The best-paying jobs in real estate investment trusts are varied. There are many options to choose from, all with high-paying salaries and other benefits.
This article will reveal the best-paying jobs in real estate investment trusts including job growth prospects, salary, education, and the number of jobs available.
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What Are REITs?
REIT stands for a real estate investment trust.
According to this source, REITs are described as companies that have ownership or finance income-producing real estate across multiple property sectors.
REITs are an investment opportunity. People invest in them, owning a share of the real estate and they’re given the opportunity to earn dividend income and get a return on their investment.
REITs give anybody the ability to invest in real estate and earn a share of the income produced. This setup lowers the barrier to entry for real estate investment. Now anybody can invest in real estate without the painstaking journey of scouting properties, purchasing a property, managing, financing, and upkeep.
REITs invest in a variety of real estate property types like offices, apartment buildings, and hotels, to name a few.
7 Of Best Paying Jobs In Real Estate Investment Trusts
1. REIT Analyst
Median National Salary: $96,220/year
Education Required: Bachelor’s degree
Number of Jobs: 376,100
Job Growth 2022 – 2032: 8% (Faster than average)
Job Duties: REIT analysts use market projections, research and the review of financial statements to underwrite properties in a real estate portfolio.
Underwriting requires evaluating risk and using good judgment. Carrying these skills along with having a college degree and a background in finance, business, or real estate will be needed.
REIT analysts play a critical role in the REIT industry.
The work can be stressful but equally rewarding. You’ll likely work a 9-to-5 schedule, with the potential to work from home. The top 10% of REIT analysts earn above $120,000/year.
The job duties of a REIT analyst may include:
- Measuring risk in underwriting real estate properties in a portfolio
- Provide support and assistance during loan closing
- Research and analyze market trends, forecasts and reporting
2. Real Estate Agent
Median National Salary: $53.030/year
Education Required: High school diploma
Number of Jobs: 589,800
Job Growth 2022 – 2032: 3% (As fast as average)
Job Duties: Real estate agents help people and businesses buy and sell real estate.
- Researching real estate properties for clients
- Booking property tours
- Negotiating the sales price between buyer and seller
Your role will be to act as the liaison between the buyer and seller during the purchase/sale or rental of real estate.
Real estate agents have:
- Jobs flexibility
- Unlimited income potential
- Career mobility, and
- The opportunity to design your dream schedule
The drawbacks include potentially working longer hours, including working outside a 9-to-5 schedule. This can impact work-life balance.
There can be slow periods and stressful work from time to time, too. Client networking is a big part of this job, as much of your business may be driven by word-of-mouth referrals and connecting with new prospective buyers, sellers, or renters.
If you don’t want to be tied down to a desk job all day, you like the idea of uncapped income, and you enjoy working with people then a career as a real estate agent may be an ideal choice for you.
The job duties of real estate agents include booking property tours and showing properties, connecting buyers and sellers in a real estate transaction, negotiating sales price, and helping clients with real estate rentals.
3. Real Estate Property Appraiser
Median National Salary: $61,560/year
Education Required: Bachelor’s degree
Number of Jobs: 77,600
Job Growth 2022 – 2032: 5% (Faster than average)
Job Duties: Real estate property appraisers are responsible for valuing real estate properties. You will look at market conditions and other factors, including inspecting the property to determine the property value. This is for residential and commercial properties.
Appraisers require a college degree with a background in fields like real estate or economics. On-the-job training is usually conducted for this type of work before you’re qualified to work independently as an appraiser, along with getting licensed, based on the requirements in your area.
This is a job for someone that would enjoy short-term travel to visit sites for appraisal. You can work independently or run your own appraisal company.
The job duties of a property appraiser are to assess property values. This is a hybrid office/on-site job.
4. Real Estate Attorney
Median National Salary: $135,740/year
Education Required: Professional degree
Number of Jobs: 826,300
Job Growth 2022 – 2032: 8% (Faster than average)
Job Duties: Real estate attorneys are attorneys at law that specialize in the real estate market. Your work will be tied to disputes related to property ownership, title transfers, title insurance, and land and property rights, among other potential legal issues.
You’ll be a mediator between both parties, helping to resolve a grievance. You will review legal documents and contracts, offer legal guidance to your clients as needed, and related tasks based on if you represent the buyer or seller and the state you work in.
Real estate attorneys enjoy job stability and a high salary.
It requires a professional law degree which is a time-intensive and challenging process. You’ll also be required to pass the Bar Exam, a test required for attorneys to practice law.
Becoming qualified to be an attorney is a rigorous process that can take many years but it can pay off.
Attorneys enjoy a high salary, with top real estate attorneys earning over $450,000/year. This is also a well-respected profession that can come with perks like working a flexible schedule, working from home, part-time or full-time work, your choice.
The job duties of a real estate attorney may include:
- Reviewing real estate documents and contracts
- Facilitating funds transfers
- Ensuring a title is clear
- Attending real estate closings
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5. Real Estate Broker
Median National Salary: $52,030/year
Education Required: High school diploma
Number of Jobs: 589,800
Job Growth 2022 – 2032: 3% (As fast as average)
Job Duties: Real estate brokers help facilitate the purchase, sale or renting of real estate. Brokers usually start as a real estate agent.
Agents get a real estate license and brokers must study to get a broker’s license. With a broker’s license, they can help customers with real estate transactions independently or employ real estate agents as a part of their brokerage.
Your salary is performance-driven, either by your own performance or your teams. Top real estate brokers make over $500,000/year.
Real estate brokers have these job duties:
- Outline and draft contracts
- Sales price negotiations
- Assist all parties involved in a real estate transaction
6. Real Estate Developer
Median National Salary: $103,616/year
Education Required: High school diploma
Number of Jobs: 54,981
Job Growth 2022 – 2032: 4% (As fast as average)
Job Duties: Working as a real estate developer means you buy land with the intent to build and sell. Developers have a hand in every part of the process from developing the land, construction, coordinating the build and design of the property and ultimately, the sale.
This is a career that requires funding in order to make it work, whether you’re coming to the table with your own cash or financing. You’ll need money to buy land, develop properties, and fund other aspects of the development project like paying contractors, home staging, and more.
With a real estate background or interest in the field, anybody can be a developer.
This job, like other real estate careers, is highly driven by economic factors like the real estate market, interest rates and more. If these influencing factors are not in alignment, it can impact the success of this business, until the market rebounds.
So, this job can be unstable and stressful, requiring the management and operation of multiple moving parts. You should be a strong communicator and an excellent multitasker, and be willing to work long hours, outside a typical 9-to-5 schedule, which can impact work/life balance.
These are all things to consider when looking at this high paying real estate career.
Real estate developers have job duties like:
- Overseeing the construction project
- Rehabilitating and renovating existing and new construction homes
7. Property Manager
Median National Salary: $60,670/year
Education Required: High school diploma
Number of Jobs: 429,600
Job Growth 2022 – 2032: 5% (Faster than average)
Job Duties: Property managers care for real estate properties and communities like apartment complexes, commercial or industrial properties.
This job can be demanding and come with a lot of responsibility. It’s good for people who are well-organized, have leadership abilities and excellent communication skills.
Property management staff will likely report to you and your role will be to support staff, manage the property, upkeep, and related duties.
Expect to work a 9-to-5 schedule with the possibility for work on weekends, holidays, and being on call.
Property managers are responsible for managing the property, which can be residential, commercial, or industrial properties.
Pros and Cons of Real Estate Investment Trusts Careers
The pros of working in the REITs industry include:
- High salary: You can see that most of the real estate careers are near or above six figures. A lucrative salary with unlimited income potential can exist across many real estate professions.
- Career advancement: Opportunities for upward mobility exist.
- Flexible work: This ability to work flexible hours, part-time or full-time and design your dream schedule is present.
The cons of working in the REITs industry include:
- Non-traditional work hours: Working a 9-to-5 schedule is not typical in many real estate careers. For example, with real estate agents, if your clients need a 7pm real estate showing on a Tuesday evening or a 9am meeting on a Sunday, you’ll need to make accommodations.
- Unstable work: As economic changes happen, this industry can be impacted, which will have a direct impact on your work, resulting in slow periods and unstable work.
- Unstable/irregular income: Unstable work results in irregular income. You may have high-earning months and slow months in real estate, depending on your job.
Requirements And Skills To Work In Real Estate Investment Trusts
To work in real estate, you should:
- Have a high school diploma or higher
- Be able to work well with others
- Be sales-driven
- Self-motivated
Here are some soft skills that would be great to have, working in real estate:
- Excellent communication and active listening skills: This is a very communication-driven industry so being able to communicate well is very important.
- Patience: With patience, you can develop better relationships with clients as you hold their hand through the real estate purchase/sale/rental process. Patience can also contribute to less errors happening and a better overall outcome.
- Negotiation skills: You may be required to negotiate a purchase/sales price or negotiate terms of a real estate deal, depending on your profession. Developing these skills will work in your favor, helping you make better business deals.
How Do You Get A Good-Paying Job In Real Estate Investment Trusts?
Getting a well-paid job in real estate investment trusts requires you to have a solid background, education, experience and skill set to support a career in real estate.
To get there, you can:
- Develop your soft skills
- Further your education
- Gain experience working in real estate settings
This career field will be here to stay, along with real estate careers which support the industry.
Where To Find The Best-Paying Jobs In Real Estate Investment Trusts
Find the best-paying jobs in real estate investment trusts with online job search websites like these:
ZipRecruiter
ZipRecruiter is one of the best places to perform your online job search. Browse real estate jobs, get salary insights for your area, read job seeker reviews, and more.
For more information, check out our ZipRecruiter review.
Discover Your Dream Job Find jobs near you and apply with 1 click! New jobs posted daily.
Simply Hired
On Simply Hired, you can browse real estate jobs, filtering your results by job, location, salary and more. They offer other job tools as well, like suggested companies to work with, job lists in nearby cities, and job tools like a salary estimator, sample resumes, and career advice.
Visit Simply Hired to check it out.
Before you submit your job application, make sure you’re armed with a professional resume, which you can get with these top resume writing services.
The Bottom Line
The real estate investment trust industry is an exciting career field to work in. Real estate careers are abundant. There are plenty of options to choose from and we hope this list of real estate careers pointed you in the direction of the right career to explore.
Once you’ve chosen your real estate career path visit ZipRecruiter to start your job search!