What to know
- Toronto realtor Sabrina Smith discovered her passion for the industry after helping a friend at an open house.
- She completed most of her real estate licensing education in about seven months through intensive studying.
- Smith joined King Realty Co., where she says mentorship and opportunities to learn have helped her build her career.
- After her first year, she received a Commitment to Excellence award at the brokerage’s anniversary celebration on Oct. 5.
- Smith says patience, emotional awareness and a commitment to clients are essential to working in real estate, while balancing her career with motherhood remains a work in progress.
Becoming a realtor in a major real-estate hub like Toronto can be an exciting career opportunity, but turning that ambition into a reality takes commitment and willingness to learn. For this Toronto realtor, it started at a friend’s open house, and a warm feeling that that’s what she was meant to do.
A few years ago, Sabrina Smith was on the hunt for her ultimate career passion; that’s when her realtor friend invited her to come to an open house. Immediately, it was love at first sight.
“I went to the open house, and then there were people coming in, and I was helping her explain the features of the house and showing them around. And I just felt such a warmth in my body, and I felt so excited and motivated. I was just like, ‘I feel like this is where I’m supposed to be because I’ve never felt that way for any other job I’ve ever had,’” she told Now Toronto.
Now, she is fully licensed, has landed her dream job, and just received an award for commitment to excellence after her first year as a realtor. But building the career of her dreams has not come short of effort.
How do you become a real estate agent in Ontario?
Almost immediately after realizing she had a passion for real estate, Smith committed to getting licensed.
Becoming a realtor in Ontario is not as simple as landing a job. Before applying and getting started, aspiring real estate professionals must become licensed.
To obtain their license, they must first enroll and complete a pre-registration real estate salesperson program at one of the institutions recognized by the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO). These include:
- Humber Polytechnic
- Algonquin College
- Fleming College
- Career College Group
The program must be completed within two years of the initial registration in order to maintain the license.
After completing the program, aspiring professionals must get hired or sponsored by a registered brokerage and then apply for registration with the RECO, and join their local real estate board and the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).
After that, they must complete a post-registration program within two years to maintain their license.
Although many realtors choose to complete the program in two years, Smith said she decided to put in an extra effort to complete her courses sooner. She was able to finish the program mostly within seven months, but it wasn’t without effort.
“I was committed fully when I started to really get into it. I was studying from the time I dropped my kids off to daycare, all the way until I picked them up… I was studying, reading all day, all those eight hours they were gone… I would put my kids to bed, and then before bed, I would read over my notes,” she said.
“I literally didn’t leave my house. I didn’t go outside. I deleted all of my social media apps, just so I would have zero distractions. I was just totally all in, and then I end up finishing pretty quickly.”
Finding the right brokerage
Upon finishing her courses, Smith got her first realtor job at King Realty Co., a recently-launched real estate company led by renowned Toronto realtor Bethany King.
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“I landed at King because when I spoke with Bethany… The interview that we had, it just went so amazing and it flowed so well. She knew exactly what she was talking about, answered all of the questions before I even could say what my question was, and so I just was like, ‘Yeah, this sounds perfect for me,’” she said.
Although getting employment in the area is an important step towards getting licensed, Smith emphasizes it is equally essential to find the right opportunity. For her, that was somewhere that would allow her to grow, but also learn more about the industry.
“There’s so many layers to real estate and so many ways and different avenues you can turn to. It’s not just residential selling houses. There’s investments, there’s all kinds of things,” she said.
“I’m so willing to learn, and I want to find everything out that I can so I can support my clients better. That’s really what I like about [this job]: being able to just be knowledgeable and learn a lot, so that I can have that knowledge to help my clients the best way possible.”
‘This is their livelihood’: Being a realtor requires caring for people
Although real estate jobs might often feel like they are all about properties and contracts, for a realtor, a lot of the work comes with dealing with people.
While being there for her clients is one of Smith’s favourite aspects of the job, she says it requires emotional control and patience, as well as the understanding that real estate is deeply connected to people’s livelihoods.
“Just in a few months, I already had a nice, good sale. But for me, during that process, what I realized is it really does get emotional for the client. This is their livelihood. I want to make sure that everything that we’re doing, they feel good about,” she said.
“For [some], it’s whatever. For them, it’s just a job. But I don’t want to treat it like that because I do feel this passion. I really want to support people in this journey as best that I can.”
Navigating your personal life can also be tough
At a time when work-life balance is a constant topic of discussion for many, building a successful career without letting go of your personal life can be challenging. And the challenge becomes even greater when you are not the only one you must take care of.
As a recent mother, Smith said navigating her mom responsibilities while also giving her all at work has been extra challenging.
“I’m still trying to find the balance. I think any mom can relate, trying to be there 100 per cent for your kids and also be there 100 per cent for your clients too. It is definitely a balance, and I’m trying to figure it out,” she said.
“I like to just go and go and go and go, right? So I also have to just realize I’m also a part of this process too. It’s a work in progress, trying to make everything come together, but it’s moving.”
When commitment pays off
Despite the adaptation and challenges of the first year, Smith has already been able to land a sale, while also having another one on the works.
The tremendous success of her first year on the job was recognized when she received a Commitment to Excellence award during King Realty Co.’s anniversary celebration on Oct. 5.
“I was actually pretty shocked to get an award. But I’m so happy and so grateful, and I feel very motivated that I got the award… I feel like [King] gave that to me because she sees that I do have the curiosity and the motivation and the passion to want to keep going.”
Moving forward, Smith now plans on expanding her work to other parts of the GTA, including Mississauga, where she is currently working with a client. In addition, she hopes to keep expanding her skills to better serve her clients.
For those who, like her, have recently discovered a passion for real estate, Smith’s advice is simple: find a job that will allow you to learn.
“A lot of people are looking at it like the splits and this and whatever… But as a new agent, if you’re getting the knowledge, I think that makes up the difference… because you do need to learn a lot.”
