When Is the Right Time to Hire Your First (or Next) Real Estate Assistant?

Let me tell you about a real estate agent named Chris.

Chris was killing it — juggling listings, closing deals, charming clients. But under the surface? Chaos. Missed emails. Forgotten follow-ups. A CRM in shambles. The business was growing, but so was the stress.

He kept asking the same question: “Is it time to hire a real estate assistant?”

Here’s the short answer: If you’re asking that question, yes, it probably is.

The Real Cost of Doing Everything Yourself

Here’s what most agents miss: You don’t just hire when you’re “ready.”You hire so you can get ready for the next level.

Waiting until you're overwhelmed to build your real estate team is like trying to hire a firefighter when the building is already burning. The smarter approach is to build support early — even if it starts with just a few hours a week.

Step One: Know Your Value

Every real estate agent should know their hourly rate. Here's the formula:

Annual Income / 40 Working Weeks / Weekly Hours Worked = Your Hourly Rate

If your time is worth $100/hour, why are you:

Creating Canva graphics?
Scheduling showings?
Chasing paperwork?

That’s not dollar-productive activity. That’s expensive procrastination.

Step Two: Break Down Your Day

The fastest way to decide what to delegate is to sort your day into three buckets:

Dollar-Productive Tasks: Prospecting, negotiating, meeting with clients.
Neutral but Necessary: Admin, email, transaction coordination.
Non-Dollar Productive: Data entry, scheduling, designing flyers.

If you can outsource real estate admin work for less than your hourly rate, do it. You don’t need to start with a full-time hire. Many agents begin with a virtual real estate assistant or part-time help — just enough to buy back time and reduce stress.

Step Three: Use That Time Wisely

Here’s where agents go wrong. They delegate... and then use that free time to scroll Instagram or reorganize their inbox.

Wrong.

You must reinvest that time into dollar-productive work — building relationships, following up with leads, working ON the business, not just in it.

That’s how you create real estate team growth.

Step Four: Know When to Hire an Assistant (Again)

Once you’ve hired your first assistant, the process doesn’t stop.

Eventually, your real estate assistant will become too busy doing low-level tasks that distract from their high-level work. When they spend more time scheduling than streamlining your operations — that’s your cue.

Time to get your assistant an assistant.

Step Five: Keep Your Numbers Tight

A good rule of thumb: Payroll should never exceed 20% of your gross revenue.

That includes:

Your real estate assistant's salary
Bonuses or incentives
Other support staff

If your salaries are creeping higher, stop and evaluate:

Is everyone in the right seat?
Are they focused on revenue-driving activities?
Are you holding them accountable?

Hiring smart doesn’t mean hiring cheap — it means hiring strategically.

Chris Today

Back to Chris.

He finally hired a part-time assistant. Within three months, his transaction volume increased — because he had the time to follow up with warm leads and network with purpose. A year later, he brought on a full-time EA, and now he’s hiring a showing agent.

Chris didn’t just build a team. He built leverage.

And that’s what this is really about.

The Takeaway

The right time to hire isn’t when you’re at capacity.It’s before you hit the ceiling.

If you want to grow your real estate business, you need help.That help starts with one strategic hire — a real estate assistant who frees you up to focus on what only you can do.

Need Help Hiring the Right Person the First Time?

We specialize in real estate recruiting and know how to match agents with the support they need to grow smarter — not just bigger.

👉 Schedule a discovery call with Pro REA Staffing