Property slump cuts Centaline commission income back 44pc

Centaline Property Agency, one of the biggest estate agents, said total commission income dropped 44 per cent to $1.1 billion last year, from $1.98 billion in 1997. The sharp fall reflected the difficulty facing the agency industry amid a property downturn which saw transaction volumes drop about 46 per cent last year. Centaline said it brokered 35,067 property transactions last year, compared with 35,811 in 1997.