Salaries of UAE real estate agents remain flat: expert

A pick-up in the real estate sector (from the lows of 2009) has not translated into an increase in salaries of real estate professionals in the country, according to an expert in the industry.

Pay scales did not inch-up last year and nothing much should be expected in 2012 as well, say industry sources. However, commissions have seen some sort of stabilisation after being in free fall in the past few years.

“If anything, salaries have remained flat, but brokerages are still in cost-cutting mode and if staff leave, then they will seek to hire at a lower wages. Sales and leasing staff commissions have probably levelled out on the back of prices and rentals stabilising in many parts of Dubai, and consequently their commissions are not falling compared to the last three years,” Charles Neil, Chief Executive Officer at Landmark Properties told 'Emirates24|7'.

“I’ve not seen any increase in salaries since 2009 and there is pressure on agents to lease or sell units. In the current market, it is still not easy to sell as people change their mind more often now and so commissions are also hard to get, especially in areas with low-quality buildings,” an agent with a real estate company said on the condition of anonymity.

However, there are some in the industry who believe that salaries have gone up in the past year due to the better than expected real estate performance in Dubai.

“In 2011, we had salary revisions across the board ranging from 10 to 12 per cent, which is a fair increase within the context of the Dubai property industry, and as the market improves we are conscious of remaining in tune with market standards,” Partho Bhattacharya, Director, Human Resource & Operations, Head Office at Better Homes told this website.

According to a report by Asteco, on the real estate sector in Q4 2011, the residential leasing market was in Dubai was characterised by strong demand and increased transaction levels, resulting in stable average rental rates across the majority of developments.

Demand for quality apartment buildings was high, whereas inferior units experienced slower take-up and increased end-user demand has translated into good sales activity for units in established quality developments, meaning sales prices also remained stable over the last three months.

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