The market is warming up, real estate brokers are excited to return to work

As a contract primary school teacher in Nam Dinh with a meager income, in 2021, Ms. Cao Thi My Hanh decided to quit her job and go to Hanoi to work as a real estate broker in Ha Dong district and Chuong My district when this market is heating up every day.

During the period of land fever and rising house prices, she also brokered and successfully traded 5-7 houses each month, earning hundreds of millions of dong. But since the end of 2022, real estate has stagnated, and for many months, Ms. Hanh has not successfully closed any plot of land.

“Because the market is so difficult with no transactions, I had to return to my hometown to sell online with my sister to earn income, even though I know the income is not worth much compared to being a real estate broker,” said Ms. Hanh.

But now Ms. Hanh has returned to Hanoi and continues to work as a real estate broker. When asked about the reason, Ms. Hanh said: “Since the beginning of November 2023, real estate transactions have begun. After listening for a while, with the analysis of experts and with my own experience and knowledge, I believe that the real estate market will have many improvements in 2024. Therefore, I continue to return to the profession to have a higher income. If I do not seize the opportunity soon, I am afraid that I will have to compete more in the future.

Also from the beginning of November 2023 until now, I have introduced several plots of land in Ha Dong and Chuong My areas, and my income has also improved significantly. Not only me but many other colleagues have also gradually returned to the brokerage profession when the real estate market is seeing rapid transactions again," Ms. Hanh shared.

Real estate brokers return to the profession when the market improves. (Illustration photo: VnEconomy)

Speaking to VTC News reporter, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Nhat, a real estate brokerage office in Thanh Xuan district (Hanoi) said that for more than 2 months now, his office is no longer in a "desolate" state with 1 owner and only 2 or 3 employees trying to stay in the profession, but has now welcomed back 6 previous employees and accepted some new applicants.

“Recently, the market has improved, more successful transactions have created confidence for many people to return to the real estate brokerage profession. Before, we had to wait all day without receiving any phone calls from customers, but now the staff have to work regularly because the number of customers asking for information is increasing. The office's transactions are now relatively good, there is no longer a situation where a month passes without a "closing" customer. Products near the center, with good locations are always easy to sell," said Mr. Nhat.

According to Ms. Pham Thi Thuy, a land broker in Phu Ly (Ha Nam), the land market in the province has not changed much compared to the end of 2023, but many brokers who quit the profession have returned to work in parallel because the market is no longer "frozen" as before.

"Transactions still mainly come from people with real needs. Professional investors are waiting for the right time to decide to spend money. Products with good locations and reasonable prices still have a good chance of selling. Currently, I am also promoting advertising to find customers. Previously, there were no transactions and low income, so I did not dare to invest much in advertising," said Ms. Thuy.

Real estate market 2024 will gradually warm up

Responding to VTC News , Dr. Nguyen Van Dinh, Chairman of the Vietnam Real Estate Brokers Association, commented that the real estate market in the last months of 2023 and early 2024 is gradually recovering, while there is differentiation by segment and region due to different absorption capacities. One of the major bottlenecks of the market is that monetary policy has been gradually removed in 2023 and will become more flexible and loose in 2024, creating conditions for businesses and people to access more easily than before.

“Real estate has been recovering, of course, compared to the golden period, it has only recovered about 20-30%. But from now on, the market will develop according to a better scenario. The big "push" will start from the beginning of the first quarter of 2024 because interest rates have decreased deeply, the penetration of policies at that time is better,” Mr. Dinh analyzed.

However, Mr. Dinh also believes that real estate will hardly have sudden growth, but will recover slowly but surely. The real estate market will not develop rapidly and "suddenly" like the previous growth period, but will develop in a healthy and sustainable direction.

The market will undergo a process of filtering out customers who make decisions based on emotions, abuse financial leverage and will only be suitable for customers with real needs or investors with sustainable finances and understanding of the market.

“The recovery of real estate will certainly create a wave of brokers returning to the profession. To anticipate this, some real estate companies have started to “recruit” soldiers to prepare for the new development phase of the market,” said Mr. Dinh.

A survey by Datxanh Services on the movements of real estate brokers who have quit their jobs shows that 11% of brokers said they would return to the profession in the third quarter of 2023; 38% will return when the market has recovered; 24% said they are undecided, waiting for the market situation in 2024 to decide later; only 27% of respondents said they had changed careers, with no intention of returning to the real estate industry.
The move by brokers who have quit their jobs and intend to return to the profession is considered a positive sign for the real estate market in the coming time.

PHAM DUY

Source