Meeting Expectation – TPC General Q1

Q.

Why are there so many brokers? Yet, the estate agency service never really meet the expectation?

A.

From the level of estate agency practice, it is matching the right purchaser to the right seller, the good tenant to a good landlord. The profession is like clapping hands, you need both side to participate.

The service of letting for example - it will not improve if the landlord are always discriminating. Because to a prospective tenant, when he cannot get a good landlord, it is lousy service of this agent. Landlord might not want to rent to certain kind of people, be it race, religion or type of occupation. There might be stringent tenant screening requested by landlord. That service provided to the landlord is discriminating the tenant, no doubt! But, it is the right of the landlord. It is his property! So, tenant thinks the agent is not giving good service because he always cannot get a good house!

On the other hand, if an agent doesn't screen the tenant, tenant who becomes defaulters will result in landlord saying that the agent never provide added service of screening for good tenant. This Gap of Expectation will always render the service of an agent inadequate to both sides - the landlord cannot get a good tenant, a tenant cannot get a good house. Although much of that is due to rental amount, for "you pay peanuts you get monkeys" - to improve there need to be more effort put in. And, that might render less successful commission payout per unit time, as the bar has risen and it is harder to get a suitable tenant.

When commission is being paid less and yet, more work is required, some workforce will quit their jobs. Then, the profession will be left with some good hardworking professionals who sustain their business over time. We say that the market forces have push on the profession to excel!