With Dubai’s ever-growing property market continuing to break records and remaining extremely buoyant, the real estate sector is on a massive recruitment drive to bring more agents on board.  But what does it take to make a good real estate agent, and how can companies ensure they hire the right people?  

2023 is set to be the busiest year for residential real estate in Dubai since records began. There were almost 83,000 transactions from January to September this year, according to Property Monitor. That’s an increase of 64% compared to the same period in 2022 and a whopping 125% uptick on 2021.  Of the sales so far this year, more than half (52%) are for off plan properties. 

Average monthly transactions are outstripping any previously recorded figures, too.  So far this year, the busiest month was March, with more than 11,100 sales, closely followed by August – traditionally one of the quieter months of the year – with just under 11,000.  

Year on year, figures for the first nine months show an increase of over 87% in 2021 compared to 2020, a further jump of 64% in 2022 and a 37% uptick this year. 

But it’s not only buyers who are keeping the market so alive; the rental market is booming, too. While thousands of residents have taken the plunge and purchased their own home, many more continue to lease a villa or apartment.  

Nearly 90,000 people moved to the emirate between July 2022 and July 2023, with 50,000 arriving between January and July this year, according to the Dubai Statistics Centre. Dubai’s population now stands at 3.6 million.  These people all need somewhere to live, be it in their own home or a property they choose to lease. 

We are seeing increased activity across all of our service lines, which include residential and commercial sales and leasing, building consultancy and project management; property management; short term leasing/holiday homes, consulting and research and valuation services.  

With this growth comes the need for more real estate agents. Under a recently launched recruitment campaign for real estate agents, there has been an aim to triple the number of residential and commercial agents, with 50 new people on board by the end of this year. And, through our outreach campaigns and careful selection processes, we are on track to meet our targets. 

So what goes in the recruitment process?

From our experience we believe that the below are the most important factors when driving a recruitment campaign for real estate agents:

1. Quality over quantity:  Our goal is to be known for recruiting high calibre brokers and providing an equally high-quality service, not to be the biggest real estate agency in the Emirate. Delivering that level of service does not necessarily mean we are only seeking highly experienced brokers from day one: we are seeing more and more people switching careers entirely and moving into the real estate sector with little or no prior property experience.  That’s okay because they are all given full training and mentoring when they join, with regular refreshers through our inhouse training academy throughout their time with us. 

2. Enthusiasm over experience:  We place more emphasis on enthusiasm, commitment, good communication skills and politeness than extensive real estate experience. These skills are an essential element in ensuring our clients receive service levels beyond their expectations and our business continues to expand. That said, some of our best agents are people who do have long-term experience in the real estate sector and meet our other criteria too.

3. Maturity:  One of our goals is to build a mature team of people who have real life experience and can effectively advise clients on their property needs having experienced the nuances of the local market first hand. We want our clients to think of our people as not just their real estate agent, but also a trusted partner, peer and credible advisor who speaks from personal experience. 

4. Don’t rush in: A two or even three-stage recruitment process allows us to make absolutely sure that we are hiring the right people.  As companies expand, there can sometimes be a temptation to recruit quickly and en-masse, rather than taking the time to find the best fit.

5. Multi-cultural team: With around 200 nationalities living in the UAE, it’s essential to recruit agents from all areas of the globe. This way, we can match our agents with customers so that there is a mutual connection when it comes to language, cultural norms and ways of doing businesses.  

6. Tools of the trade:  New recruits want to ensure they are joining a company that supports them in their career development and has the right systems and tools in place for effective business operations. These include training, CRM and lead generation systems and a first-class management and administration team.