Less than six months after changing brands, agents at The Agency One Rock claim they are still not getting paid on time.
Agents at The Agency One Rock first sounded the alarm about late commission payments this summer, when Christie’s International Real Estate abruptly ended its nearly decade-long franchise relationship with the brokerage. Chief executive officer Ilija Pavlovic had operated the Christie’s affiliate since 2017.
Christie’s has not commented on its decision to terminate the franchise agreement, beyond noting that it did so to “protect the integrity of the Christie’s International Real Estate brand.”
Pavlovic’s company signed on with The Agency a week after Christie’s ended its agreement, bringing over 1,200 agents across 20 offices spread around the tri-state area.
The brokerage’s website now shows roughly 700 agents after a number of high-profile defections following its move to The Agency.
The Daniel Kramp Team and Morrel Hirsch & Advisors Team both brought a combined 18 people to Christie’s Real Estate, which relaunched in New York City in September. Kramp has done nearly $1 billion in career sales and Howard Morrel and Leslie Hirsch, who lead their group, have collectively done over $3.5 billion in transactions.
Agents at the brokerage had hoped the transition would restore their payment schedules, but three agents at the firm said the firm has continued to pay out commissions late.
A spokesperson for The Agency said they are aware of the “challenges” at Pavlovic’s brokerage and are “actively working to address them.”
“Agents deserve to be paid on time, every time,” the spokesperson said. “Our operations and leadership teams are working directly with ownership to give them the support and structure they need to get their business back on track.”
James Corcoran, The Agency One Rock’s chief financial officer, said the firm has a plan to “resolve all outstanding matters as quickly as possible.”
“We are working very closely with The Agency to restructure our business and strengthen our operations,” he said.
But agents said the issues have only worsened since the affiliation switch. The brokerage missed payroll for its salaried employees on Oct. 30, according to two agents and a sales manager. Employees were paid the following week, they said.
“This has been going on for so long and now it’s getting so much worse,” one agent said of payment issues. Agents were granted anonymity to discuss payment issues without fear of retaliation.
“This entire calendar year I have not had one single transaction paid within the 10-day period that they were supposed to be paid,” said another agent, who estimated he’s currently owed $70,000 in commissions.
Regulations set by New Jersey’s Department of Banking and Insurance generally require brokers to pay agents within 10 business days of receiving commissions.
Agents have expressed frustration with regulators’ lack of response to their complaints.
“It’s difficult, cumbersome, and time-consuming,” said one agent who filed a complaint earlier this year, according to an email exchange shared with TRD. “You submit a little online form and somebody is supposed to reach out to you — and nobody ever reached out.” The agent said they have followed up the department over the phone and not received any guidance about next steps.
A representative for NJDOBI did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for the agency in June told TRD that no formal disciplinary action has been taken against the brokerage. The spokesperson would neither confirm nor deny if the department had opened any investigation.
