The rising appeal of real estate agencies for commercial brokers

Glance down the main street of most Australian towns, cities and suburbs, and you’ll find one or more real estate agencies. Together, more than 45,000 real estate businesses nation-wide generated a hefty $30.9 billion in revenue in the 2025 financial year, with this expected to grow to $33 billion by 2030.[1]

“It's the great Australian dream to own your own home”, explains Fran Babic, Head of Professional Services at ANZ.

“And so, there's always going to be a place for real estate agents to help people buy and sell properties. Activity in the real estate space is expected to continue to grow,” she adds.

It’s this out-sized role real estate agents play in the national economy, combined with their strong appetite for growth, that is providing compelling and sustained opportunities for commercial brokers.

Why real estate agents make great commercial clients

1. Repeat and compounding borrowers

Real estate agents are typically growth-focused, commercially minded business owners who understand how leverage fuels growth.

It’s a market commercial broker Steven Marinucci (pictured, right), principal of Marra Finance, knows well. For 17 years he’s specialised in understanding and meeting the needs of real estate agents. In his experience, if you have a good relationship with a real estate agency and they have confidence in your ability to deliver, they’ll bring a lot of repeat business.

“Clients typically start with borrowing for a small rent roll acquisition. They’ll grow the value of the asset and they’ll borrow to acquire again,” Marinucci says.    

2. Strong recurring income

Real estate agencies earn high levels of income in three ways. Firstly, from sales commissions, secondly, from property management and thirdly, from adjacent revenue streams, such as mortgage and insurance referrals.

“Rent rolls, the rental property portfolios an agency manages on behalf of landlords, contribute significant recurring cashflow to real estate businesses,” Marinucci explains. “In addition to recurring cashflow, if an agency buys a rent roll, typically 10% of those properties turn over every year. If the agent is doing a good job of managing the rental property on behalf of the landlord, the owner will come to them when it’s time to sell. This boosts the sales commission the office generates as well."

3. Resilient risk profile

Clarissa Pietrobon (pictured, left), Queensland-based Relationship Manager at ANZ, says the resilience of real estate agencies through economic cycles typically enables them to keep servicing their loans, making them attractive prospects.

“Multiple income streams, which real estate agencies usually have, mean that when property markets are softer, property management income remains strong as investors hold onto their assets. Alternatively, when the property market is doing well and owners are considering selling, the rent roll business provides valuable sales leads,” she says.

Demand for acquisition, partner buy-in and working capital finance

Real estate agencies typically seek funding in three key areas to support their growth ambitions and smooth their cashflow.

1. Buying a competitor’s business

Pietrobon has observed an increase in consolidation and expansion activity.

“Strong operators are acquiring competitor agencies to expand their local market share or are acquiring in other areas where they want to grow,” she says.

In a recent transaction Pietrobon helped a broker’s rural Queensland client acquire one of their largest competitors – both the rent roll asset and the sales business.

“The client was thrilled because the transaction gave them dominant market share in property management and a great future pipeline of sales opportunities,” Pietrobon explains.

The way the lending was structured made all the difference.

“We secured the lending against their existing rent roll and the rent roll they were looking to purchase. We provided an initial interest-only period so the business could focus on integration and building relationships with the new book. The client liked that we understood their strategy and our focus on setting them up for long-term success,” Pietrobon adds.

2. Succession to the next generation

The succession wave is a major reason agencies seek lending, according to Marinucci, who has facilitated scores of transitions from retiring owners.

“Two young aspiring owners were looking to buy into an agency. Their existing bank told them they’d need a large deposit, which put business ownership at least two to three years away.”

Yet when Marinucci looked at the business, he saw a strong lending case.

“The sales performance was incredible, mainly driven by the two people buying into the business. In structuring the deal, we leveraged the value of the rent roll which meant we were able to go well and truly above the normal LVR other banks would typically offer.”

Marinucci adds, “for those clients, it's been completely life changing to be able to bring that purchase forward.”

Pietrobon is also structuring deals in response to increasing demand for succession-driven funding.

“Partner buy-ins and ownership restructure opportunities have come up quite a bit. We often see owners seeking equity buy-in from high performers within their team as a potential retention strategy”.

Equity buy-in can be a helpful strategy when a business experiences a change in ownership.

“If you’re selling your business, you wouldn’t want your agents to leave the next day – as that's a loss of your business’s goodwill and IP. Equity buy-in can prevent key team members from moving and support longer-term succession planning.”

3. Working capital facilities

Real estate agencies also need liquidity support through the sales cycle, explains Pietrobon.

“The time between signing a listing, closing a sale and being paid a sales commission can be quite long. And when you add to that, the seasonal nature of the property sales cycle, a real estate business can experience gaps in their cash flows.”

“Real estate agencies have a need for working capital facilities and overdrafts so that they have the liquidity to meet their operational expenses,” she adds.

Deep real estate specialisation gives brokers the edge

For Marinucci, partnering with experts in the real estate sector is enabling him to deliver better outcomes for his clients.

“ANZ is refreshingly different because they've got a unique approach in the market. They value real estate businesses on a multiple of profitability,” he says, explaining that ANZ consider sales, ancillary and rent roll income when assessing serviceability for lending.

“As a result, the borrower gets a much higher LVR than what they’d get at another bank. This means that the person who doesn't have a big deposit is able to buy into their business a lot sooner.

“Their bankers and credit teams really understand how real estate businesses work and their cash flows. ANZ’s credit appetite has evolved along with the changing nature of real estate businesses.

“ANZ is also very responsive, delivers consistently, answers questions and is great to deal with,” Marinucci adds.

Babic also places a high value on deep specialisation.

“I think the most important thing ANZ offers brokers and their clients is we’re a trusted adviser. Relationships are so important. Our size means we have a lot of resources which we share as a thought leader and as a real true partner,” she says.

Working with brokers and their real estate clients, Pietrobon has seen ANZ’s focus on real estate industries deliver material benefits to individual businesses.

“Because we know how agencies work, our lending policies align with their needs. We assign tangible value to rent roll assets which supports pricing, structure and capacity. ANZ has also developed strategic partnerships with franchisors to make sure we're providing agencies the best structures we can,” she explains.

Broader financial needs met in one place

Having banking products integrated under one provider makes financial management easier for real estate agencies.

According to Marinucci, a proactive broker will think beyond the initial transaction.

“We recently helped a client with ANZ’s credit card payment facilities, plus a business credit card. They used ANZ’s equipment finance to buy new cars so that property managers can go and see properties. None of these services were available from their previous lender,” he says.

In Pietrobon’s experience, a whole-of-customer focus strengthens the client relationship.

“Lending is a great initial opportunity. From there transactional banking is an important consideration as real estate agents operate regulated statutory trust accounts. Having that holistic conversation is key for brokers as it means lending, operational and transaction banking needs are considered and met,” she says.

ANZ's banking solutions are designed to be adapted to the needs of each real estate agency – which vary from sole operators through to large, sophisticated corporations.

“We’re meeting basic needs right through to complex transactions, trust accounts and reconciliation with various third-party platforms,” Babic explains.

As agencies increasingly navigate regulatory changes and financial crime risks, working with a bank that offers comprehensive support means agencies are better prepared for what’s ahead.

Key takeaway

Real estate agencies are increasingly attractive clients for commercial brokers. And by partnering with experts in the industry, brokers can drive even greater success – both for their clients and their broking business.

For Marinucci, working with ANZ has given him a distinct advantage.

“Through ANZ I’ve been able to do transactions that I would not have been able to do with other banks. I have some great options for my real estate clients now,” he says.

Learn more 

ANZ has the expertise, resources and appetite to help brokers succeed with real estate businesses. Contact your ANZ Broker Manager or contact us here.

(Disclaimer)

This is general information. ANZ is not giving advice or recommendations, and we haven’t taken into account your clients’ needs, financial circumstances or objectives. You and your clients should carefully consider which ANZ products are appropriate for them and should seek appropriate independent advice (which may include property, legal, financial, taxation and accounting advice) before making any decisions, investing, or acting on it. Terms and conditions, fees and charges, and credit approval and eligibility criteria apply to ANZ products.