Anyone can be a broker
According to the Vietnam Association of Realtors (VARs), 30 years ago, the 1993 Land Law was enacted, allowing easier transfer of land use rights. Thanks to that, the real estate market was officially formed.
Since then, along with the economic development process, the real estate market has increasingly demonstrated its great and important role in the economy , receiving special attention from people, investors as well as policy makers.
Anyone can be a broker. (Photo: VMS)
With the formation of the market, real estate brokers were also "born" to play the role of intermediaries connecting sellers and buyers.
In reality, the number of real estate brokers in Vietnam is still limited, most of them are still intermediaries in buying, selling and transferring real estate in the style of "land brokers".
VARs commented: Despite the penalties, real estate brokerage is still a profession with almost no barriers to entry or exit, everyone, every subject, every individual can easily participate.
Normally, when the market is hot, workers from other industries join the brokerage industry at a very fast growth rate, from motorbike taxi drivers, water sellers to civil servants,... can all participate in connecting and making transactions.
These individuals are not trained, have no professional knowledge, operate spontaneously, and are not subject to professional management by any agency.
Therefore, it is not wrong to call these subjects "brokers", because these individuals only passively receive and transmit information from the source to customers without analyzing, verifying, and evaluating issues such as legality, and even concealing information in the hope of receiving the fastest commission.
Besides, there is the practice of exaggerating information, taking advantage of the "scarcity" of goods, with the aim of "raising prices", even "skimming deposits" or selling at a higher price than customers, to take advantage and make a profit.
VARs emphasized: These behaviors invisibly cause market manipulation, creating the risk of "virtual fever" or "real estate bubbles".
Mr. Nguyen Van Dinh, Chairman of VARs, said that to escape the "land broker" problem, real estate brokers need to participate in training courses, study, accumulate experience throughout the process and especially through the broker certification exam.
In addition to basic professional ethics and the ability to present and persuade customers, brokers need to know how to do the job, have consulting skills, valuation skills, know how to read design drawings, plan cash flow, understand the law,...
"Only then can we ensure that the consulting process for customers is both effective and ensures customer safety," said Mr. Dinh.
To be able to fully understand and advise on the above content, in reality, not every successfully recorded transaction requires the broker to provide such information to the customer.
They only care about how to make the transaction successful as quickly as possible, to receive a commission fee, equal to 2-4% of the transaction value. This attitude not only poses risks to buyers but also indirectly affects the market, causing investors' confidence to decline more and more.
Equal in weight
However, in the transaction process, risks are not only on the buying and selling sides but also occur in the intermediary broker force. Especially the risk of being cut off from the demand.
Mr. Nguyen Van Dinh said that many customers want to "dodge the broker" to avoid losing brokerage fees. If the location information of the house or the house's image is revealed, customers will search for the address and then meet the homeowner to negotiate directly. Or the homeowner and customer meet, then cut the bridge to do business with each other because they do not want to lose brokerage fees.
In the real estate market, risks are not only on the buying and selling sides but also occur in the real estate brokerage intermediary force. (Photo: DM)
Mr. Dinh said that he received the deposit from the customer but did not sell the house, nor did he return the deposit to the customer. Even many capable brokers, through the learning process, "spent a lot of time and effort" to learn and advise customers, but after listening to the advice, the customers signed a contract with the "broker" who was ready to "cut blood", steal the customer, regardless of the situation to complete the transaction.
Meanwhile, in some countries with developed real estate markets such as the US, Australia, etc., there is only one broker selling a house, but in Vietnam, there are countless brokers selling a house.
These countries also have clear regulations on the roles and responsibilities of Real Estate Brokers.
In Vietnam, with current legal regulations, transactions can be completed without a broker. The seller and buyer can negotiate, sign and complete the transaction themselves.
Need to improve brokerage responsibility
Mr. Dinh said that in the process of amending the Law on Real Estate Business, many recommendations have been made in the direction of binding the role and responsibility of real estate brokers to protect the rights of investors or home buyers when participating in transactions. Enhancing responsibility at the same time needs to enhance the role and legal status of this team.
“So, is it necessary to regulate mechanisms to encourage and facilitate brokers to participate more deeply in real estate transactions? Even force real estate transactions to have the participation of real estate brokers. This must be done to encourage brokers to study, improve their skills, and contribute to the development of a healthy and sustainable market,” said Mr. Dinh.
Besides, Vietnam needs to address the root cause, which is the lack of transparent and official information and data in the market.
In fact, not only in the real estate sector, "brokers" are also a phenomenon in many other fields. However, as the most prominent field with the phenomenon of spreading "smokescreen" information, vagueness, causing confusion for easy manipulation, in order for the real estate market to develop truly healthy and sustainable, the Government needs to have a tighter management mechanism, research, and build information channels, and official market data.
“In the context of multi-dimensional information, including false information, causing market disruption, it is necessary to strongly promote the digital transformation process, towards services providing transparent market information, socializing management work, and having close links between state management agencies, industry associations and businesses,” said Mr. Dinh.
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