Dubai, UAE — Dubai added 13,083 new property brokers last year, taking the count to 32,294. A new recruitment platform now wants to decide where many of them work. BrokerageFinder, launched about four and a half months ago, is aiming for 20% of Dubai’s property recruitment market by the end of 2027.
For Indian buyers, the number to compare is Maharashtra’s. MahaRERA had about 31,980 active agents in May 2025, after it struck off 18,693 who missed renewal or training rules. Dubai real estate brokers now outnumber them, in a single city.
Glassdoor-Style Reviews For 9,785 Brokerage Offices
The platform lets Dubai real estate brokers compare firms on commission splits, portal exposure, training, culture and office location, Arabian Business reported. Brokerages get a portal to manage applications, track interviews and send offers.
It was co-founded by Matthew Whitmore, a former brokerage chief executive, and Jay Grant, who founded Property Monitor and the consultancy Cavendish Maxwell. The founders said “trust, transparency and clarity” sit at the centre of the business.
The company says it gets about 17,400 website visits a month from just over 10,000 unique users. Applications rose from three in its first 30 days to 5.8 a day in the latest 30-day period. These are the company’s own figures, and it did not say how it measures its 20% target.
An AI matching tool is due in beta in December, with a fuller version in the first quarter of 2027.
AED 13.59 Billion Split Among 32,294 Dubai Real Estate Brokers
The pool these firms are hiring from grew fast in 2025. Dubai real estate brokers handled 96,440 transactions, up 54%, and earned AED 13.59 billion in commissions, up 31%, the Dubai Land Department said in March. There were 9,785 registered brokerage offices at the end of the year.
Divided evenly, that is about AED 421,000 per broker, or roughly Rs 1.1 crore, by Invest Dubai Today’s calculation. The average hides a wide spread, and much of the money stays with the firms. About 40% of last year’s brokers were new to the trade. That churn is what a hiring platform is betting on.
Also read: Dubai Ejari Registration Moves To One App As Renewals Lead Leasing
MahaRERA Struck Off 18,693 Agents, Dubai Added 13,083
The two markets have moved in opposite directions on agent numbers. MahaRERA made training and a competency exam compulsory for agents from January 2024. In May 2025 it de-registered 18,693 agents, 3,476 of them in Pune, according to Aurum PropTech, leaving 31,980 active from more than 50,000 registered since 2017.
The comparison is rough. Maharashtra’s count covers a whole state, including Mumbai, Thane and Pune, and is older than Dubai’s. Agents in Bengaluru, Gurugram, Noida and Hyderabad register with their own state regulators.
Still, the trend is clear. Indian regulators have been cutting agent rolls, while Dubai real estate brokers have been joining in record numbers.
What A 2% Fee Costs A Buyer Paying From India
Dubai real estate brokers usually charge buyers at least 2%. On an AED 1.5 million flat, that is AED 30,000, or about Rs 7.9 lakh at 26.2 rupees to the dirham.
For a buyer living in India, the fee comes out of the same USD 250,000 annual limit per person under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme. A couple can pool two limits. Remittances above Rs 10 lakh attract 20% tax collected at source, and Indian banks cannot lend for these transfers. The dirham has also gained about 6.8% against the rupee this year, which raises the rupee cost of every dirham fee.
Before paying, buyers can check a broker’s registration number, or BRN, in the land department’s Dubai REST app. In India, MahaRERA requires agents to print their registration number on advertisements.
A Recruitment Bet Made As Sales Value Falls
The risk is timing. Cavendish Maxwell, Grant’s other company, counted third-quarter residential sales down more than 38% in number and 47% in value from a year earlier. Fewer deals mean smaller commissions. Some of the Dubai real estate brokers who joined in 2025 may leave.
That could help a hiring platform as agents switch firms. It could also shrink the number of brokerages willing to pay for recruitment.
December’s AI Beta And The Next DLD Broker Count
BrokerageFinder’s AI beta in December will show whether matching agents to firms works better than CVs. The land department’s 2026 figures, due early next year, will show whether the number of Dubai real estate brokers keeps rising as sales slow.
More Agents, Same Due Diligence For Indian Buyers
For investors, a more open hiring market may improve agent quality over time, but it does little for prices or rents. End-users gain if better-trained agents give clearer advice on handover and service charges. For Indian buyers, Dubai real estate brokers now form a larger and newer workforce than Maharashtra’s thinned-out roll. Buyers in Mumbai, Pune or Gurugram should verify the BRN and budget the 2% fee within their LRS limit. Agent advice is still a sales pitch.
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