Real estate agents help clients buy, sell, or lease land or property.

Real estate agents represent property owners when they sell their homes or land. These agents inspect properties before they agree to sell them. In order for real estate agents to have properties to sell, they must find people who are ready to sell. Agents may call or write letters to property owners to determine if they want to sell their property.

To determine a property's market price, agents compare the property with similar properties that have been sold recently. They may make suggestions to property owners about improvements they can make to increase the value of their property. Then agents take pictures of properties and write short descriptions of the land or buildings. They advertise the property listings online, in newspapers, and real estate booklets.

Agents frequently hold open houses, when the public can tour homes for sale. Agents talk to prospective buyers and answer their questions about the property. When buyers make offers on property, agents listen to the offers and discuss them with sellers. They may accept or reject offers outright. They often negotiate with buyers to get a better sale price for their clients.

Real estate agents also represent property buyers. Before showing properties to potential buyers, agents talk to buyers about the type of properties they would like and can afford. For example, they ask buyers how many rooms they want and what part of town they want to live in. Based on this information, agents search for listings of properties that buyers may like.

Next, agents and buyers visit a number of properties to find one the buyers like. When buyers choose a property, agents explain the steps of the buying process. They help clients fill out the paperwork to make a formal offer. They collect a deposit from clients toward the price of the property. Agents present the offer to the sellers' agent. They negotiate the price of the property with the sellers, following their clients' instructions.

When the offer is accepted, a contract is signed. Agents must see that any special terms of the contract are met before the closing date. For example, they make sure all repairs are made before their clients move in.