The results of a recent poll on self-employed agents has been revealed, with nearly a third believing the employment status will account for a fifth of the profession in the next five years.
The survey was held by the Federation of Independent Agents (FIA).
Of 159 voters, 25 (16%) felt that the share would reach 1-5%, 37 (23%) said 5-10%, 49 (31%) thought it could reach between 10-20%, while 48 (30%) went for a huge 20%+ prediction.
“The self employed model has gained traction in the last couple of years with the likes of EXP leading the way, and although the current market share of the sector remains low at around 1-2%, there certainly seems to be some upward trajectory,” said Graham Lock, chief executive of the FIA.
Not everybody believes the self-employed model will achieve lasting growth, however. For example, independent agency owner Charles Stoten commented: “I believe that much like the online estate agency model, the self-employed model will hit its saturation and fall back slightly. Traditional agents will break from the traditions that the self-employed model challenges.
“For example, looking at how fellow members of the FIA are harnessing modern tech to improve communication, expand their service offering and improve the quality of their advertising shows that forward-thinking estate agents will harness the opportunity to enhance the traditional estate agency offering. There is certainly room for both models.”
159 in the sample is hardly representative. Also you miss out mentioning Keller Williams.
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Scratching around for a few listings each month without a basic salary. A quality career choice
At least they have got time to ferry the kids around all day.
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As a self-proclaimed self employed estate agent with eXp, I am a BIG fan!
It’s clearly not for everyone but those high performing individuals (and there are plenty of them) who feel they are not being properly recognised either financially or in terms of status, should at least consider this option and speak to someone who is actually doing it.
Who knows what ultimately the market share will be? That said I predict it will grow and 20% + doesn’t sound a wild estimate to me. Of course we shouldn’t confuse (as people often do) the “online model” with the self employed model. They are completely different.
Interestingly, it appears that the self employed model is the default mode of operation for many (even most?) estate agents across the globe so it can’t be claimed that it simply won’t work in principle – even with the UK’s relatively lower fees.
As I said, if it is something you are considering, speak with someone (from whatever organisation takes your fancy) to explain the pro’s and con’s.
This model will definitely continue to grow and almost by definition will attract the more effective and confident agents meaning that their share of listings and more importantly sales will be disproportionately higher than other models.
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