Real estate agents down the east coast are slashing commissions to win business as listings dry up.The pressure on firms in an already slowing market, with listings down 9 per cent, has been compounded by the arrival of new agencies that are offering increased commissions to lure staff and was likely to lead to an end-of-cycle shakeout as firms cut staff to rein in costs, industry veteran Charles Tarbey said.
Sydney and Melbourne were unlikely to undergo a sudden crash or suffer as much as Perth, where prices have still not halted their decline following the resources boom, but they would force many firms to restructure and cut staff, said Mr Tarbey, the chairman of Century 21 Australia.
It’s a property boom with fewer and fewer winners. From the AFR:
