Are Real Estate Agents “Quiet Quitting”?

We’ve heard the phrase “quiet quitting” a lot in recent history. 

I always thought quiet quitting related to people who had a job, such as W-2 employees who have to clock in and out, and their employers didn’t see it coming – and didn’t understand what was going on. “I’m checking out, thank you very much.” 

Well, it’s not just W-2 employees who are unhappy because they don’t want to go back to the office, they’re experiencing burnout – or a host of other factors. I think people “quiet quitting” the housing market has been prevalent among realtors this year, too. 

However, we don’t see it in such an obvious way because when you get into the real estate market, you make a splash – but when you get out, there’s not so much of one. Quiet quitting may not be something we see happening in real-time, at least not that we’re aware of, but I can tell you this: I’ve talked to many realtors who got burned out even when times were good.

These realtors also sucked away a lot of money and reassessed how they want to spend their time. For example, they’re considering how much time they want to spend with their kids or how often they want to be able to want to travel. So, I think we have seen a lot of the diehards, people who have been successful for years and years, start to back away from the business because it got harder. At this point, there’s just not enough incentive for them to keep pushing forward. 

Unfortunately, I think we’re going to see a lot of realtors give up their licenses as we move forward. We’ve seen a lot of people who didn’t get traction in the last year and new licensees who feel like they can’t go on forever without getting paid. These agents have had to go back and get jobs – and they can because the job market has been terrific. 

The impact of this leads us to a situation where we have realtors who still have licenses, but others aren’t making a living or at least not making the same living that they were. While a lot of realtors are feeling fearful – and understandably so – many of them are super okay with this change in direction. 

At the end of the day, I am an eternal optimist. 

I was recently watching Brian Buffini’s bold real estate market predictions for the rest of the year; he does a midyear update. Currently, he’s taking the view – and I don’t know that I completely agree – of thinking rates will not only stabilize but may also drop as we head into 2024. He thinks that interest rates will drop to below 5%. I hope he’s right, but I don’t see that happening before spring of next year. 

Now, I’m hopeful that rates won’t continue to go up; they’ll likely stay the same. However, if rates start to drop, I believe there is going to be a lot of pent-up demand unleashed on the real estate market. 

Why? People are not necessarily going to give up a 3% mortgage to go into something greater, but if they have a tremendous amount of equity, then it changes the calculation. This shift also means that when interest rates go down, younger people can afford to buy more houses. 

They will get closer to being back in the market, so I agree with Brian on this point: The potential for demand could be tremendous. If we stabilize rates over the next three to four months, heading into spring ‘24, or if they were to fall, a ton of eager buyers are going to flood back into the market. 

But there’s another part of the market to consider as we bid goodbye to 2023 and head into 2024. I feel like this group works independently of the rates: higher-end households, or households that are earning at least $150,000 a year, and older homeowners who are looking to downsize and maybe empty nesters or they’re looking to upgrade. I believe those people will surface next year as well, especially if rates stabilize. However, I think it’s a foregone conclusion that the millennials and Gen Zers are going to potentially form one of the largest groups of home buyers in the history of the country.

If you’ve been struggling to find purpose in your decision to stay – or if you’re on the fence about staying – I hope that gives you something to look forward to.

Final Thoughts

Experiencing career burnout is tough. Navigating a real estate market that isn’t what you hoped it would be is also tough. Quiet quitting may be a phenomenon that stays with us for a while – but perseverance is a skill all the best real estate agents have. Remember: The hard times are cyclical. Just as there’s a bottom, there must also be a top, and, eventually, the pendulum will swing back in a more favorable direction. 

Stay the course, continue developing your connections, hone your practice, and try to remember why you got into this business in the first place. If you got in looking to make easy money, I hate to break it to you, but you’re probably in the wrong industry. Success in real estate takes time, commitment, and tenacity to continue Connecting, Practicing, Tracking, and Growing your business to turn it into something you will be proud to have built. 

If you got into this business because you love being there to celebrate one of the biggest milestones in a person’s life and playing a part in what I like to call the “shelter business,” then I encourage you to keep your eyes forward. Good things come to those who work hard – and those who wait. Eventually, the storm will pass.