Do Real Estate Agents In Thailand Make Any Money?

[Ted]

I was having a chat to a farang estate agent the otherday who told me she was paid on commission only Unfortunately she closed up when I pushed for her commission structure etc. Got the impression she was on the lower levels of the estage agency hierachy but what is the norm?

There seems to be an increasing amount of farang estate agents out there. Now I presume the ones who own the business or are investing their own money are a mixed bag with some earning and some loosing fortunes - but what is the general estate agent lining the streets of BK / Phuket / Pattaya - subsistence living or saving a fortune?

[GuestHouse]

I know one guy in Pattaya who has made a fortune out of real estate, I suspect there are others, but like all things they are the minority.

The problem I have with real estate brokers in Thailand is they are simply not necessary. A bit of time spent looking around and asking around can and does turn up land/property.

The commission she was so keen not to speak about usually comes from both buyer AND seller.

[Sunbelt Asia]

what is the general estate agent lining the streets of BK / Phuket / Pattaya - subsistence living or saving a fortune?

In BKK, most are lucky to make a living because of the make up of the clients who buy. In BKK, most property transfers are Thai selling to Thai while go to the Land offices in resorts, you'll find it jammed with foreigners. Many foreigners rent or buy new developments in Bangkok. The developers do not work with agents in BKk while in the resort areas they do.

Our Director in RE in BKk makes a modest living and works very hard. The dept in real estate in BKK itself gross less than 200K per month on average last year and broke even after paying expenses of staff, advertising, tel, rent. We pay a salary to all our staff.

This year is around the same. Have not heard of anybody else doing better in BKk. It is a service we must offer our clients in BKK.

As for Pattaya, a number of people have gotten rich but with 84 Real Estate firms now versus 5 firms several years ago. Its alot more competition.

Koh Samui and Phuket has been a gold mine for some RE broker and developers. I know one who was a broker, went to being a developer and made over 300 million Baht in the last 5 years.

Be aware that farangs cannot be "brokers" as it is a restricted occupation. They however can be advisors, consultants, negotiator, etc.

The commission she was so keen not to speak about usually comes from both buyer AND seller.

Really? Was not aware of anybody charging a finders fee. Any names of companies?

Our Website of Sunbelt Asia Property

[Mr Ling Noi]

The commission she was so keen not to speak about usually comes from both buyer AND seller.

Really? Was not aware of anybody charging a finders fee. Any names of companies?

I was recently paid a finders fee from a friend who had a friend selling land which i found a buyer (by chance), I never expected the money they said i would receive so it was a bit of a shock when my friend came to the door with the money. I confirmed the sale with the guy who bought the place just to make sure there was nothing to fishy about it all and he's happy as can be.

I can't imadgine finders fees are rare, I beleive they go on everywhere, OZ included. If one company has a proporty that another company has a client for (or visa versa) then sure a finders fee/commission should be paid i think.

I may have been totally off here but that is what i gathered from this statment.

Cheers

[Sunbelt Asia]

I was recently paid a finders fee from a friend who had a friend selling land which i found a buyer (by chance), I never expected the money they said i would receive so it was a bit of a shock when my friend came to the door with the money. I confirmed the sale with the guy who bought the place just to make sure there was nothing to fishy about it all and he's happy as can be.

Sounds like you got a % of the 3% charged to the seller with the buyer paying no fee.

I can't imadgine finders fees are rare, I beleive they go on everywhere, OZ included. If one company has a proporty that another company has a client for (or visa versa) then sure a finders fee/commission should be paid i think.

Its rare when the buyer writes a check for your fee. We get e-mails from time to time of buyers wanting to pay us to find them a location. We have never charge a fee and never will to the buyer or renter. Because of these e-mails, it could happen that someone would pay but just surmise most firms would say" its a free service for the buyer"

What is common is two agents sharing a listing...one has the seller and the other has a buyer. They split the 3% total fee in Thailand. ( In the USA it is 6 or 7% they would share)

Sunbelt Asia's Property Web site

[Heng]

In the deals I've seen, typically the commission structure is like 3% up to a X0 million Baht sale and then 1.5% for anything over that payable upon transfer of title. Some projects/owners will just put a flat commission on each house or piece of property sold by an agent (usually less than 3%). Your mileage may vary.

Like a lot of things in business, the first movers did pretty well. IMO if you're just now considering this field, you've already missed the boat (in any of the more "popular" markets anyway).

[Ted]

In the deals I've seen, typically the commission structure is like 3% up to a X0 million Baht sale and then 1.5% for anything over that payable upon transfer of title. Some projects/owners will just put a flat commission on each house or piece of property sold by an agent (usually less than 3%). Your mileage may vary.

Like a lot of things in business, the first movers did pretty well. IMO if you're just now considering this field, you've already missed the boat (in any of the more "popular" markets anyway).

Thanks everyone, and Heng, no i'm not looking for a change incareer, just interested to know if the agents were making any money! It sounds just as I thought that only those with the readies in hand on the development side are making large sums (and probably a whole lot more losing them.)

[Phil Conners]

Confirm usual commission is 3% of the sales price. Easy money, 30,000 baht per million...

Edited May 15, 2006 by madsere

[~G~]

what about the rental market?

[Sunbelt Asia]

what about the rental market?

90% of our real estate business in Bangkok. It pays the bills, helps the Thai economy and our clients, though no one is getting rich on this sector.

www.property.th.com

[Phil Conners]

Rentals agents usually gets one months rent as "finders fee".

[~G~]

Rentals agents usually gets one months rent as "finders fee".

Property owner therefore pays the agent fee in selling, but not in letting. Why is that? Is it because it's much more difficult to sell than to rent? I'd imagine property owners that don't want to part from their property on one hand, and on the other having difficulties renting it, will be willing to pay a comission. Or is it due to the ongoing nature of rent payments versus the downpayment in purchase (the agent cannot guarantee that the renter will pay rent, therfore cannot collect a significant comission from the owner on signing agreement).

[Sir Burr]

For property rentals in Phuket, the agents want 100% of the first months rent and then 10% for the next eleven months. Bandits!

[Heng]

For the buyers out there... (I'm not anti-realtor or anything as they do drum up some business for us)... on the other hand, savy buyers nowadays often bypass the realtor/broker and just push the seller for a 3% discount. They often get it too. "If you can afford to pay a 3% commission, you can certainly afford a 3% price reduction or payment of transfer fees for me."

Remember a realtor/broker is only someone who has one or two more pieces of information (foremost being who the owner of a particular piece of property is) than you. That's the main weakness of this business, you're kind of dependent on ignorant buyers and the trend is towards better information regarding the market, not less information.