Real Estate is Hard
People get attracted to it because more millionaires are made from real estate than from any other field. There are big checks involved and large profit potential. A strong allure.
Yet 80% of all agents who get licensed never close a deal. There’s a similar stat for aspiring real estate investors—an estimated 90% of those who buy a real estate investing course never close a deal.*
What Stops People From Succeeding in Real Estate?
It’s hard. There are setbacks. There’s tough competition when dollar amounts are high. There’s a learning curve. It takes courage to learn sales and resolve to get told “no” a lot and to keep going.
There are gut punches regularly—deals fall through, sellers change their minds and go with someone else, title issues pop up after you’ve lined up a buyer. Then there are the unexpected liens, the delays, the cancellations.
My Recent Reality Check: A $15K Deal Delayed Two Months
This week, I got one of those gut punches. A deal we thought was closing next week—a $15,000 profit that was supposed to be part of a big month—got postponed until December because of title issues. Two months. That’s awhile to keep a deal alive with multiple parties involved. Now we are at risk of losing our buyer and starting over with the marketing.
The Question That Separates Winners From Quitters
And you know what? This is just part of the game. It happens to everyone in this business, from newbies to veterans closing eight-figure deals. The question isn’t whether you’ll face setbacks—you will. The question is whether you’ll keep going anyway.
Someone once said, “A hero is someone who does what needs to be done.” In real estate, that means showing up even when deals fall apart, making the next call even after hearing “no” all day, and believing in your vision when everyone else would quit.
Why Persistence is a Core Value
I think the 20% who succeed and close a deal are mainly those who stay the course and keep the faith (and a few just get lucky). But the smaller group who actually make a career in real estate, and those who make millions, they have to have a vision and a why, and they have to stay the course no matter how many setbacks they experience. They know it’s a numbers game and that they need to keep plugging away, and keep building their skillsets.
Persistence is one of our core values in my business.
I can’t say I’ve made it to the mountaintop. I’ve been in business full time since 2021 and closed a lot of deals, built a solid team and made well over a million in top line revenue. I’m still building. Still working on consistency, adding skills and improving systems for me and my team.
What It Really Takes to Succeed in Real Estate Investing
Here’s what I’ve learned: You need more than enthusiasm to make it in this business. You need resilience, the ability to learn from failures without letting them break you, and the patience to play the long game. You need to be comfortable with uncertainty and willing to keep showing up even when deals fall apart at the eleventh hour. Many of us—myself included—started this business by the seat of our pants with more hustle than cash. That’s doable. But you have to be willing to grind through the tough times.
Real estate rewards those who persist, but it punishes those who quit too soon or come in unprepared. Don’t jump into this thinking you’re going to crush it overnight. Come in with your eyes open, a solid plan, and the mental toughness to take punches and keep moving forward.
As Winston Churchill said, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
Should You Get Into Real Estate Investing?
That December deal? I still believe we can close it. And we have others in the works. Because that’s what you do in this business—you keep going. Next, next, next. It’s a numbers game.
If you’re thinking about getting into real estate investing, ask yourself: Can you handle the gut punches? Can you live with discomfort for prolonged periods, and stretch your comfort zone? Can you keep working when the wins feel far away, and believe in your vision, your why?
If the answer is yes, then welcome to the arena. It’s hard, but it’s worth it. And there are many along the path who will offer you a hand up.
Remember: all growth occurs at the edge of your comfort zone.
Sources & Statistics:
Exact statistics on aspiring real estate investors who buy courses but never close deals are not reliably available. However, various industry sources and online estimates suggest the vast majority—potentially 90% or more—fail to complete their first deal after purchasing educational products.
For real estate agents, the numbers are more concrete: A January 2025 analysis by Inman of 2024 sales data showed that 71% of agents didn’t close a single deal that year. Other frequently cited statistics suggest 87% of agents fail within their first five years, with most agents selling zero to one home in their first year.
The reasons for these high failure rates are consistent across both groups: the difficulty of the work, the learning curve, competition, and the mental fortitude required to push through repeated setbacks.