Stacey Moseley
The time is ripe for principals to focus on recruitment, according to one industry leader, who believes the industry is on the cusp of a period of significant growth.
Mike Green, managing director of Harcourts International, says he expects to see strong demand for staff.
“Given current conditions within the property market, the real estate industry is set to experience significant growth over the coming months and years, making now the perfect time to begin a career in real estate,” Mr Green says.
His comments come at the same time as the latest Real Estate Business Quarterly Sentiment Survey, undertaken in late March and early April, found almost 30 per cent of 283 respondents said they intended to hire staff in the coming quarter.
Sixty-five per cent believed they would keep their staffing levels the same, a seven per cent increase on the previous quarter, while just six per cent of respondents said they intended to cut staff.
To accommodate the demand for staff, Harcourts launched its latest opportunity and information program, ‘A New View in Real Estate’, earlier this month.
The program, created by the group’s training facility, The Harcourts Academy, is designed to be an information session for aspiring real estate professionals but doubles as a recruitment tool for the group.
The event runs for approximately three hours and aims to provide comprehensive information about the real estate profession and the benefits of working within the industry.
Other major groups, including Raine & Horne, are also taking advantage of the significant growth, holding careers nights to attract budding agents.
Last month, Raine & Horne principal Gerard Hill of Raine & Horne Newtown/East Sydney/Surry Hills launched a careers night in Sydney that attracted nearly 80 people.
“This is our first careers night but we are very happy with the turn out,” he told Real Estate Business on the night.
“Without knowing the quality of the people yet it is hard to say whether we have the next big thing in real estate.
“Like most recruitment strategies you’ll be able to tell how successful the night was in two years down the track – but we are confident.”
The Real Estate Business Quarterly Sentiment Survey is an online poll.
The results of the latest survey are based on 283 replies, with a majority of respondents (88.2 per cent) coming from the residential sales and property management sectors. More than half were principals (53.9 per cent) and licensees (10.4 per cent), while another 22.9 per cent were sales representatives.