More and more of our readers are asking for more information on side hustles for real estate agents.
And, we get it!
Local markets nationwide are slowing, leaving agents with less business, lower commissions, or both. And then there are new agents who need to cover living expenses while establishing their businesses. Or agents whose expenses are on the rise (perhaps due to a separation, growing family, or just because of inflation!).
Whatever your reason for wanting to add an extra income stream, we’re here to help with 30 side hustles for real estate agents!
But first, we need to address an important question…
Should Real Estate Agents Have a Side Hustle?
The Internet is full of real estate agents saying that you don’t need a side hustle; you just need to work harder on your real estate business.
For those agents to offer that advice, it must have worked for them. And I’m not saying they’re wrong. Sometimes it makes sense to double down on generating real estate leads for future income. But sometimes, you need money now. You don’t have 60 days to wait for a closing. Rather than exiting the real estate industry completely, you can start a side hustle that will help you gain new leads while generating quick income.
And some agents simply want to build a pipeline of passive income. When you’re paid on commission, it can be difficult to take sick days, relax over the holidays, or go on a proper vacation. To say nothing of retirement! Building a passive income side hustle that complements your business diversifies your revenue and, ultimately, gives you more freedom!
That’s the beauty of a real estate career; you get to choose how to run your business. So do what works for you! And don’t worry about those agents who say real estate agents shouldn’t have a side hustle.
What Makes a Good Side Hustle for Real Estate Agents?
A good side hustle for real estate agents is strategic. We’re not going to advise you to start driving for Uber, for example, because that would detract from your reputation as a real estate professional. No one wants to buy a home from their Uber driver.
Instead, your side hustle should complement your career as a real estate professional.
A good side hustle for real estate agents is one that:
- Truly serves your clients and prospects.
- Offers cross-promotion opportunities so your side hustle clients can become your real estate clients and vice versa.
- Diversifies your income so you have some protection against changes in the real estate market.
- Doesn’t take an unreasonable amount of time to start (though there will naturally be some time required).
- Is fairly inexpensive to test and to start.
- Can be managed relatively easily.
Questions to Ask Before You Start a Real Estate Side Hustle
Before you launch a side hustle, there are a few questions you should ask to protect yourself and your business:
- Are you legally allowed to work this side hustle as an agent in your state?
- Does it create any conflict of interest?
- Will your broker allow it?
- Do you need to pay a percentage to your broker? Can you negotiate to keep 100% of your profits from this venture?
- Will your side hustle detract from your real estate business?
Assuming you get the green light, here are our top 30 side hustles for real estate agents.
Quick note: this article was originally published in 2021. This is the new, improved version. Enjoy!
Top 30 Side Hustles for Real Estate Agents
Here are our top 30 side hustles for real estate agents in no particular order. Scroll down for detail on each hustle.
- Remote Online Notary
- Property Tax Appeals
- Property Management
- eBooks
- Courses
- Credit Repair
- Home Organization
- Estate Sales
- Affiliate Links
- New Home Photo Shoots
- Sponsored Content
- Staging
- Tools and Equipment Rentals
- Guiding Local Experiences
- Selling Ad Space
- Project Management
- Referrals
- Long-Term Rentals
- Coaching
- Landscape Design
- Painting
- Cleaning
- Fix-and-Flips
- Recruiting
- Members-Only Content
- Index Funds
- Content Writing
- Digital Products
- Stock Photography
- Selling Trade Lines
1. Notary (RON)
Providing notary services has always been a good side hustle because it takes so little time or money to get started, and it requires so little ongoing effort.
And remote online notary (RON) services have exploded since the 2020 pandemic. More states now allow RON than ever before. Through sites like Notarize.com, you can provide notary services from the comfort of your home around your existing schedule.
2. Property Tax Appeals
Property tax appeals are one of the least known, but most profitable, side hustles for real estate agents. If you know how to do a CMA, you can handle property tax appeals!
Bonus: property tax appeals are most profitable when property values dip (or grow more slowly than projected). So this makes an ideal recession-proof income stream for real estate agents.
All you need to do is show your county tax assessor’s office that they are over-valuing your client’s home for tax purposes. Show them the correct value through a CMA, negotiate a but with the county’s appraiser, and reduce your client’s taxable value. This reduces their property taxes, and you earn a fee from the savings.
This only works with homes that are legitimately over-valued. But you’d be shocked at how often counties over-value real estate for tax purposes.
You could even distinguish yourself in your market by offering free property tax reviews for homeowners. Every tax cycle (typically once per year), you review the assessments for everyone in your database. This won’t take long because you can probably take a glance at the per-square-foot value and know immediately whether it’s too high. How many other agents are looking out for their clients like that?
Learn more about this lucrative income stream via a quick blog post, How to Make Money with Property Tax Appeals. Or get started on this new income stream by ordering The Real Estate Agent’s Guide to Property Tax Appeals: How to Add a Revenue Stream to Your Business in Just 7 Days.
3. Property Management
Property management is a classic side hustle for real estate agents. The money is more immediate than with real estate sales, which is ideal for new agents who are establishing their business and their client base.
As a property manager, you help property owners find reliable tenants. In many cases, you would also provide ongoing management of the property: collecting rents, addressing maintenance requests, and drafting lease renewals.
Bonus: you build your network of property owners and renters, who may list with, or buy from, you in the future (make sure you employ your Renter-to-Homeowner Program for the properties you manage!).
Learn more: How to Be a Successful Property Manager.
4. eBooks
As a real estate expert, you have knowledge that most people don’t. You know all about real estate financing, investing, and marketing. Package your knowledge into eBooks that appeal to your ideal client.
Your client will grow to trust you through the book, and may even contact you to help with their transaction (or get a referral if they’re out of area).
Learn more: How to Make Money with eBooks.
5. Courses
Similar to eBooks, courses give you a chance to educate your client base and earn their trust. Courses can be taught in person, but online courses will have a much farther reach.
6. Credit Repair
Credit repair is a great side hustle for real estate agents because it allows you to serve your buyers who wouldn’t otherwise qualify for a home loan. You earn a fee for helping get their credit up, and they will come to you when they’re ready to buy!
7. Home Organization
Home organization doesn’t come easily to everyone. If you’re a natural organizer, you can make extra money on the side by organizing your clients’ homes.
8. Estate Sales
Estate sales are an interesting side hustle for real estate agents. When a homeowner is downsizing (or passes away), and they have a home full of things to sell, hiring an estate sale company makes their lives so much easy. The estate sale company:
- markets the sale
- arranges the inventory if necessary
- prices items
- hosts the sale
- gets rid of the remaining inventory afterward.
While this can be a bit time and labor-intensive for busy agents, you could hire a team to handle the on-site work.
Imagine telling your downsizing clients that a branch of your business can handle the entire estate sale for them!
9. Affiliate Links
As we discuss in Mastering Blogging for Real Estate Leads, real estate agents should blog regularly on their real estate websites to boost their Google rankings. This helps buyers and sellers find your site when they search for real estate topics online.
But your blog can also be monetized for extra income!
Affiliate links are links to products and services you recommend. If your viewers click a link and make a purchase, you earn a commission on that purchase.
As an example, I’m a Bluehost affiliate. I’ve used other web hosts for other websites, but Bluehost provides reliable hosting with better service at better prices than anyone else I’ve seen. So I switched all my websites to Bluehost, and I recommend Bluehost to my friends, family, and viewers. If you click any of the Bluehost links throughout this site, and sign up for their service, I earn a small commission. My commission comes at no extra cost to you – you actually get a discount using my links!
This affiliate income won’t make you rich, but it’s a great way to get a steady stream of income each month for something you should be doing anyway! Check out these Top Affiliate Networks for Real Estate Agents.
10. New Home Photoshoots
Buyers want to show off their new homes. You can help them do it in style by providing new home photoshoots. Think engagement photos or family holiday photos, but with the home as the backdrop.
You can shoot the photos yourself if you know what you’re doing. This could be a good competitive advantage and will give you free marketing when your buyers post these photos on social media.
Or you can partner with a professional photographer if you want to earn income from this hustle but don’t have the skill required to do it yourself.
Learn more: How to Make Money with New Home Photoshoots.
11. Sponsored Content
You can have local businesses sponsor content on your website for a small fee. This helps you earn income from a blog post you would be writing to serve your audience anyway.
Example: you’re writing a blog post about troubleshooting electrical issues as a homeowner. You’ll want to mention hiring an electrician when needed. You can have a local electrician you respect sponsor the post. That person would get a link to their website (to boost their own SEO), plus your endorsement as the go-to electrician in the area.
12. Staging
Even if you’re not a skilled decorator or designer, you know how to stage a home to sell.
You also know that many sellers struggle with appropriate staging. This is a perfect opportunity to earn a fee for your time spent staging the house while simultaneously increasing your commission when the house sells for more than it would otherwise. The seller also benefits from the higher sales price and less time on the market.
As a general rule, staging information should be included in your role as a real estate agent. But when you start laboring (or hiring laborers) to move furniture, take things to storage, paint, hang wall art, or rent furniture and accessories for a vacant space, you’re perfectly entitled to a staging fee.
13. Tool and Equipment Rental
Sure, new homeowners who don’t have the tools and equipment to complete DIY renovations can rent them from Home Depot or Lowe’s. But we all know those rental services are sub-par. And expensive.
If you’re well-stocked, you can rent out your own tools and equipment for less than the box stores, and with far better service.
Learn more: How to Make Money Renting Out Tools and Equipment
14. Guiding Local Experiences
Providing local experiences is a fun way to make money in today’s gig economy, especially if you live in a touristy area. Tourists will pay good money for a unique travel experience. It could be:
- A photo-op tour
- A paddleboard tour
- A nightlife tour
- A learning experience (teach your tourists how to cook local dishes, dance local dances, or play local sports)
Since you already like people, and are used to showing people around, you’ll likely enjoy this hustle.
And it’s not crazy to think these tourists might have such a great time that they decide to buy a vacation home in your city. And which agent do you think they’d contact to help them with the purchase? Right.
To learn more about adding this income stream to your business, check out our post, How to Make Money Creating Local Experiences for Tourists.
15. Selling Ad Space on Your Website
Placing ads on your website isn’t the right move for every real estate agent. In fact, agents really shouldn’t have ads on their main pages or listings. Or any popup ads. These detract from your brand and distract buyers and sellers. But on your blog posts, ads might be acceptable as a normal part of the blog-reading experience.
If you’re interested, you can add ads to your WordPress website in just 5 minutes.
16. Real Estate Project Management
Instead of managing real estate in an ongoing capacity as a property manager, why not take action as a project manager on periodic developments? New construction projects or fix-and-flips could use the oversight of a real estate expert like you.
17. Acting as a Referral Agent
If you don’t live in a high-value or high turn-over market, you might be struggling to make ends meet with your modest commissions. But you can still make money as a referral agent. Start promoting yourself online as a state (or national or even international) real estate expert. As buyers and sellers contact you, you can refer them to local agents who can serve them. And you’ll earn a referral fee from those agents.
18. Long-Term Rentals
I’m a big fan of buying and holding investment properties. Long-term rentals come with four built-in money-makers:
- Appreciation
- Renters are paying down your debt
- Renters are also putting money in your pocket
- Tax breaks
The Millionaire Real Estate Investor by Gary Keller is a must-read. It’s basic enough for beginners but outlines a plan to net millions in the long term.
Side note: If you haven’t already read The Millionaire Real Estate Agent (also by Gary Keller), I highly recommend that as well. It provides step-by-step instructions to take your real estate business from a single-person enterprise to a team-based empire.
Learn more: Top 10 Real Estate Investing Tips for New Investors
19. Real Estate Coaching
Real estate coaching is an ideal side hustle for real estate agents who have moved or are unable to sell real estate for whatever reason. I, for example, move too often to be an active agent (something like 16 moves in 20 years). But I have a real estate background and truly love assisting real estate professionals. So I offer free resources to real estate agents through this blog and speak at paid engagements as time allows.
If you have industry experience and an analytical mind, providing coaching to help other agents strategize and grow their business is a lucrative side hustle for real estate agents.
20. Landscape Design and Maintenance
Many owners simply don’t have the time or desire to mow, rake, trim, and plant.
You can offer them reliable, high-quality landscape maintenance services. Or help them add curb appeal by designing an inviting front yard landscape. The homeowner gets more enjoyment from the property, and you’re increasing the property’s value for them.
Because performing the work can be time and labor-intensive, it makes sense to hire a team or partner with an existing company rather than doing it yourself.
21. Painting
Painting always sounds easier and more fun than it actually is. Once your homeowners try to paint just one room and realize how miserable it is, you can offer your painting services to finish the house for them.
22. Cleaning
Your cleaning team can offer weekly services for homeowners or businesses. Or you can specialize in helping investor-owners flip vacant units for the next renter.
23. Fix-and-Flips
We talked about managing fix-and-flip projects for investors. But have you ever wanted to do your own flip? In the right market, flipping properties can be highly profitable and rewarding.
24. Recruiting Other Agents for Residuals
EXP has revolutionized the real estate sales industry. Having agents recruit other agents for a cut of the incoming agent’s future sales is working for them.
The business model is smart for agents because it provides a path to ongoing, passive income once you retire. Read all about how residuals and revenue sharing work.
25. Members-Only Content
Members-only content isn’t the easiest hustle, but it can be highly lucrative. With members-only content, you offer a subscription service to your members. Like how ParcelQuest or CoreLogic charge monthly fees for updated data. Or how your local MLS charges fees for members.
Here at Key Real Estate Resources, for example, we offer members-only real estate marketing materials. With our DRIP program, you get fresh social posts and newsletter content every month for as little as $9!
Translating this to buyers, sellers, investors, and homeowners can require a little more creativity. Remember, you need to offer something new every month to keep subscribers interested. Perhaps you do a podcast on Patreon for real estate investors. Or dip into the physical product world to offer homeowners seasonal home décor boxes like Designed Life Delivered.
26. Index Funds
Index fund investing is not glamorous or exciting, but it is as passive as it gets. And, while all investing comes with some risk, index funds are comparatively safe investments.
Index funds are a special type of mutual fund. In a nutshell, they are baskets of investments (like stocks or bonds). When you buy a share of an index fund, you’re automatically investing in a bunch of different companies or organizations instead of putting all your eggs in one basket. Index funds = automatic diversification!
27. Content Writing
You can expand your real estate business by selling your writing services to companies in adjacent industries. Writing articles for mortgage companies, contractors, or national real estate publications will increase your market authority and online profile while allowing you to earn a side income.
The more technical your topic, the more you can charge. I recently earned over $500 for a single article on the California housing shortage!
28. Digital Products
Online courses and eBooks aren’t the only digital products you can cash in on. Creating forms, templates, planners, and graphics is a great side hustle for real estate agents. You create and list each digital item once, then sell them over and over again for months or years to come.
This is currently one of my most profitable side hustles. You may have seen my Etsy shop, KeyRealEstateDesigns. You may have even ordered from the shop! I offer planners, checklists, social media templates, blog content, and even custom real estate agent bios in the shop. Check it out for some brilliant business boosters.
Just keep your products real estate related (or at least home-related) to make sure it feels more like an extension of your real estate business than a non-related side gig.
29. Stock Photography
Just like you need high-quality stock photos for your website, marketing, and social media, so do other professionals.
You could sell your stock photos to those in need.
Learn more: How to Make Money Selling Stock Photos Online
30. Selling Tradelines
A new side hustle for real estate agents, selling a tradeline is when you add another person as an authorized user on your credit card. That person doesn’t actually get a card of their own, but they get to piggyback on your good credit to boost their own credit scores.
You can arrange these deals through tradeline brokers. The better your credit, and the longer your card account has been open, the better.
Obviously, when dealing with credit, you need to be extremely careful. In fact, if you’re not comfortable tying your credit to a stranger, this isn’t the best hustle for you. If you decide to try it, vet the broker before engaging. And check out the reviews online to weigh the risks and rewards.
Is Being a Real Estate Agent a Good Side Hustle?
Before we close our list of side hustles for real estate agents, we should answer a common question: Is being a real estate agent a good side hustle?
Under special circumstances, it could be. For example, if you’re a real estate investor, getting licensed so you can handle your own transactions could be profitable without being burdensome.
But for most of us, real estate is too competitive and too labor-intensive to do on the side.
Quick side note: if you were hoping to start a part-time career in real estate, we have several tips for you. But, spoiler alert, the first tip is to make a plan to go full-time.
Did We Miss Any Side Hustles for Real Estate Agents?
Do you have a real estate side hustle idea we missed? Let us know in the comments!
