Best interview questions for a Real Estate Agent

Real Estate Agent Interview Questions

A Real Estate Agent is a master salesperson. They work to keep both clients and home-buyers happy when buying and selling their property. They’ll have the people skills needed to match a potential buyer with their dream home, as well as the negotiation skills needed to get the seller the price they want for their property.

That’s why when hiring a Real Estate Agent, or Letting Agent, it’s important to think carefully about the questions you’ll ask them in the interview! Asking the right Real Estate Agent interview questions will decipher whether your candidate has the skills they need to properly represent your business.

When hiring a Real Estate Agent, the skills you need to look out for are:

Excellent communication skills.
Strong negotiation ability.
Confident people skills.
Strong work ethic.
Proven experience with working to (and meeting) sales targets.
Ability to write, maintain and amend housing contracts.
Strong experience working with MS Office.
Other relevant computer software is a bonus.

As a Letting Agent will be travelling between properties and matching buyers’ schedules, ability to travel, and a flexible schedule, are also essential.

How to interview a Real Estate Agent

Bringing a truly talented Estate Agent into your business can boost your profits to extraordinary levels, so making sure you’ve got the right candidate is important. Preparing the perfect questions to ask a Real Estate Agent is a huge step in the right direction. So, to ensure you’ve got them, we put together this guide.

Our example questions are designed to be asked early in the interview process, to help you decide as quickly as possible whether to proceed with the next steps.

How to open the job interview

A job interview is a nerve-racking experience, that’s undeniable. Even the most talented candidates are bound to have a few pre-interview jitters. Therefore, it’s a good idea to put the candidate at ease before asking the gritty Real Estate Agent interview questions.

You can do this by warming them up with a few positive, laid-back questions. This section of the interview won’t last too long, but will make a world of difference!

Job Description available

See our Real Estate Agent Job Description here

For the interview

A positive opener to start

What is your proudest accomplishment as a Real Estate Agent?

Why did you decide on a career in Real Estate?

Behavioral Questions

How do you deal with having multiple demanding buyers or sellers at once?
This is one of the most important questions to ask a realtor, as a huge part of their job will involve managing multiple clients’ expectations. This question will give you an insight into their time management skills.
How do you keep a buyer enthusiastic about the home you’re showing them?
A successful Real Estate Agent can effectively keep a potential buyer enthusiastic about a property throughout the whole buying journey. This will give you an idea of a candidate's techniques in doing this.
How do you stay motivated when selling a difficult property?
Occasionally a property will arise that doesn’t pique the interest of many buyers, finding out how the candidate would deal with this tricky situation will help give an overview of their personality type and problem-solving techniques.
What is it that makes you want to work for us?
Here you’ll get an idea of what the candidate knows about your business and what qualities they have that match with your business ethics.

Soft Skills

How do you deal with a buyer who isn’t clear with the details of the type of home they’d like to buy?
Helping to guide customers through the home buying process is part of a Letting Agent's role, knowing that the candidate’s communication and people skills are strong enough to do this is important.
How do you form a relationship with a seller?
It’s important that a candidate can form strong connections with buyers and sellers alike, finding out how they do this will help you decide if they are the right fit for your business.
How do you form a relationship with a buyer?
As above, the candidate’s ability to connect with their customers is essential. It’s good to ask both of these questions and decipher the candidate's ability to tailor their communication between clients and buyers based on the answers.
How do you attract new clients to a company?
Knowing that networking is a skill your employees have is a huge peace of mind, as much of the Real Estate business is based on building relationships.
What do you find most challenging about working as a Real Estate Agent?
Knowing a candidate's weaknesses will help you understand where you may have to train or work with them.

Hard Skills

What training or education have you received in order to further your career in real estate?
This is one of the most effective questions to ask a Letting Agent, as it will give you an idea of their hard skills as well as their previous experience in the industry.
What skills do you have that make you a good Real Estate Agent?
This is a good chance for the candidate to brag and let you know their strengths and talents in this department. They may mention their experience or certain personality traits that make them suitable for the job.
How would you use social media or other online tools to promote and advertise a property?
With social media increasing in popularity as a tool to promote listings, it’s good to know that your candidate has skills in this area. You may also ask them for some real-life examples if your business has an online presence as a priority.
How do you prepare for an open house session?
Open houses are frequent responsibilities for Real Estate Agents. Knowing that your candidate has the relevant skills and experiences to succeed at an open house is critical. They should be able to walk you through their process, naming a few key points.
What advertising methods have you found most effective when attracting potential buyers to a listing?
Here you’ll gain an insight into a candidate’s previously used methods, and will find if they match with your company’s experience. It will also give you an idea of the candidate’s initiative, as they may mention methods you haven’t thought of.
How many homes on average did you sell a year in your previous role?
This will give you an idea if the candidate has the type of skills and experience you need in your company.

Operational / Situational Questions

If you were given a ‘VIP’ client, how would you ensure their needs were met?
Occasionally, an extremely valuable or important property will come through. Knowing your candidate knows how to predict the needs of a client is useful in all situations, but especially in these circumstances.
Tell me about a time a buyer got cold feet in the process of buying a property and how you handled this?
Navigating a situation like this will help maintain relationships with both a buyer and a seller, so is an essential skill for a candidate to have. This question will help to determine whether this is a skill they have.
When showing a client a property you have picked for them, how would you deal with it if they were disappointed?
This situation can happen from time to time, and the candidate’s answer here will give you an insight into how their problem-solving skills would deal with this. A good answer is essential, as it will let you know if they would provide a good representation of your business.
If you ran into traffic or another disruption on the way to an open house, how would you deal with this?
Efficiency and punctuality are important qualities for a Real Estate Agent to have, however, slip-ups can happen, seeing how a candidate would deal with a negative situation like this professionally will help you decide if they are a good representation for your brand.
If you were having a difficult time establishing a relationship with a client, how would you navigate this?
Even with the sharpest people skills, some clients can be difficult to form a bond with, knowing that a candidate could stay warm and professional in this situation is essential.