15 real estate side hustles to earn extra income

In a commission-only business like real estate, it can sometimes be months between paychecks. If you need to fill in the gaps between closings, consider these ideas for your real estate side hustle. As a bonus, some of them even do double-duty as lead generation activities and could bring you more real estate clients while providing a paycheck.

1. Showing assistant

Showing assistants work with other agents to cover the showings for their buyer clients. The buyer’s agent will sign the client and handle the offer once the right property is identified. The showing assistant’s role is simply to do the showings and communicate feedback to the buyer’s agent.

This real estate side hustle is perfect for newer agents who want to get hands-on experience and earn extra income while they build their own businesses. Depending on your state, a real estate license may be required for this position.

2. Real estate runner

A runner is someone who runs errands and completes tasks for busy agents, such as placing and removing lockboxes at listings, opening doors for an inspector to pick up a radon test or picking up an agent’s staging items from a listing. These tasks typically don’t require any client interaction, just lots of driving around. No real estate license required.

3. Transaction coordinator (TC)

Transaction coordinators play an incredibly helpful role in the real estate industry. If you’re an agent who’s very organized, detail-oriented and you enjoy the paperwork side of the business, being a TC could be the best real estate side hustle for you. Typical tasks include communicating with all parties to move the transaction through the process, making sure all paperwork is filled out correctly, keeping ahead of deadlines and being the main point of contact during a deal.

It’s recommended that TCs are licensed in the state where they work, but not required in every state. In terms of education, you will need to be knowledgeable about the forms, processes and laws in your area. This is often a remote position, and you could work for multiple agents at once.

Make this side hustle even more efficient by using ListedKit AI. This AI platform helps you stay organized and manage all the tasks involved in a real estate transaction with ease. ListedKit AI will set deadlines, review your documents for accuracy and connect directly to Gmail for easy communication.

4. Administrative assistant

Similar to a TC yet more comprehensive, an administrative or executive assistant in real estate is someone who handles all the tasks a successful real estate agent doesn’t have the time to do. This can be anything from marketing to planning client appreciation events to requesting reviews from recently closed clients.

It’s best to have your real estate license for this side hustle, as it will allow you the flexibility to talk to clients if necessary. Some agents prefer a full-time admin, but many would welcome the opportunity to hire someone part-time. This can be a learn-on-the-job role with no specific education required.

5. Social media manager

For agents who are skilled at social media marketing, being a social media manager is a great option for real estate freelance work, especially since many agents struggle with this form of marketing. Social media managers plan content and post on behalf of their clients (other agents) to help them stay top of mind and generate more business online.

No license required. You will need to be educated/knowledgeable about social media algorithms, running ads, creating content and strategic interactions with followers. Canva skills can be helpful, as well. This is a flexible side hustle that’s easy to scale up or down, depending on how much you’d like to work in it.

Check out Coffee and Contracts for beautiful social media templates, a helpful tool for any social media manager. Simply create a subscription, and you’ll have access to tons of ready-to-customize social media posts, reels, downloadables and more.

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6. Inbound/outbound sales agent (ISA/OSA)

An inbound sales agent is someone who follows up on warm leads, while an outbound sales agent focuses on reaching out and procuring new leads (often cold calling but not always). These roles are usually found on larger teams that have the budget to pay for agents to do this legwork to find and nurture leads. The team will often provide training on what to say and how to follow up.

You will need to be licensed, but no special skills or education are required. This can be a good way to dive in headfirst to prospecting and follow up, mastering those skills to bring to your own real estate business in the future. If you’re learning-based and not afraid to call strangers, this could be a great side hustle for you.

Check out the professional development courses offered by The CE Shop to help you hone your skills even faster. Stay ahead of the competition, no matter how long you’ve been in the industry!

7. Property manager

Another way to make extra income as a real estate agent is to add property management services to your investor clients. While not the right fit for everyone, being a property manager allows you to learn the ins and outs of real estate investing while bringing in extra cash. It can also be a great way to find new real estate clients, since it’s a natural way to meet new investors/landlords who are looking to add to their portfolios.

A real estate license isn’t required in all states, but it’s a good idea to have it, especially if you’re aiming to sell real estate as well as manage properties. You will need to build your skills in managing tenants, handling emergency phone calls, collecting rent and coordinating vendors to make repairs. It would be a bonus if you’re handy and can make some of the repairs yourself! Invest in a good tool kit and keep that in your car for emergencies.

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8. Leasing agent

If you’re looking for a side hustle that’s more consistent and more of a typical “job,” a leasing agent position may be the right fit for you. Usually, leasing agents can be found working in large apartment complexes, showing and renting vacant units, plus handling lease renewals. While not the most flexible side hustle (typically there are set hours and it functions more as a corporate 9 to 5 job), you may be able to find a part-time position or work with your manager to accommodate your real estate scheduling needs.

Most companies require leasing agents to hold a real estate license. Other than that, no additional education or training is required. This is an ideal entry-level position for agents new to the business and seeking a stable side hustle.

9. Bartender

You may not think bartending would be one of the best side hustles for real estate agents, but for agents with outgoing personalities and experience in the restaurant industry, it’s a fantastic way to earn extra income and meet new real estate clients. Bartenders talk to people for a living. Yes, they make drinks, but this is the one side hustle that puts agents in front of new people and encourages conversation every single night. I’ve seen many new agents who are also bartenders find their first clients at the bar.

If you’ll be giving real estate advice, you should have your license. You will need to be good with people, know how to mix drinks and be TIPS certified (in most places).

10. Stager

If you have an eye for design, you could offer staging services to your real estate clients and to other agents who could hire you to stage their listings. This side hustle does require some upfront investment (buying furniture and accessories, plus storing them somewhere), but it’s a good option for agents who love the staging part of the process.

No real estate license required. You’d need to have furniture, decor, storage and transportation, plus someone to help you move the larger pieces, such as couches. There are staging educational courses you can take that will help you uplevel your skills and make you more marketable to other agents. Check out RESA, the Real Estate Staging Association, for more information.

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11. Organizer

Organizing and real estate go hand in hand. A perfect real estate side hustle for agents who are very organized and enjoy helping others get organized. This is another way to meet potential sellers, too! You’d go into someone’s home and help them organize their closets, kids’ bedrooms, garages, basements, etc. And who knows – maybe the homeowner decides they need more space after all; that becomes a real estate client.

No education or license required. A tape measure and step ladder would be good tools to keep with you, though.

12. Broker price opinions (BPOs)

Want to become a master at pricing properties while getting paid for it? Consider offering BPO services. This is essentially a comparative market analysis (CMA) for situations that don’t require a full appraisal but still need a valuation. Broker price opinions are used by lenders and banks most often, usually when a property is facing foreclosure.

A real estate license is required, and you’ll want to know how to comp a property before starting to do BPOs. Get started by visiting the National Association of BPO Professionals’ website.

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13. High school tutoring/SAT prep

A little outside the box, this side hustle is perfect for agents who excelled in school and have the desire and patience to tutor teens. The hours are flexible as you make your own schedule, and working with graduating teens could help you fill your real estate pipeline with future downsizers. Once the kids are in college, the parents might start thinking about moving. If you already have a strong relationship with them, they’re more likely to hire you!

While there aren’t any specific requirements, the more credentials you have, the easier it will be to find tutoring customers. Examples: your own high SAT score or testimonials from past students you’ve successfully tutored.

14. Drive Uber/Lyft

You may have heard about other agents driving as a side hustle, and there’s a reason it’s become more and more popular: it puts you in front of new people all the time, some of whom may be thinking about moving to the area. This is a good option for agents who live in major cities and can focus their time near airports. In Boston, for example, someone could be flying in for their new job at one of our hospitals and is looking to buy a condo. Like anything else, it’s a numbers game, but if even a tiny percentage of your customers turn into real estate clients, it’s worth it.

You’d need a valid driver’s license, of course, and a reliable 4-door car with an in-state license. Get creative with this real estate side hustle by providing brochures or a QR code with local market information.

15. Bird dog

Last but not least is bird dogging. This is the practice of driving around looking for distressed or vacant properties to pass along to a real estate investor or developer. For new investors, it’s a common place to start as there’s no upfront cost aside from time and gas.

Once you write down a property’s address, you’d research who owns it, find their contact information and provide that to your investor. You may even reach out directly to the owner and set up the first meeting. In exchange, investors will compensate you for the lead, either with a flat finder’s fee or a percentage of the final sale price.

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The full picture

Hopefully, these suggestions gave you some ideas about how to make extra money as a Realtor. My favorites are the ones that do double duty – providing additional income plus real estate leads. Choose one to focus on and master it; don’t take on too many side hustles at once. Eventually, you may find you don’t even need a side hustle anymore!

About Ashley Harwood

Ashley Harwood began her real estate career in 2013 and built a six-figure business as a solo agent before launching Move Over Extroverts in 2018. She developed training materials, classes, and coaching programs for her fellow introverts. Beginning in 2020, Ashley served as Director of Agent Growth for three Keller Williams offices in the Boston metro area. She’s now the Lead Listing agent for the Fleet Homes team in Massachusetts and a regular contributor to Vetted by HousingWire. She created The Quiet Success curriculum and has taught thousands of real estate agents nationwide. She has also been a guest speaker at top industry events and has been named a leading real estate coach by prominent industry publications.

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