Property brokers’ job in demand again as market recovery looms

In recent weeks Bao Ngoc of Hanoi has been searching for job listings for property brokers after learning that some of her former colleagues have secured jobs.

Ngoc, 32, had been working in the industry for five years, selling land and houses in the capital, but, like many others, quit last year to sell cosmetics online.

She said: "Even just one successful deal can bring a higher income than months of selling cosmetics. I want to make big money now that the market is showing signs of recovery."

Nguyen Minh Duc, director of a property brokerage in Hanoi, said many former employees have been calling him in recent weeks seeking opportunities to return to work.

His brokerage used to have 250 brokers but only 15 at the end of last year.

The company is now selling land lots in the northern province of Bac Giang and expects to hire 50 brokers by the end of this year.

Another brokerage based in the north said recently it hired 200 brokers last month.

Dat Xanh Services, one of the biggest brokerages in the north, wants to have 4,000 brokers by the end of this quarter, twice the from a year earlier.

Its survey of 760 former brokers in the first quarter found that 13% had returned to the industry and 14% expect to return later this year.

In the first quarter over 1,000 brokerages returned to the market and 900 new ones were established, it found.

Only 2.9% of brokerages shut down compared to 30% last year.

Another survey by property listing platform Batdongsan found 19% of 500 brokers saying their companies had increased the payroll.

In Hanoi, apartment prices have surged 19% year-on-year while suburban land has seen rates up by 10-20% from last year's bottom.