The minnows of the real estate industry are feeling the most pain in a tightened property market with closures or ”rationalisations” of small agencies evident nationwide.
Statistics New Zealand data reveals the industry has had to shed jobs and close agency doors because of slothful sales numbers and lower house prices.
Real estate licence numbers are down by thousands to just over 17,000 active licences in September while in the past two years 2071 enterprises operating in the sector have ceased to exist.
To rate a mention as an enterprise in the official stats, these businesses need to have sales subject to GST or expenses of more than $30,000 annually, employ at least three people, and earn over $40,000 of income. More.
