Your First 90 Days as a New Real Estate Agent in Toronto: A Plan That Survives Contact
Updated: Sep 20
You passed the exams. RECO sent the registration. Nobody sent clients.
Toronto is the most crowded market in the country. The agents who last aren't the most talented. They're the ones who had a plan for the first ninety days and kept to it.
Here's the plan.
Days 1 to 30: get legal, get set up, get seen
Paper first. Registration active, board membership done, insurance confirmed. Do your brokerage's FINTRAC training before your first client, not after.
Learn the forms cold. The agreement of purchase and sale, the representation agreement, the RECO Information Guide. You will explain these to strangers. Practise on someone who'll interrupt you.
Build the list. Everyone you know, one spreadsheet. Two hundred names is normal. Fifty means you haven't tried.
Tell them. A call, not a post. "I'm licensed, here's who I'm with, here's what I do." Done.
Days 31 to 60: conversations, not marketing
New agents hide behind logos, websites and headshots. None of it rings a phone.
Ten real conversations a day. Sphere, open-house visitors, neighbours of a listing.
Sit every open house you can. Other agents' listings, with permission and proper disclosure of who you represent. Buyers walk in unrepresented every weekend.
Shadow offers. Ask to sit in when a senior agent drafts or presents. One offer night teaches more than a month of modules.
Days 61 to 90: your first deals, done right
Leases count. In Toronto they're the fastest honest path to a first cheque and a first client who buys in two years.
Get every first deal reviewed before it's signed. Conditions, dates, deposit, irrevocable. The mistakes that end careers are made on deal one and discovered on deal three.
Track the numbers. Conversations, appointments, agreements signed. If conversations are high and appointments are zero, fix the script, not the logo.
What your brokerage owes you in this window
Someone senior who actually answers your deal questions.
Structured training with a schedule, not a login.
Paperwork help on your first offers and listings.
A fee structure explained in the first conversation, in writing.
If you're getting a desk and a password, you picked on split. It's fixable.
Quick answers
How long does it take a new agent in Toronto to close a first deal?
Commonly a few months. Agents who start with leases and a worked contact list get there sooner than agents who start with a website.
Should a new agent join a team or a brokerage directly?
A team trades a larger share of your commission for leads and structure. A brokerage with real training gives you structure without giving up your client base. Compare the math over two years, not two months.
How many people should be on a new agent's contact list?
Around two hundred. It's not about who will buy. It's about who will mention your name.
Can a new agent work part time in Toronto?
You can. Your clients' deadlines won't be part time. Have coverage arranged before you take a listing.
Related reading
Ricky Rathore, ABR, SRS, FRI
Founding Partner and Lawyer
Broker of Record and Owner - REMAX Metropolis Realty, Brokerage
A note from the lawyer: this is general information, not legal advice, and reading it doesn't make me your lawyer. Rules change and every situation differs - confirm current requirements with RECO and get advice on your own facts before you act.
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