Upon closer examination, the reasons behind these practices become apparent, primarily revolving around incentives and commissions:

Firstly, off-plan sales predominantly involve brochure presentations, thus encountering fewer objections. In contrast, selling ready properties often leads to a barrage of objections and the need for detailed clarifications, compounded by the myriad of unsolicited and often irrational opinions.

Secondly, off-plan properties often do not require full payment upfront, allowing significant transactions to be secured for a fraction of their total value, thereby swiftly securing commissions.

Thirdly, commissions from off-plan sales are typically much higher—sometimes three to five times more than ready property sales—offered by developers to motivate agents to focus on these projects. More commission, fewer physical showings, no family critiques, smaller down payments, and therefore less buyer hesitation make off-plans an attractive option for agents.

Addressing the sentiment “I don’t deal with other agents,” it again boils down to commissions. Agents often prefer not to split commissions, which leads to a disconnect. Normally, one agent would represent the seller and another the buyer, each advocating for their respective client’s best interests. Nowadays, agents may prioritize their interests, which leads to the concerning practice of adding ‘top-ups.’ Not only is this illegal, but it also carries ethical concerns and can distort market values. It raises serious questions: Are properties being fairly valued, or are prices artificially inflated?

In a market where neither sellers nor buyers are adequately represented, the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA) needs to scrutinize these practices closely. While RERA has effectively adopted international best practices, recent trends have become a significant concern.

A peculiar unwritten custom in Dubai, where sellers typically do not pay commissions, is a root cause of these dubious practices. This custom fuels the creation of ‘top-ups.’ A typical sale will constitute of several agents who work in several agencies where all parties will take a cut of the commission, in a market where the buyer only pays commission, the agency and the agent will start coming up with all sorts of creative ways to increase the price to take a piece of the action, this malpractice is very destructive to most deals taking place in the market, and if you coin this issue with the non-exclusive representation habit Dubai has developed, which creates a fake buyer market, where the same buyer is represented by multiple agents, this creates a false multi buyer demand scenario, which is far from the reality, where it renders the property owned by the seller as very high in demand. It is not witch hunt against agent, so far all parties involved have developed bad habits, and all must be amended to be able to be able to reap the best benefits for the collective good of the market.
RERA should enforce compliance with international norms, where both sellers and buyers pay commissions and exclusive representation is chief principle in real estate transactions. This change would ensure that transparency and integrity are at the forefront, creating an ethical marketplace that protects the interests of all parties—sellers, buyers, and agents alike.