homes, but they’re actually down in Boca 48 weeks out of the year. Their Facebook page is an endless stream of boating, fine dining, and exotic architecture in the far reaches of the planet. This agent must really be passionate about real estate because they’re busy researching every single bit of it across the globe.

7. The Happy Camper

While this type of agent is usually nice to be around, sometimes their endless and irrational optimism can get a bit annoying. They see the upside of everything. Even if the lending falls through the day before the closing, they will say something like “It just wasn’t meant to be,” or “Onto a better and bigger deal,” with a huge smile on their face. Oh, who am I kidding, I’m just jealous these types!

8. The Ghost

This type of agent is literally impossible to reach, even if you just show up at their house. They will stop into the office once a month or less, but once they leave, good luck finding them again. Call them and it goes to voicemail. E-mail them and you won’t get a response. Follow them out of the office and they’ll lose you on the highway. Where do they go?!

9. The Know-It-All

Probably the worst out of all to work with, this agent always butts into other people’s business with their own unimpeachable view of the industry, and in their mind, you’re always doing something wrong if you’re not doing it their way. They’ll tell you the correct listing price, the best neighborhood, the best day for an open house, in the most passive-aggressive way possible. Ugh.

10. The Survivor

This type of agent is probably the most fascinating because despite literally never closing a deal as far as you know, they have been employed, and continue to be employed by different companies. No one can tell if they’re doing it for fun or if they are just waiting for that one deal to open the floodgates, but they show up at the office on a regular basis, make calls with nothing to show for it.

So there you have it — the 10 types of agents you’ll find in every real estate office. Did I leave any out? Be sure to comment and let me know if I did!