Standby for 25 percent estate agent job departures expected by REIA
The real estate industry is set to shed up to 25 percent of its workforce, according to the REIA, as the property market rebalances after five years of strong conditions especially in Melbourne and Sydney.
Real Estate Institute of Australia president Malcolm Gunning said the shedding of jobs was inevitable.
“What we see is a lot of opportunists come into the market when it’s a bull market, and yes we will see jobs shed because we will see less turnover of property,” Mr Gunning told The Australian.
“This is really a market for experienced real estate agents and I would expect about 20-25 per cent of our residential agents will leave.”
Mr Gunning predicted that low-cost operators would be among the first to go as the “momentum swung back to full service agencies”.
“Low-cost operators really can’t afford to put a lot of resources behind them, and people will quickly get sick of paying a fee up front and getting no results,” he said criticising the low-cost operator as one "who lists and waits for the inquiries.”
Mr Gunning said this week’s earnings downgrade by the McGrath agency could be seen as a “reference point” to the shift in the property cycle when the agency issued a downgrade based partly on the market slowdown.
“John (McGrath) floated at the pinnacle of all the hype surrounding the property market; he picked the sweet spot very well,” Mr Gunning said.
“That will always be a reference point as to what was the high water mark for that period.”