90% of an Agent’s Time Is Wasted Every Year
Every year, thousands of property agents across Malaysia work tirelessly — but only a small fraction of that time turns into commission.
The harsh truth?
Nearly 90% of an agent’s time is wasted every year.
Not because agents are unproductive — but because most of their time is spent chasing deals that never close.
1. The Myth of “Busy Means Productive”
Ask any agent how their week looks, and you’ll hear the same:
- Endless WhatsApp chats.
- Countless viewings.
- Coordinating appointments, key collections, loan documents.
- Hours spent helping buyers who eventually disappear.
It looks like hard work — but busyness isn’t productivity.
In real terms, most agents close maybe 5–10% of the deals they pursue. The rest collapse silently — sometimes after months of effort.
2. The Final Blow: Deals That Die at the Finish Line
Even when an agent successfully finds a buyer, matches the price, and gets both parties to sign, the deal can still die at the final stage.
Common reasons include:
- Loan rejection — the buyer’s bank financing fails despite pre-approval.
- Change of mind — buyer backs out or seller withdraws the property.
- Bank valuation issues — the property doesn’t meet the loan value.
- Delays — one side drags until the agreement lapses.
The agent ends up investing weeks or even months on coordination, only to walk away empty-handed.
This is the unseen 90%: the energy lost in deals that almost close but never convert.
3. The Fragmented Workday
The daily grind makes it worse. Agents juggle dozens of unrelated micro-tasks:
- Shooting photos and videos.
- Editing listings.
- Following up on “just checking” leads.
- Driving across town for one viewing that gets cancelled mid-route.
- Typing tenancy agreements manually every time.
It’s constant motion without meaningful momentum — and it’s why the average agent’s time-to-income ratio is one of the worst in any industry.
4. The Hidden Causes Behind the Waste
a) Disorganized Systems
Most agents don’t have a structured database or workflow. Leads are scattered across WhatsApp, Facebook, and handwritten notes. Follow-ups fall through the cracks.
b) Duplicate Work
Multiple agents from the same team chase the same listing or buyer, unaware of each other — wasting time, ads, and effort.
c) Endless Chasing, No Qualification
Agents spend hours dealing with window shoppers, timewasters, or clients who aren’t financially ready.
d) Broken Deals
Even when everything looks promising, loan rejection or seller hesitation wipes the deal clean. The agent’s reward? Zero.
e) No Process Automation
Agents manually handle tasks that could be automated — from lead sorting to paperwork tracking.
5. The 10% That Actually Produces Income
If you dissect a top performer’s year, only about 10% of their time creates revenue:
- Meeting serious buyers.
- Handling real negotiations.
- Closing transactions.
- Maintaining trusted clients for repeat business.
Everything else — chasing, coordinating, or redoing — supports the business but doesn’t directly make money.
That’s why the key to scaling isn’t working longer — it’s protecting the 10% and eliminating the 90%.
6. The System Problem — and the Fix
The real estate industry still runs on manual effort and emotional labour. Agents handle marketing, leads, coordination, and compliance — all at once.
Platforms like ListingMine ERP and Agent OS exist to flip that equation:
- Centralize leads, listings, and follow-ups.
- Automate redundant admin.
- Track co-broking and commission transparently.
- Reduce dead deals with better data and verified financing.
The goal isn’t to remove agents — it’s to remove the waste that kills their time.
7. The Bottom Line
Property agents don’t lose to competitors — they lose to inefficiency.
Every deal that dies from a loan rejection or a change of mind is a painful reminder that time, not effort, is the real currency of the industry.
Agents who learn to guard their time — by filtering buyers early, automating admin, and systemising every step — will double their income without doubling their hours.
Because in real estate, the hardest work doesn’t always pay — the smartest system does.
