Real estate firms scour for capable brokers

Pham Thi Phuong Thao, general director of Sao Viet Real Estate Company, said this year her company needs to hire 50 brokers, and their salary and commissions would both be higher than before.

Nguyen Hoai Danh, marketing director at Cat Tuong Land Company, said from now through next year around 150 sales staff would be recruited with a monthly salary of VND8 million (US$333) and commissions of 5-7%.

Nguyen Hau, general director of Asian Holding Real Estate Company, said since the last quarter the company has been trying to fill nearly 200 vacancies and offering a monthly salary of VND10 million, but has managed to get only half the number so far.

Many other brokerages such as Dat Xanh Group, Thang Loi Group, Van Xuan, Nam Group, Dai Phuc Group, IMG, and Gamuda Land are also actively recruiting for many positions and not just salespeople.

Dat Xanh Real Estate Services Company said the monthly salary of brokers has now jumped to VND6-20 million from VND4-10 million in the past, and commissions have increased by 5-40%.

All these are seen as efforts by real estate companies to get hold of skilled salespeople to navigate the market slump.

Nguyen Hau, general director of Asian Holding Real Estate Company, said the most important factor now is providing professional training for brokers rather than merely having a large number of amateurs as used to be the case.

The president of the Vietnam Association of Realtors, Nguyen Van Dinh, said the recent layoffs of brokers were meant to cull new hires with poor skills, and claimed brokers with good professional skills are still sought after.

The proposed law on real estate trading would increase scrutiny of real estate brokerages by authorities, and so brokers need to constantly improve their skills and maintain professional ethics, he said.

Vo Hong Thang, director of consulting services and project development at real estate consultancy DKRA Vietnam, said the market is entering a new phase when recruiting, brokerages will invest more in staff training.

Brokers would have to adapt quickly if they do not want to be left behind, he added.

Recruitment is expected to further increase in 2024, when the market is expected to recover.