Henley Estates will keep 20 per cent of the commission charged by real estate agents on sales to citizenship scheme clients, Times of Malta has learnt.
Another 60 per cent will be passed to the source that introduced the client in the first place – Henley & Partners – despite Henley Estates’ insistence they were two separate companies.
Times of Malta yesterday reported Henley Estates managing partner, Andrew Taylor, saying that much of the estate agents’ reaction – they described the proposed charges as “outrageous” – stemmed from the fact that “it is being overlooked” that the two companies operated separately.
Henley Estates, which is independent of its sister company, Henley & Partners, wants real estate agents to sign an agreement that would entitle it to half the commission on rentals and 80 per cent of the commission on sales.
It is unlikely that any of the reputable and established agents will succumb to requests for such high commissions
The Federation of Estate Agents said Henley Estates’ intention to claim commission from real estate agents would probably be met with resistance.
“The Federation of Estate Agents understands that many of its members are refusing to agree on the terms proposed by Henley,” federation president Ian Casolani said.
“Although it will not speak on behalf of its members or influence their decisions, the federation feels it is unlikely that any of the reputable and established agents will succumb to requests for such high commission rates.”
Mr Casolani said the Maltese property market was different to most in other parts of the world and agencies invested considerable time, effort and resources to secure property listings, which was why the structure being proposed by Henley Estates was likely to be resisted.
Henley Estates told Times of Malta its commission was justified as it would promote the properties referred by real estate agencies throughout its global network and that it would be doing a substantial amount of work to secure the sales and rentals.
However, one of the leading real estate agents said the Henley Estates’ office was only manned by a handful of people.
“My employees are the ones who will be getting the listing from the vendor, promoting the property on our website, showing clients around and negotiating the deal...,” he said when contacted.
Henley Estates told real estate agents their normal business model was to work directly with developers but this would not apply in Malta since the government had not identified specific developments as part of the citizenship scheme.
Many of the large real estate agencies confirmed they would be rejecting Henley Estates’ proposal but some smaller ones seem to be contemplating accepting it.