Latest news with #EthanForbes
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Young Aussie earning $300,000 a year in job reveals reality of 'mind-boggling' salary
A young Aussie worker has shared how he went from not making a cent for six months to earning close to $300,000 a year. The real estate industry can be an extremely lucrative one, but it involves a huge amount of sacrifice and hustle before you can see the big bucks. Ethan Forbes has been working as a real estate agent on the Sunshine Coast for the past two years. The 24-year-old told Yahoo Finance he earned $300,000 last financial year, including superannuation and taxes, but it was a tough ride to get to where he is now. 'I wasn't making any money for six months and I was basically broke, had no money to my name,' he said. RELATED Aussie earning $300,000 a year in job after completing three day course Woolworths payment change hits dozens of supermarkets today Superannuation 'red alert' for millions as $1 billion in retirement savings feared lost Forbes completed a three-day course to get into the industry. While he said this initial course was "pretty easy", the work it takes to stay in the industry and move up wasn't. Forbes worked 12-hour days, seven days a week, for the first year of his real estate career. He said his job involved a lot of rejection and knocking on doors for hours to put himself out there and try and find sellers. 'I went really hard in that first year. That was the year that I was like, I've got to make this work and I was working seven days,' he said. Unlike most jobs where you receive a base salary for your work, real estate agents are paid on commission, so if you don't list or sell anything, you don't make money. 'I love it like that. Because for me, if I'm not getting a base salary, if I don't get my ass into gear and work then I'm going to starve,' he said. 'It's more risk and more reward.' Forbes ran his own lawn mowing business after he finished school and said this was what gave him the work ethic and drive he needed to become successful in the real estate industry. While Forbes said the long hours meant his family, friends, hobbies, and health had to 'take a backseat', he said his sacrifice was now starting to pay off. 'I'm only now starting to see the fruits of the labour from all the days where I was just out for 12 hours knocking on doors and no one knew who I was,' he said. Forbes recently went viral after sharing he was earning nearly $300,000 a year after only being a real estate agent for two years. For this financial year, he said he brought more than $500,000 in gross commission income, which he splits with his agency LJ Hooker. 'It's insane for me. This is the most money I have ever earned in my entire life this year. It's quite mind-boggling,' he said. Forbes' average sale price is between $800,000 and $850,000, with his most expensive sale being $1.302 million. The average number of properties he has sold per year is 28. Commissions vary and are negotiable, with Forbes noting his commissions usually sit between 1.95 to 2.7 per cent. Forbes said his income varied hugely month to month. In December last year, for example, he generated $250,000 in sales after listing 12 properties. From that, he took home $125,000. "[December] was the best month I've ever had in a long shot, probably by like three or four times," he said. "But then the first three months of 2025, I brought in $0." While Forbes said he is happy all his sacrifices have now paid off, he said he did experience burnout while trying to get ahead and the work took its toll on his mental health. 'You lose a listing here and there and you might not sell one, or it'll withdraw. A lot of that plays on your mental health and you've got to be really careful,' he said. 'Then it's the constant rejection. You're constantly talking to people who don't want to talk to you. There are a lot of negative things. You go through really high moments and really low moments as well.' Forbes said things had slowed down a little bit now and he was trying to strike a better work-life balance and do the best job he could for clients, while also being there for his family, friends and self. He is still working six days a week from Monday to Saturday and is available to clients 24/7. But he said he isn't putting in 12-hour days anymore, and instead tries to work between eight and nine hours. Forbes said he has made a conscious effort to try and be honest and transparent with people. 'My least favourite thing about being a real estate agent is that I'm a real estate agent," he said. "A lot of people don't like real estate agents, and I get it. You see the standard one, they are everywhere, the dude in the suit and tie who is a bit uppity and arrogant. 'I understand that. I'm a larrakin, I'm just a bloke, I'm 24 years old and I'm just here to help people.'Sign in to access your portfolio
News.com.au
02-07-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
‘Two years in the making': 24-year-old real estate agent earning $300,000 reveals the hustle behind the success
A young and determined real estate agent has revealed the rigorous hustle he puts in to earn $300,000 a year. Ethan Forbes, 24, lives in Queensland. He starts his days at 5.30am and there's no limit to how long he'll work. He has completed sales as late as 10.30pm at night because he is committed to his clients and works purely on commission. If he doesn't make a sale, that means he doesn't earn any money, but he likes the setup as it drives him and keeps him accountable. The hustle is intense, but Mr Forbes has never been afraid of hard work. When he was 22 years old he started a lawn mowing business and, through that, he worked closely with real estate agents, getting lawns up to scratch. He met an agent with whom he really connected and also couldn't help admiring how he had a nice car, a nice watch, and a nice house while still being in his twenties. 'I got attracted to it for the wrong reasons, but as soon as I got into it, I realised how many hours you have to work to make it work,' he said. 'I've stayed in it for the right reasons.' Mr Forbes doesn't turn his phone off; he's available to clients 24/7, and he works at least six days a week, always hustling. He has made a name for himself in the area he sells in, but now he has gone viral. He was recently stopped in the street by Getahead, an app that matches people with jobs, and asked his salary, to which he revealed he was earning roughly $300,000 a year. Mr Forbes' salary admission spawned quite a bit of negativity, with people not impressed to learn that real estate agents can earn that much. 'You realise the industry is cooked when someone can walk into a job for $300k with a three day course,' one said. 'The hate in here is wild,' another remarked. 'He is absolutely not making that much,' someone else claimed. Mr Forbes remains unbothered, telling that he cleared $300,000, but made over $500,000 pre-tax. 'The income is insane and I'm extremely grateful for it but it isn't easy money. It is easy to get into the industry and not easy to stay,' he said. The 24-year-old explained currently trying to focus on working less, as he has been so committed to the grind for the last two years. He also wanted to make it clear that he loves what he does, he likes that his job involves him forming 'deep connections' with people and helping them achieve their goals. 'You're working with them so intensely. You list a house, then there's a settlement that can be 90 days, and you've got to sell it,' he said. 'I can work with clients for up to eight months and it is almost hard to say goodbye to them when the deal is done.' Mr Forbes pointed out that, when he works with clients, he can speak to them every day, sometimes for months on end. He is also attracted to the marketing side of the business. When he started it was a tough slog and he relied on self-promotion. 'I didn't earn anything for the first six months. When you are new no one has ever heard of you,' he said. 'No wants to give their house sale to a 22-year-old who doesn't even own a house himself.' Mr Forbes had to, quite literally, knock on doors to get ahead. His first client was an elderly man who had been struggling to sell his house for over six months. Business wasn't coming to him so the young real estate agent went to the man's house, knocked on his door and told him he could sell the house for him. He did that consistently for eight weeks until the man agreed to let him give it a crack because the house wasn't selling. 'It had been six months, and we sold it within three weeks. Obviously, I was bringing a lot of energy because I was brand new, and I was like, 'I'm going to make this work',' he said. Once Mr Forbes got that first sale done and dusted he was pretty much off to the races and hasn't looked back. Mr Forbes believes that part of his success is due to his honesty and being transparent with people. He reckons dodgy agents don't last anymore and he prides himself on always finding ways to be more open with people during the selling process. Recently, he decided not to list a house without a price guide because he feels it is misleading to both buyers and sellers. 'It is frustrating when there's no price on the listing and I made the decision about a month ago to list every property with a price,' he said. In the now rare cases where he hasn't listed a price for a property, it is purely because he is unsure of the market. For instance, Mr Forbes might be selling a luxury home in a suburb that doesn't typically have luxury homes, - so it can be tough to know the market value. He claimed that some other agents use it to lure buyers into properties they cannot afford, either to get them to fall in love with the home or to obtain their details so they can contact them about other properties. Mr Forbes said the other reason some agents use do this is because they're not honest with their sellers and aren't prepared to tell them they won't get the price they're asking for. 'They aren't honest with their sellers from the get go and it is disgusting,' he said. Mr Forbes said that, even though he had never used it for these tactics, he wants to make the change because he prides himself in clear communication. Despite all the success, hustle, 5.30am starts, 10.30pm calls, and staggering salary, he still hasn't bought a home. In some ways, he believes it makes him a better agent, as he feels for first home buyers and knows how tough the market is, having not yet cracked it himself. 'I resonate with everyone,' he said. 'I still don't own a home and I'm still saving for a deposit. It is so hard.' Mr Forbes has a fair chunk in savings, but it is difficult because he is a business owner, not an employee. 'I have $200,000 in savings, however, it is tricky one, I'm a contractor, and my company owns that money,' he said. Getting a loan is tough when you're not just working as an employee and your income is huge, but comes in waves. For example, in December 2024, Mr Forbes brought in over $250,000 in sales and, from that, he took home $125,000 after covering overheads and taxes. But then, he didn't earn a cent from January to March this year. The 24-year-old explained that it takes time to sell a house, especially when you factor in the average settlement period of around 90 days. You also have to consider the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes until you finally get paid. He recently sold a house for a woman after the first inspection, for a price that exceeded her expectations. However, he'd been in contact with her and exploring the possibility of her selling for over two years. 'That was a quick one, but when you look at how long I'd been talking to that client for, it was two years in the making,' he said.
Daily Mail
02-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Aussie who makes $300k a year reveals how you could too with a three-day course - but the job is a lot harder than what many think
A young real estate agent is pulling in $300,000 in his second year — and he only needed a three-day course to begin. Ethan Forbes, who is based in Baringa on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, was stopped while on the beach and asked how much he makes in his role. He said he 'accidentally fell' into real estate, joking that it was for the 'wrong reasons'. 'I had a mate who was in it. He had the watch, the car, and I was like, I just want to be like that,' he said. Mr Forbes, who works for LJ Hooker's branch in Caloundra, said he took home $130,000 in his first year as an agent. '[I earned] $291,000 in GIC [Gross Commission Income] so probably took home $130,000, but that was working six to seven days a week, 12-hour days, with no holidays,' he said. 'Literally, right now, I'm on my holidays for the first time in two years.' He also described the 'pretty easy' training he opted for to get into the real estate industry. 'It's a six-month course or a three-day course, depending on which one you go with,' he said, adding the short one was in person while the months-long one was online. When asked why someone would choose the longer course, Mr Forbes told the interviewer that it was cheaper. 'So the three days (is) like three grand, the other one's like $500.' During the interview, Mr Forbes said the hardest thing about being a real estate agent is 'emotions with your clients', adding that he is an 'emotional sponge'. 'You got to take everything on and also talking to people that don't want to talk to you,' he siad. 'It's prospecting. 80 per cent of it is like we're glorified telemarketers.' Mr Forbes said the most expensive property he sold was $1.302 million which would suggest his commission might have been within the range of $26,040 and $52,080. The average earnings for real estate agents in Australia vary depending on experience, location, and commission structures. According to SEEK, real estate agents typically earn between $75,000 and $95,000 per year. The bulk of this income comes from commissions which usually range from 2 per cent to 4 per cent of the property's sale price, as noted by Because of this commission-based structure, only top-performing agents are likely to earn over $100,000 annually. In Queensland, the minimum requirement to begin working in real estate is obtaining a Real Estate Registration Certificate. Once certified, an individual is allowed to work as a real estate agent, but only under the supervision of a fully licensed agent. Rules on how long someone must train to become a licensed agent vary depending on which territory or state someone is in. But it is generally understood that, before applying for a licence, someone must complete an approved real estate course and have at least 12 months of full-time work experience.
