Estate agency is about more than commission

Estate agency should be about more than just earning a commission, senior property leaders have said.

The issue of commission was discussed in the latest video from a meeting of senior property executives late last year.

Panellists discussed the best approach to charging commission and if it should depend on where an agent is based.

They also discussed the idea of pooled or split commission, with Foxtons board member Peter Rollings, suggesting this approach may be a disincentive.

He said: “My worry with no commission or pooled commission is you don’t the one or two people that want to shoot the lights out as however hard they work, they are getting a bit of the pool.”

Gemma Noonan, executive coach at agency brand The Giggs Group, added that rather than focusing on commission, agents need to want to be estate agents.

She said: “You need to want to spend everyday helping people move house, that needs to be what drives them.

“Commission is great but if you genuinely can’t be positive, answer the phones, stand up when people come in, that is an issue.”

Sarah Edmundson, chief executive of Agents Together, added that the sector shouldn’t obsess over online agents charging fixed fees or rivals with lower rates.
Instead, she said, agents must prove and demonstrate their value.

Watch the full debate in the video below: