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Nearly nine out of every 10 Aussie home owners do not trust anyone on a commission-based salary, new research has found.
The report, undertaken by YouGov Galaxy and commissioned by Upside Realty, also found that 79 per cent of respondents also believed that commission-incentivised agents use “half-truths and misconceptions” to get business.
The report revealed professions where commission is the root of consumer dissatisfaction. Car sales agents topped the list at 69 per cent, followed by real estate sales agents at 58 per cent and insurance agents at 56 per cent.
The research also found that unfulfilled real estate agent promises is the key consumer pain point, at 67 per cent, followed by the constant up-keep of home for showings at 43 per cent and the lack of transparency of real estate agents throughout the process at 41 per cent.
CEO of Upside Realty Adam Rigby said that it is apparent there are pain points for buyers and sellers in the sales cycle.
“A cocktail of factors is making selling properties stressful, time-consuming and expensive [for some consumers],” the CEO said.
“Commission [might] prompt distrust from [a] property seller.”
The YouGov Galaxy study’s total sample size was 773 home owners aged 18+ years. Fieldwork was undertaken between 30 January and 1 February 2018. The survey was carried out online. YouGov Galaxy is an independent, publicly listed global consumer insight company.
Launched in Melbourne in August 2017, Upside is an alternative to traditional brick-and-mortar real estate agents, offering property owners full-service sale of their property with one low fee and no commission.
The business model is similar to that of Purplebricks, which launched to much fanfare in Australia in late 2016, and has since then created a stir attracting both derision and praise from many of the industry’s stakeholders.
Most recently, Starr Partners CEO Douglas Driscoll said that Purplebricks (and other real estate disruptors) are here to stay, warning agents to spend more time coming to terms with this fact than trying to push back against them.
“Upfront fees aside, the likes of Purplebricks are basically a diluted version of the traditional real estate model, and it’s up to the consumer to decide who to list their home with,” Mr Driscoll told REB.
“Rather than continue to belittle them, we should be concentrating on how we can better demonstrate our own point of difference.”
Mr Driscoll added that agents should bear in mind that “price only becomes a consideration in the absence of value”.
