Ann: Trading update and FY18 guidance, page-13

I’m by no stretch of the imagination an expert. Just observing.
I see online selling as a competitor that does have potential to cause problems. McGrath need agents who can persuade sellers their higher fees are worth it. At the moment, I think people generally believe agents get them higher prices than online, but whether it will stay like that, who knows? JM seems to me like a persuasive salesman who has in the past been able to build an agency with persuasive people in it.
I was just noticing that sales commissions seem to vary from approx. 1-2.5%. So my gut tells me it’s easier to command an increase in commission of 0.25% than to find 20% more sales in real estate. So I thought that should be added to the discussion. I imagine that the skills required to persuade a seller to accept that higher commission are the sort of skills JM has.