There’s something quietly tragic about watching an idea of value being chipped away, bit by bit, until it’s all but gone. In Jamaica’s property market, the modern battleground isn’t bricks, mortar, or the race to design the next architectural icon — it’s the humble commission. Once a proud 5 percent, the going rate for developer sales has, over time, been chipped down to three, to two, and in some particularly desperate cases, even to one.
At first glance, these lower commissions are presented as a gesture of goodwill — a competitive edge, perhaps, or an act of cooperation with the developer. But beneath that veneer of progress lies something rather more concerning: a slow, quiet dismantling of professional worth.
And it all begins with a smile, a handshake, and a deal that looks too good to refuse.
