How a 19-year-old achieved success in real estate

From gaining his real estate registration certificate at the age of 18 to being rated one of Queensland's top-performing sales agents little more than 18 months later - it's been quite a journey for Ryan Suhle.

Suhle has secured a massive $130 million in residential property sales for 2021 and been rated number 16 in The Courier-Mail's list of 50 top performing Queensland selling agents.

His family has been in the real estate business at Ray White North Lakes for many years and, at first, Suhle wasn't going to pursue a career in the industry.

He began an engineering degree at university but was then stopped in his tracks by a Ray White app that tracked individual agents' listings, sales and commissions.

"When I saw what was possible, I left uni and decided to do real estate," Suhle says. "I looked at engineering and what my income was going to be. If I did real estate and put in the hours... I could see I would be rewarded at a very high level by comparison."

Gaining his real estate registration on his journey to achieving success in real estate

Suhle followed in his family's footsteps and did his real estate training through the REIQ.

"It was really simple and easy, which I liked," he says. "I did the in-house training course (rather than the online course), which would be my recommendation to anyone.

"I think it was three days...I got in and got it done and came out the other end with what I needed."

On the morning of his 18th birthday, he handed in his registration application to the Office of Fair Trading and received his certificate about four weeks later.

Starting as a sales agent

Suhle had previously worked as a sales associate for an agent in the Ray White office on weekends and returned to that role.

Before he made the move to becoming a sales agent and beginning his journey achieving success in real estate, Suhle felt he had to master the skill of being able to walk into a listing presentation and secure a listing.

"Once I felt I knew what I needed to say...and I had the confidence to walk in and get business, that's when I transitioned to being my own real estate agent. It was quite a tight turnaround for that - I think it was in the space of three months."

That's not to say things didn't initially go pear shaped.

"I think I probably thought I had more experience and ability at the time than I did," Suhle says. "I burned through some opportunities I generated myself through prospecting but looking back on it - should I have stayed as a sales associate for another couple of months? The answer to that might have been 'maybe'."

Putting in the effort is worth the effort

Suhle advises that, when starting out in the industry, achieving success in real estate is a long-term game.

From prospecting for a property listing right through to gaining a commission from a sale, the whole process can take six months.

"It's not easy but it's rewarding in terms of the hours you put in," Suhle says. "There's an impressive profit margin in real estate if you can do it properly. But there's a lot of work to get there and it's a very big snowball effect."

By way of explanation, he cites the experience of a sales agent who worked for a while in the area and gained some traction in terms of listings but then quit.

"I remember thinking to myself, 'you were so close'. He just started getting that snowball rolling but I know that's a six-to-eight-month operation to get to that level where you start to get a few listings and a few sales.

"He walked away because he hadn't seen the benefits quickly enough."

Suhle himself works long hours, spending days conducting appraisals and meeting buyers and then nights catching up with emails and other business. Considering the volume of his sales, he now has two support staff to help with a third on the way.

What kind of personality traits do you need to be a successful agent?

Suhle says you don't need to have any particular type of personality to set about achieving success in real estate.

"I think you do need to have a good degree of self-confidence," Suhle says. "I think confidence is important and confidence can be built through knowing what you're talking about.

"At my first listing presentation, I dropped my whole presentation folder all over their master bed while they were showing me around the house and then I think fumbled my way through explaining marketing. I'm a confident person but it was stressful - but when you know what you're talking about, it's easy to have confidence."

You deserve a new career. Start your real estate journey by enrolling in the REIQ's registration course today.