Virtual assistant for real estate agents: tasks, costs and a 30-day plan

Why do real estate agents hire virtual assistants?

Real estate income depends on time spent with buyers and sellers, yet much of an agent's week goes on follow-ups, data entry and paperwork. The typical NAR member closed 10 transactions in 2024 and earned a median gross income of $58,100 (National Association of Realtors 2025 Member Profile). Freeing even a few hours a week for prospecting and showings is one of the most direct ways to grow that number.

A virtual assistant works remotely in your time zone, uses your CRM and email, and follows your scripts, so leads get answered quickly and nothing slips during a busy closing.

25 tasks a real estate VA can take off your plate

Leads and CRM

• Enter new leads from Zillow, Realtor.com, open houses and your website into the CRM
• Send first-touch emails and texts from your templates
• Run follow-up sequences and set reminders for hot leads
• Book buyer consultations and listing appointments in your calendar
• Clean duplicate contacts and tag past clients for referrals
• Send anniversary and home-value check-in messages

Listings and marketing

• Draft listing descriptions and enter them on the MLS (where your board allows)
• Order photography, floor plans and virtual tours
• Create social posts, reels captions and "just listed" graphics in Canva
• Build property flyers and email newsletters
• Schedule open-house promotion and collect visitor sign-ups
• Prepare comparative market analysis data for your review
• Update your website and Google Business Profile

Transactions and admin

• Track contract dates, contingencies and deadlines
• Chase signatures through DocuSign or dotloop
• Coordinate inspectors, appraisers, lenders and title companies
• Send weekly progress updates to clients
• Organise transaction files for compliance
• Book showings and confirm with sellers
• Manage your inbox and calendar
• Log expenses and mileage for tax time
• Send closing gifts and review requests
• Prepare buyer and seller guides
• Research neighbourhood data and school information
• Keep your listing and pipeline reports up to date

Real estate VA vs transaction coordinator

A transaction coordinator focuses on one stage: managing a deal from accepted offer to closing, often paid per file. A real estate virtual assistant covers the whole business, including lead follow-up, marketing and admin, and can also coordinate transactions. Many solo agents start with a VA and only add a dedicated coordinator once they close more deals than one assistant can track. Check your state's rules for anything that needs a licence, such as discussing terms with clients.

How much does a real estate virtual assistant cost?

Offshore assistants typically charge about $3 to $15 an hour, US-based freelancers about $19 to $32, and US agencies $36 to $65 (Stealth Agents 2026 cost research). A dedicated VirtualTask360 assistant starts at $399 a month for 40 hours, $749 for 80 hours or $1,399 full time. If one extra closing a year comes from faster follow-up, the assistant usually pays for itself.

A 30-day plan for your first real estate VA

1. Week 1: Give CRM access and have your assistant clean the database and tag every contact.
2. Week 2: Hand over new-lead entry and first-touch replies using your scripts.
3. Week 3: Add social posts, listing marketing and showing schedules.
4. Week 4: Add transaction tracking and client updates. Review results and adjust hours.

Tools a real estate VA should know

Ask for experience with at least some of these: Follow Up Boss, kvCORE, Lofty or another real estate CRM; your MLS; DocuSign or dotloop; Canva; Google Workspace or Microsoft 365; ShowingTime; and Mailchimp or a similar email tool.