Having worked several years for the largest real estate franchiser in the U.S., I can tell you that getting into real estate - at least as a realtor - for passive income is no longer an easy thing to get into. Maybe years or even decades age, it was considered the kind of job that people can obtain some easy passive income, but nowadays - at least to make any worthwhile money - it takes quite a bit of time and commitment. Many home buyers - especially younger buyers - often question the value of real estate agents. Younger buyers buy stuff online all the time - they figure - so why not simply use online services like zillow, etc. - they think to themselves. So if you do get into real estate you have to constantly fight to show your value. Furthermore, nowadays, being in real estate means you have to build and manage yourself as your own business AND brand...Even with an affiliation to an established real estate brand/franchise and any tools and support they might provide, it is still a very time-consuming (and often a capital-intensive) operation. You have to build up your network of clients and potential referrals...You have to build your brand within the geography that you will sell within...Current and potential clients need to know that "when they think real estate, homes, rentals, etc.", that they think of you. Then, you have to compete against other real estate agents who got into the job years ago when they lost their earlier careers to a recession (and are not leaving this job)...And, then you have to fight against any start-ups trying to dis-intermediate the whole concept of needing human real estate agents...And then, you have to consider any dangers with the large real estate companies trying to acquire the disruptive start ups as they try to bring costs down by lessening the need to pay humans for "doing" real estate, etc., etc., etc.
I don't mean to make real estate sound like an awful/dead-end career...I simply want to clarify that it is not the easy career that people think that it is, or that it perhaps used to be so many years/decades ago. And, while it may start as a passive income job for many at first, in the long-term it requires the attention of a full-time career.