I worked for one of the larger commercial real estate firms for awhile, and my sister has done residential, and from our conversations over the years, a few of the key differences we found were:
In commercial, I'd spend a lot longer working on a single deal then she would, meaning much more intense focus on one project as opposed to newer and varied projects in the same time frame.
In commercial the commissions were much more infrequent but were far larger...so income stream could be quite varied from quarter to quarter (surely true in residential as well, as moving is often seasonal, but nonetheless, a good residential realtor brings in money a bit more consistently I think, even if it is less)
In commercial there was far more time spent in intense money-oriented meetings with other business people as opposed to shorter more relaxed coffees and walk thrus and showings and all that.
In commercial a lot more time spent on future trends analysis, aerial photos and grading details and traffic configurations, a bit more macro analysis than the more micro Are the schools here good? type thing. Just more heavy research required on most deals than on some housing situations.
In commercial the feeling when closing a deal was more oriented toward, Isn't it nice to make money? Far less of the: Isn't it awesome that I just got that nice couple a great house type thing. I guess I mean that the personal reward seemed a bit lacking beyond the paycheck.
In commercial, working within a team structure, delegating projects, answering to a boss or bosses, was far more an element. Also being surrounded by mostly 25 - 55 year old mean, the majority of which were salesmen and cutthroat...that's the norm, at least where I was. In residential, more of you working alone, depending on your affiliation and setup, and potentially, more females and less vicious than the young studs of the commercial world.
Anyway, just a few generalizations from my memory, if I think of anything else, I'll let you know...
