How much developers pay
Dubai developers pay the agency 3 to 7 percent of the property price for a buyer brought in. The market average in 2026 is 5–6 percent. The rate depends on three things:
- The developer's tier. Big brands with a queue of buyers pay less: their demand comes on its own. Young and mid-size developers pay more, because the broker is their main sales channel.
- The project stage. At launch the rate is usually higher, and towards the end of sales, when the difficult units remain, it can rise further.
- The agency's volume. Agencies with large turnover with a specific developer get an elevated rate and bonuses unavailable to a lone broker.
At project launches developers often announce temporary bonuses: for example, plus 2 percent on the base rate for deals in the first 48 hours of sales. Hence the frenzy at launch events that looks odd from the outside.
Rates are not published openly. They are known to the agency holding an agency agreement with the developer, which is one reason a broker without an agency cannot work with off-plan at all.
Who gets paid: the agency, not the broker
The developer pays commission only to the company it has signed an agency agreement with, and only to its account, with an invoice and VAT. A developer will never pay an individual, whatever broker card they show. The agency then shares the commission with the broker under its own rules: a 50/50 or 70/30 split, or the partner model with an 85–90 percent share.
The practical consequence for the broker: your off-plan income depends not only on the developer's rate but on whether your agency has a direct agreement with it. Without one, the deal goes through an intermediary and the rate is split once more.
When the money arrives
This is what newcomers do not know and experienced brokers keep quiet about. The developer does not pay commission at the moment of the deal. Payment is tied to the buyer's instalments:
- The buyer books the unit and makes the first payment, usually 10–20 percent.
- The SPA is signed and the deal is registered in Oqood.
- The developer releases the commission for payment once the buyer has passed a certain payment threshold. With most developers half the commission after the first payment, the rest after the second or third.
- The agency issues an invoice; the developer pays it in its own payment cycle.
All told, from signing the SPA to money in the agency's account usually takes one and a half to two months, and longer if the buyer pays on a stretched plan. Then the agency pays the broker's share on its own schedule. A broker who closed a deal in March often sees the money in May or June.
When commission is not paid
Off-plan commission may not arrive at all, and the broker should know when:
- The buyer did not make the next payment. The developer does not pay for a deal on which money stops coming, and on contract cancellation may claw back the part already paid.
- The client was registered with another agency. Developers register the client to the first agency that registered them. If your client is already "in the system" with a competitor, the commission goes there.
- Advertising rule violations. An advert without a Trakheesi permit or with a price below the developer's price list can cost the agency the bonus or the whole commission.
Hence the rule: register the client with the developer through the agency before taking them to a viewing, and check that the client has not already been registered by someone else.
What a commission advance is
The one-and-a-half to two-month wait is the broker's main off-plan pain, and the market has produced a solution: commission advancing. The agency pays the broker most of their share right after the SPA is signed, from its own funds, and waits for the developer itself.
How it works at FOR YOU: the partner receives 84 percent of their commission within two or three days of the SPA being signed, and on selected projects where the developer takes part in the scheme, the full 100 percent. It is available across dozens of developers, marked in the Alnair system with a separate filter. For the broker it means the money for a March deal arrives in March, not June.
The advance is not free for the agency: it takes on the risk that the buyer will not make the next instalment, and freezes its own money for two months. That is why advancing is offered not by everyone and not on every developer. But for a broker whose expenses run every month, the difference between "in three days" and "in two months" often matters more than a couple of percentage points of share.
A worked example
An apartment for AED 2 million, the developer pays 5 percent, that is AED 100,000. A broker on the partner model with an 88 percent share should receive AED 88,000.
| Scheme | When the broker has the money | How much |
|---|---|---|
| Standard payout | 1.5–2 months after the SPA, in two parts | AED 88,000 |
| 84% advance | AED 73,920 within 2–3 days of the SPA, the rest after the developer pays | AED 88,000 |
| 100% advance on participating projects | AED 88,000 within 2–3 days of the SPA | AED 88,000 |
The amount is the same. What changes is when it is yours. For a broker closing a deal a month, it is the difference between a constant cash gap and a normal life.
What to ask the agency about off-plan before the first deal
- Which developers it holds a direct agency agreement with, and which it works with through an intermediary.
- The rate on the specific project and whether there is a bonus right now.
- How many days after the developer's money arrives the broker's share is paid.
- Whether there is advancing, on which developers and at what percentage.
- How the client is registered with the developer and who checks they are not registered with another agency.
FOR YOU's off-plan terms: partner share 88 percent up to AED 5 million and 90 above, payment within two working days of the money arriving, an advance of 84 percent after the SPA and 100 on participating projects. Details and a calculator on the page for brokers.
