15th April 2019 / Prue Fletcher: The Rise of the Female Sales Agent

"It takes hard work and commitment but if it's done right, real estate can be the perfect career for the modern woman."

— Donna Henneberry

Historically, real estate is an industry that has been predominantly male. However, recent years have demonstrated just how powerful the presence of women can be within the industry.

Enter the age of the thoughtful, compassionate female sales agent.

Leading the property market into the future, digital marketing real estate agency, Campaign Track, says female sales agents 'are the next big thing for property'. Believing that 'the shift towards female dominance in real estate will revolutionise sales techniques and traditions', the rise of the female agent is set not only to redefine the face of real estate, but the way property is bought and sold.

The sales landscape has been changing for some time. According to the REA Group, 'Millennial women are among the fastest growing homeowners in Australia', outpacing their male counterparts in reports from both Mortgage Choice and the ABS. On top of that, women are typically renowned for being the decision-makers when purchasing property, so it only seems fitting for real estate professionals to cater towards this demographic.

With the fast-thinking, multi-tasking, compassionate ability of a woman quickly transcending the traditionally assertive, transactional nature of male sales agents, the recent paradigm shift questions the very nature of selling property and how best real estate agencies can communicate with clients.

Listening to industry leading marketer, Mohit Bhargava speak at Michael Page's, 'The Future of Marketing' seminar last month, one thing became quite clear. In the seminar, Mohit spoke of the ongoing struggle for industry-leading brands to find a balance between automation and emotion.

Given it is now a requirement for businesses to connect with people emotionally in order to succeed, these innately feminine skills (the ones you can't teach), like being able to close deals with empathy or lending a set of ears in tough times, provides more than a few reasons why the female sales agent would be highly desirable at the negotiating table.

While it is disappointing to learn that of Rate My Agent's Top 100 Agents list, only 13 females made the cut, I honestly can't say I'm surprised. It's for this reason, however, that I'm eagerly anticipating REB's Women in Real Estate Awards, which will be the first of its kind in Australia.

In its inaugural year, the REB Women in Real Estate Awards is designed to celebrate the success and show support for the talented women across Australia's real estate industry. And given my previous work experience as a Senior Sales Consultant at Fletchers Eltham, I can't express how proud I am that there is now a platform to recognise the leaders, role models and future champions of the industry.

Whether you're a working mum, single, female professional or young, career-aspiring woman, building your brand alongside your male colleagues is an important next step in paving the way for the next generation of female leaders. It's the success stories of Robyn Waters (the 3rd female president of REIV in 82 years), Janet Spencer (Buyer's Agent of the Year 2018) and Vicki Sayers (Residential Sales Person of the Year 2018) that prove to us one thing;

The future is female.