How much do realtors make in Manitoba?
BY SCOTT MOORE, REALTORHaha, I knew that question would get your attention! The answer (Per Wowa) is about $25k on the low end, $137k on the high end, with the median Manitoba realtor earning $48k annually. Significantly less than what the reality shows would have you believe.
That being said, Dallas, TX realtor Ben Cabellero is considered to be the highest paid realtor in the world, selling over 5700 homes in 2019 and holding the Guiness World Record for most annual home sales transactions for selling over $2 billion USD in homes not once but twice. I’m not sure what his yearly salary is, but his net worth is estimated to be $3.7 billion USD.
Now that we got the big Q out of the way, I know from all the questions I’ve received at the pub over the years that you have lots of other garden variety questions about the realities of real estate in Manitoba, so I thought I’d take a stab at answering some of them.
Can a realtor represent both buyer and seller in Manitoba?
Yes they can, and its fairly common in Manitoba. This is called limited joint representation, or dual agency, and it occurs when both buyer and seller are represented by either the same individual realtor, or by two separate realtors within the same real estate brokerage. To proceed with joint representation, there are certain important disclosures that must be made by the realtor to both the buyer and seller, and after receiving that info, both parties must agree to proceed.
The concern is the potential for conflict of interest, so the ground rules for joint representation include:
not disclosing the buyer’s or seller’s motivations to the other party;
not disclosing the price or terms of other competing offers;
not disclosing information about the terms or conditions that the buyer or seller has expressed being willing to agree to (ie: their bottom line);
dealing with both parties fairly and impartially.
Its not rocket science, but it does take a skillful and experienced realtor to pull it off, so trust your gut if you feel something is off.
How do you become a realtor in Manitoba?
Becoming a realtor is a very self-directed process. Administered by the Manitoba Real Estate Association, the course is broken down into four distinct modules— you study the course material in each module, then write an exam. If you pass the exam, then you can move on to the next module. The total cost for this program is about $4200. You have a total of 16 months to complete all 4 modules, and then you have 12 months from completion of the 4th module to register as a realtor.
Having nurtured a number of realtors through this process, I’ve seen people complete it as quickly as 3 months from start to finish, but I suspect the average is longer than that, and obviously depends on how much time you have to devote to studying. However once the course is completed, there is still so much learning left to do. I highly recommend that new realtors find themselves with some intensive 24/7 mentoring and ongoing professional education through their first 20-30 transactions.
Is Winnipeg a good place to buy a house?
Absolutely! Winnipeg is known as the slow and steady cousin of the boom and bust markets of Vancouver and Toronto. We don’t usually see the same types of highs as they do— but there’s also none of the lows, which we like here in Winnipeg.
One of my favourite facts about the Winnipeg housing market is that between 1965 and 2015 (50 years!), Winnipeg home prices declined over the previous year’s pricing only three times— and rebounded the following year. That’s about as slow and steady as it gets.
Do looks matter as a real estate agent?
See, I told you I was going to get into all your deepest darkest questions! The answer to this one is: sort of.
There’s no doubt that appearance matters in real estate (and I would argue, in life). People use your appearance to make all kinds of conscious and unconscious assessments about you.
Imagine you book a showing at a home with a realtor you’ve never met. He shows up late, and you’re waiting on the driveway as he pulls up. His car is dirty, and when he opens the door, two used coffee cups and a McDonald’s bag falls out of the driver’s side door. As he scrambles down the driveway chasing the cups as they roll to the curb, you note that he’s wearing a sport coat over a t-shirt and sweat pants, and it doesn’t look like he has shaved in a week.
Has this realtor earned your confidence? Has he given you the impression that he is knowledgeable, professional, or reliable? Probably not.
Note, however, that I didn’t mention whether he looks like Brad Pitt or Gilbert Godfried. I didn’t mention that because it’s not looks, per se, that matter— its how you present.
You do not have to be a supermodel to be a realtor, but you do need to dress professionally, prepare for your appointments, be on time, and always have a clean car.