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The strong performance of the housing market has given agents the confidence to start their own businesses, according to the general manager of real estate at News Limited, Tom Panos.
Speaking to Real Estate Business, Mr Panos said: “Because the market was so strong towards the second half of last year, you will see more people getting out of their comfort zone and looking at either setting up a business or growing their own business within a business, by hiring assistance.”
The leading real estate coach said the Christmas period was a typical time when many agents would leave their current workplace to start their own businesses.
“When someone leaves a real estate office and buys a business, a lot of the time they are meeting a need they have,” he said. “It’s not enough for them to make a great income; they also want to have the feeling of being in total control of their destiny and having 100 per cent ownership of the business.
“There are instances when there's nothing owners can do about it because agents are simply realising something they've always wanted to do.”
Groups wanting to retain agents who wanted to start their own business needed to provide avenues to encourage them to remain with the brand.
Mr Panos said: “I think real estate owners have to accept that they need to be able to provide an environment for an estate agent to build their own business within a business, and to leverage their activities, or they will risk having that agent becoming a competitor.”
In Real Estate Business' recent Switching Groups survey, 28.5 per cent of respondents said they were planning to review their current employment status within the next 12 months.
In 2014, the culture of the organisation would become a major priority for the top agents, Mr Panos said.
“A workplace that supports them to be their best self in an environment that’s high performing is going to be the competitive strength of a real estate agent, and whilst in previous years agents were more focused on getting the right commissions split, they have seen too many attractive schemes come and go," he said.
“They now realise that where you’re working and what it feels like will affect your income far more than an attractive commission scheme that might not last much more than a year.”
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