From Books to Podcasts: Best Resources for New Real Estate Agents

New real estate agents everywhere--it's time to study up!

From your lunch break to your morning commute to the office, reading real estate books, listening to awesome podcasts, and browsing some of the best online resources is the best way to advance your career (other than getting out there and working with more clients).

We've compiled a group of resources for new real estate agents that includes websites, books, and podcasts to keep your brain active and entertained, and most importantly provide you with skills and knowledge to help you advance your marketing strategy, client relationships, and overall expertise.

Web Resources for New Real Estate Agents

The internet is a great place to go for information, but not everywhere is legitimate or useful. The sites and online resources we list are accepted by the real estate industry as fair and helpful, so you don't have to worry about clicking on spammy resources here.

National Association of REALTORS®

The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) is one of the premier resources for real estate information.

From their plethora of real estate articles to their research reports, their site is jam-packed with info for not just beginner agents, but experienced pros, too. Their reports in particular are great for new agents looking to understand their target markets, generational trends, and other real estate influences—check out a few of our favorites below.

• Home Buyer and Seller Demographic Types

This report includes responses from 7,866 respondents on a 2017 demographics survey and can be useful for understanding changes in the housing market, your target market, and other demographic-related insights.

• Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends

While similar to the Home Buyer and Seller Demographic Types report, this report focus on how generational differences affect attitudes on home buying and selling and related technology, communication, and preferences.

• Profile of Home Staging

This one is great for new agents—it highlights different statistics on the effectiveness of home staging techniques, how other agents stage their clients' homes, and which rooms are the most commonly staged.

• Real Estate in a Digital Age

Have you ever wondered how social media and web searching impacts your life as a real estate agent? This report unveils some excellent research and info on how the customer journey has changed with the increasing use of online search and how agents can connect with these buyers online.

News Sources & Blogs

• Inman

Inman, one of the most popular real estate news websites, has tips for all sorts of real estate conundrums, reporting on recent trends, and guides for agents and brokers of all kinds. It's pretty easy to spend many hours on their site, as their archives go way back (all the way to 1996).

• RE Technology

RE Technology is a real estate media publication focused on real estate technology. The company maintains a comprehensive technology company and product directory in the real estate industry. Each day, they publish and share the most insightful articles that help you leverage technology in real estate.

• Housing Wire

Housing Wire always has the most up-to-date news on everything real estate. They cover everything to smaller local stories to massive, federal-level rulings on real estate. Check out their site to learn more about the "big picture" and real estate forecasts.

• Zillow Porchlight (good for customer-centric approach, learn what their needs and wants are)

Zillow's blog, Porchlight, is focused on helping home buyers and sellers educate themselves. It also happens to be a great resource for you as an agent, because it provides a look into your client's struggles, questions, and needs when they're searching for a home (or selling one). Zillow also has an agent resources blog with information on agent productivity, career advice, trends and data, and more.

Great Books for New Real Estate Agents

• Your First Year in Real Estate: Making the Transition from Total Novice to Successful Professional by Dirk Zeller

An intro to all things real estate for the new agent, this book was named the #1 Real Estate Title of all time at Random House, and it's a great resource for new agents looking to learn, grow, and advance.

• Mastering the Art of Selling Real Estate: Fully Revised and Updated by Tom Hopkins

Hone your real estate skills and learn how to convince and support your clients throughout the home-buying process in this best-selling book by Tom Hopkins, self-made real estate millionaire.

• The Honest Real Estate Agent: A Training Guide for a Successful First Year and Beyond as a Real Estate Agent by Mario Jannatpour

A no-frills take on real estate and how to start off with the right foot forward. It will help you understand that real estate should be honest and ethical and how to follow through with that promise in client interactions, as well as how to scrutinize the details during home transactions to ensure yours and your clients' success.

Find more suggested real estate reads in Real Estate Books for Success in 2018.

A Full Spectrum of Podcasts for Real Estate Agents

Podcasts are great for agents because you don't have to sit down and page through anything to absorb their contents—you can just listen at your local café or on your drive to and from showings.

• Tom Ferry

Tom Ferry is one of the top real estate educators online—and his podcast shows his breadth of knowledge and experience in real estate, covering everything from how to have more fun and relax when selling to tax reform.

• Caravan Confessions from The Broke Agent

We all need to laugh at ourselves every now and then. Caravan Confessions is a podcast where agents from all over the world call in and reveal their craziest experiences helping their clients buy and sell homes. While it hasn't been updated this year, there are several past episodes to binge and enjoy.

• Bigger Pockets Podcast

Bigger Pockets is a real estate education site that, you guessed it, also has a practical podcast. You can expect high-quality content featuring real estate experts and a diverse range of topics—so diverse you can just pick the ones that interest you and you'll have lots to listen to.

Free Guides and eBooks

Not to pat ourselves on the back, but we've created some useful guides and e-books with practical insights that help new agents succeed.

• Real Estate Marketing 101 E-book

Have you ever thought about understanding your audience, creating awareness for your brand, maximizing your ROI, or all of the above? Whether you have or haven't focused on your marketing strategy, you can learn a lot from this ebook—from how to use social media effectively to defining what makes you different—and you'll walk away from your desk feeling much more marketing-savvy than before you read it.

• The Guide for New Real Estate Agents

Before you jump into the wide world of real estate, read our complete guide that outlines new agent checklist items, must-dos, and how to progress and gain more experience as an agent.

• Top 10 Features for Real Estate Agents and Brokers

Only 5 percent of real estate firms don't have a website—so if you don't have one, or yours is outdated or incomplete, it's time to fix that. This free guide includes the 10 best real estate website features that will help you expand your business (and how to use them).

Phew! Your physical and digital bookshelves should now be packed with resources and information you can use to set yourself up for success as a new agent.

To view the original article, visit the WolfNet blog.