The Real Estate Secret Young Agents Keep Missing

12 Jun 2026 · 1 min

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In this brief YouTube monologue, seasoned REALTOR® Leigh Thomas Brown responds to a comment that real estate is cutthroat. He advises early‑career agents that the key to long‑term success isn’t tougher skin but viewing fellow agents—exemplified by a colleague named Heather—not as rivals but as neighbors and collaborators. By sharing a personal anecdote of texting Heather while passing her listing, he illustrates that treating competitors as friends and maintaining strong professional relationships is the hidden "secret" to survival in the industry.

Chapters

There was a comment made on my recent post about how real estate is cutthroat and I should have a thicker skin. Well, what I will tell you, young man way out on the West Coast somewhere, is that when you become a long-in-the-tooth seasoned REALTOR®, you won't look at signs like Heather's as competition. You will look at that and say, that's a colleague I've known for years. And so this morning I was running by her listing and I texted her and I said, hey, running by your listing because I like Heather. I've done deals with her for years. The secret to real estate and survival is to remember that this might be your competition, but this can also be your friend because she's your neighbor. And those of us that have lasted a long time, honey, that's the secret that you young ones might want to figure out for survival.