The Triple Distrust Trap: How the Property Industry Locked Itself Into a Low-Trust Equilibrium
The Malaysian property industry is not broken because of bad people. It is broken because of mutual distrust — in all directions.
What we have today is a closed loop of suspicion that reinforces itself, year after year.
1. The Public Distrusts Agents
This part is well known.
Buyers and sellers associate agents with:
- Fake listings
- Misrepresentation
- Vanishing accountability
- "Anything to close" behaviour
From the public's point of view, this distrust is rational. They cannot distinguish good agents from bad ones, because the system provides no visible proof of professionalism.
So the public assumes the worst — and protects itself accordingly.
2. Agents Distrust Agencies
This part is discussed far less openly.
Many agents do not trust their agencies because:
- Their contacts are confiscated
- Their listing history is not portable
- Their transaction records disappear when they leave
- Years of work can be erased overnight
The implicit message agents receive is clear:
"You may generate value here — but you will never own it."
In such an environment, long-term thinking becomes irrational. Agents optimise for survival, not professionalism.
They keep shadow databases.
They withhold information.
They protect themselves first.
This is not rebellion. It is defensive behaviour in a hostile architecture.
3. Agencies Distrust Agents
Agencies, in turn, distrust agents.
They fear:
- Agents leaving with clients
- Teams collapsing overnight
- Value walking out the door
So agencies respond by tightening control:
- Centralising data
- Locking down systems
- Restricting portability
What feels like "risk management" to agencies feels like asset seizure to agents. And the distrust deepens.
4. The Result: A Low-Trust Equilibrium Where Everyone Cheats to Survive
When all three sides distrust each other, the system settles into a low-trust equilibrium.
In this equilibrium:
- The public assumes agents will mislead
- Agents assume agencies will confiscate
- Agencies assume agents will run
So everyone adapts by gaming the system:
- The public withholds information
- Agents cut corners and hide data
- Agencies impose controls instead of building trust
No one behaves ideally — not because they are unethical, but because the system punishes trust.
This is why:
- Training fails
- Ethics seminars fail
- Branding campaigns fail
You cannot moralise your way out of a structural trap.
Why This Equilibrium Cannot Be Fixed With "Better Behaviour"
A low-trust equilibrium is stable — and dangerous.
Anyone who tries to "play fair" alone gets punished:
- The honest agent loses leads
- The transparent agency loses talent
- The trusting buyer gets burned
So rational actors stop trying.
This is why the industry feels stuck. Everyone knows something is wrong — yet nothing changes.
The Only Way Out: Change the Architecture
The way out is not persuasion. It is infrastructure. Trust only re-emerges when:
- Agents own their private data
- Agencies govern shared data
- Rules replace fear
- Portability replaces confiscation
When agents no longer fear erasure, they invest long-term.
When agencies no longer rely on hostage tactics, they compete on value.
When professionalism becomes visible and persistent, the public recalibrates trust.
Final Truth
The property industry is not suffering from a trust deficit. It is trapped in a trust deadlock.
As long as:
- The public distrusts agents
- Agents distrust agencies
- Agencies distrust agents
Everyone will continue to "cheat" — not out of greed, but out of self-preservation.
Break the deadlock — and professionalism finally has room to breathe.
Trust does not begin with people. It begins with systems that make trust rational again.
