The agency’s founder shares the simple habits that were most important throughout his career to help today’s agents succeed in a difficult market.
I have worked in markets that most agents today have not experienced.
Interest rate shocks, inventory fluctuations, buyer hesitation, and seller refusals. Although each cycle has unique characteristics, the challenges that agents face in that cycle are usually the same. The advice I’m giving myself is similar.
I’ve been through enough cycles to know that a tough market won’t ruin your career. That’s what happens when you’re not prepared.
This is what I tell my agency agents when the going gets tough.
Please stop waiting. start moving
The most common mistake I see is agents becoming passive. They tell themselves they are strategic. They’re waiting for interest rates to drop, inventory to loosen up, and buyers to come off the fence. What they are actually doing is losing ground.
No one offers you a market. You go make it.
It might mean making that call you’ve been putting off, revisiting a relationship you’ve been silent about, or staying visible in the market when others are pulling back. Agents who keep moving during downturns aren’t just surviving. They are setting themselves up to take control when the situation changes. And things always get better.
The hardest clients to work with right now need you the most.
Buyers hesitate. Sellers stuck to last year’s prices. People who want to make a move but are afraid of making the wrong decision in an uncertain market.
These are not obstacles. They are your business.
In tough markets, customers return to people they know and trust. They no longer take chances or rely on informal connections. They want experienced advisors they can trust.
The relationships you built and the reputation you built when the market was strong are what matters most now. This is when trust is rewarded, but you can’t guide someone to make difficult decisions without doing the work yourself.
Now is the time to study the market more deeply than ever before. Learn about comps. Know the trends. Find out what buyers are saying and what they’re actually doing. Agents who are now students of the market are the ones clients seek out and remember.
Changes in the market are separating agents who can only close easy trades from agents who can actually guide people to make difficult decisions. Learn how to work with nervous clients and communicate clearly without putting pressure on them. That skill is more valuable than any market situation. And unlike the market, it’s completely within your control.
Confidence is a choice and clients can feel which direction you went in
I’m not talking about false optimism. If you tell someone “the market is fine” when the market is not, you lose credibility.
What I’m saying is that uncertainty is not a reason to be unstable. Clients are already anxious. They need someone in the room to take their point of view, explain what’s going on, and help them make decisions they feel comfortable with. That person needs to be you. If you walk around rattling around, you’ll find someone who doesn’t.
Confidence is built before the meeting, not during it. Check out local data and don’t hesitate to speak up. Anticipate the objections you may hear and plan your responses in advance. You can debrief and learn from conversations that don’t go well. Preparation turns anxiety into authority, and clients can feel the difference the moment they walk in.
It’s the passion that actually keeps you in this business
I didn’t work in the real estate industry. Because it seemed like a stable career path. I joined because I really like it. I love people. I love the complexity of difficult trades. I love building things: deals, relationships, companies. That won’t change no matter what happens in the market, and I think that’s why I’m still here.
Agents I’ve seen who thrive through difficult times share these traits. They don’t work hard at work. they’re obsessed with it. If you can get even just a little bit of that feeling back, you’ll be able to move forward further than any strategy or script can.
The habits you build now will determine the next version of your career
In a tough market, everything is stripped down to fundamentals. The stronger agents on the other side are usually those who took advantage of the slow period to gain discipline. They worked on processes, deepened their relationships, and built habits that didn’t rely on perfect conditions to function.
The most important habits for me throughout my career are simple:
If you truly love what you do, it won’t feel like work and you’ll spend time without looking at the clock. Build relationships with true intent, not as a networking strategy, but because the people in this business and the clients you serve actually matter to you. Treat all connections as true friendships, not transactions. And to approach each day with the same energy, regardless of market trends. Passion is not something that is turned on when the situation is good. It’s what carries you when it doesn’t.
There are no shortcuts to that. But there are options.
Agents who treat this moment as something to be endured endure it. Someone who treats it as something to use will come first. That gap tends to stick.
Mauricio Umansky is the founder and CEO of The Agency in Los Angeles. Connect with him on Instagram.
