The Most Wonderful Time Of Year To Hire Buyer’s Agents

You want the best buyer’s agents for your team, and you want them quickly. Your team has more sales work than it can handle, so you need help as soon as possible. Hiring the right buyer’s agents for your real estate team takes time. According to our data, there are a few factors outside of your team’s control that can slow down hiring for this role. We’ll break down exactly how three factors—seasons, region, supply—influence your buyer’s agent hiring timeline. Using our data-driven insights, you can adjust your hiring expectations and processes to find the best buyer’s agents for your team.

3 Factors that Can Slow Down Buyer’s Agent Applications

A buyer’s agent is a valuable yet tricky role to hire for your team. There are a limited number of licensed agents who are willing to apply. Plus varying market conditions can impact the number of applications you receive. To learn more about these conditions, we analyzed our data on 9,495 buyer’s agent job ads across the country. From this information, we’ve identified three variables to evaluate when hiring a buyer’s agent.

Factor #1: Seasons affect the number of applications.

The number of possible applications you receive throughout the year isn’t constant—it can slow down or speed up from month to month. You can see the buyer’s agent application fluctuations in our data below. Here is a graph of the average number of buyer’s agent applications received per WizeHire customer every month. Based on this data, winter is generally the best time to post a buyer’s agent job ad, while early autumn is generally the worst. The average number of buyer’s agent applications from November to January ranges from 17 to 22 per WizeHire client, while October has a low of 10 applications per client. February through August brings a moderate number of applications—there are roughly 15 for each month. One possible reason for this trend could be real estate sales patterns. Typically, real estate agents sell the least amount of properties in the winter. It makes sense then that they would wait until business slows down to apply for new jobs. These national trends are averages, so they don’t necessarily reflect the number of applications in your region (as we’ll cover in the next section).

Factor #2: Seasonal rates vary by region.

When we first started analyzing buyer’s agent applications at WizeHire, we guessed that the national averages would be reflective of most regions’ numbers. After a few years of collecting this data, we now see that seasonal rates can deviate significantly by region. Philadelphia’s market, for example, follows the national trend of winter being the most active buyer’s agent applicant season. However, it deviates from the national trends with June, a summer month, being one of its lowest months at 15 applicants. Philadelphia also strays with monthly averages that are much higher than the national data. The highest number of applications for a single month is 73 in December, while nationally the highest average is 22 for December. Seattle also moves away from the national averages from February to August. These months are relatively stable nationally, but the number of applications fluctuates quite a bit in this period for Seattle. Minneapolis strays the most from the national averages. Though November has the highest number of applications for this city, late spring and early summer are actually the most active applicant seasons, not winter. December and January are relatively low compared to the national average. These outlier cities all reflect how not just timing, but also your region, can impact the number of buyer’s agent applications you receive. To receive more applications, consider how local factors, such as your area’s weather, might impact real estate agents’ business before posting your job ad. During times when agents in your region have a low number of sales, you’ll most likely see more buyer’s agent applications as agents will have more time to apply.

Factor #3: The supply for buyer’s agent roles is low.

These outlier cities all reflect how not just timing, but also your region, can impact the number of buyer’s agent applications you receive. To receive more applications, consider how local factors, such as your area’s weather, might impact real estate agents’ business before posting your job ad. During times when agents in your region have a low number of sales, you’ll most likely see more buyer’s agent applications as agents will have more time to apply.

Factor #3: The supply for buyer’s agent roles is low.

After posting a job ad for a buyer’s agent role, many real estate teams expect hundreds of applications to flow in during the first week of the ad. However, our data shows that this job market is much more limited. We analyzed the supply and demand of buyer’s agent roles in different markets to determine how easy or difficult it would be to hire for this position in different regions. In the job markets where it would be the most difficult to hire, there are 1.2 resumes available from qualified, licensed agents for every posted buyer’s agent ad. In other words, there is roughly one applicant available if every job posting is filled. On average across job markets, there are roughly 7.2 available resumes for every buyer’s agent opening. Given this data, you can expect to receive a moderate to low number of applications after you post your buyer’s agent job ad. In a job market with a low supply of buyer’s agent applicants, for example, receiving two applications from qualified, licensed agents in the first few days of your job ad is actually great. Your number of applications all depends on the supply of applicants in your area.

Build More Time into Your Buyer’s Agent Hiring Process

With these variables, it’s best to give yourself as much time as possible to hire your buyer’s agent. You know that there are factors outside of your control that can slow down your hiring process. Plan ahead to start hiring early instead of desperately waiting until you need a buyer’s agent for your team. A slow, steady flow of applications won’t hurt your business if you give yourself plenty of time to hire your buyer’s agent. Hire a BA today