International Talent in Real Estate: Hiring Strategies for a Global Market
In real estate, borders used to mean something. They defined everything from markets to job roles. But now, with screens connecting everyone and anyone, borders feel outdated.
The industry that once depended on face-to-face deals is suddenly rewriting itself through global collaboration.
The best person for the job might be sitting in São Paulo, not Sydney, and if you can’t find a way to hire them, someone else will.
Start With Time Zones, Not Job Titles
Everyone says to go global like it’s the easiest thing in the world. But before looking for your perfect hire, you need to think about time.
Time zones are vital. They make or break global teams. A property developer in Melbourne can’t work with someone in New York. Not if every meeting feels like a midnight call. So, find clusters that overlap.
Smart real estate firms start by mapping their existing schedule. Then, they start searching in regions that blend in naturally. Southeast Asia often syncs beautifully with Australia.
Eastern Europe fits into early Australian afternoons. It’s practical, and that’s what keeps projects running.
Hire for Local Insight, Not Global Fame
There’s a temptation to go after big names. But in real estate, that’s rarely what you need. You need someone who knows what’s happening on the ground.
So, when hiring internationally, don’t just look for global talent. Look for local eyes.
Instead of posting job ads on global platforms, find local property or architecture forums. Even real estate Facebook groups can give you a couple of gems.
That’s where hidden professionals hide.
💡 Pro Tip: If you struggle to write job descriptions that attract the right candidates, try an AI job posting generator to instantly tailor your job descriptions to different markets. It can adjust tone, highlight region-specific benefits, and help you stand out to candidates who might otherwise scroll past generic job posts.
Plenty of regional firms have managed to source global talent by utilising these practices and therefore form an international team full of strong players.
One Percent Property, for example, operates in areas such as Kedron, illustrating how international recruitment practices can be successfully adapted to regional markets.
By leveraging global talent acquisition strategies while keeping local trends in mind, you too can create a high-performing real estate team.
Turn Interviews Into Real Tasks
When you’re hiring a real estate agent, anyone can talk beautifully for 30 minutes, especially about themselves. However, the real test is to see how they think. That’s probably why top companies stopped relying on interviews alone.
If you’re hiring internationally for the first time, a better way is to run a live working hour. Give the candidate a mock project.
It could be a property listing that needs global marketing appeal. Ask them to improve it and watch their process.
Even a one-hour session can reveal everything. You’ll get to learn about their curiosity, speed, and independence.
And they don’t have to deliver perfect results; the purpose of this is to see how they think and whether they would fit well with the rest of the team.
Don’t Outsource the Onboarding Experience
It’s easy to throw a welcome email at new hires and call it onboarding. This is a common practice if someone is thousands of kilometres away. But if you want international hires to stay, the first two weeks decide everything.
You need to set up structured introductions with real people. Pair them with a buddy who can actually help them fit in. It’s a bit of extra work for everyone, but special situations require special approaches.
You should also have them shadow a client call early. Real estate thrives on tone, not just data. The sooner they hear how your company speaks to clients, the faster they’ll blend in.
Pay Attention to Cultural Work Habits
When you hire across borders, people don’t just bring their skills. Your new hires will bring entire rhythms to the table. Some cultures value hierarchy, others prefer chaos, and you’ll get to see it all. Some like daily check-ins; others find that micromanaging.
The smartest hiring managers talk about this upfront. Before you even consider someone, you should know how they communicate and especially what a normal day looks like for them. This will save you a lot of frustration.
If hiring internationally isn’t new for you, you probably have a cultural translator on your team. Those people are employees who’ve worked in both local and international setups.
They can help bridge misunderstandings before they become tense. They explain why someone might sound blunt when they actually mean efficient.
Conclusion
Hiring international talent requires a lot of effort on your part, but all of that is worth it. You start seeing patterns that no local team would notice on its own.
You hear stories from places you’ve never visited but somehow feel connected to. And all of that together allows all of you to be better, both to each other and at what you do.
