While many developers are celebrating record sales on social media, many real estate companies are quietly going under. It's time someone told the whole truth: And it's not drama, it's simple math: no commissions, no payroll. No payroll, no teams. No teams, no sales.
When both sectors acknowledge the crisis
Last week, Annerys Meléndez, president of ACOPROVI, publicly stated that "virtually all factors affecting construction are in a critical state." As I read her interview, I thought: finally someone dares to speak an uncomfortable truth.
But there's another truth no one wants to admit: the real estate sector is also in crisis. And this silent crisis is destroying the ecosystem we all thought was sustainable.
The difference is that while ACOPROVI talks about interest rates and material costs, we live a harsher reality: we work, we sell, we deliver… but we don't get paid.
The problem isn't just the lack of commission payments. This practice is creating a domino effect that threatens to collapse the entire real estate sector.
The cruel mathematics of the sector
Let me explain the reality that many developers ignore:
An average real estate agency handles:
- 5 to 10 employees on payroll
- Monthly operating expenses: RD$300,000 – RD$1,200,000
- 100% dependence on commission income
When they don't pay commissions:
- Month 1: Financed with reserves
- Month 2: Non-essential expenses are reduced
- Month 3: Layoffs begin
- Month 4: Total Liquidity Crisis
- Month 6: Closure or bankruptcy
This is not a projection. It is a pattern I have documented in dozens of cases as a legal advisor and real estate entrepreneur.
The domino effect explained: When one domino falls, they all fall
Fact Sheet 1: The real estate agency, having not charged commissions for 3-6 months, enters a liquidity crisis. Result: mass layoffs, office closures, and project abandonment.
2: Agents and employees: Without commissions, employment, or income, they migrate to other sectors or emigrate from the country. Result: loss of specialized talent, experience that takes years to develop.
3: Related services: Real estate lawyers, notaries, appraisers, and inspectors are losing clients. Result: contraction of specialized services.
4: Real estate marketing: Advertising agencies, photographers, and content creators are losing contracts. Result: less professional promotion of projects.
5:Financing : Banks and financial institutions are seeing a reduction in loan applications. Result: less liquidity for the sector.
6: The developer: Without specialized sales teams, sales slow down or stagnate. Result: projects that don't close, accumulated inventory.
Do you see the pattern? When a real estate company goes bankrupt, it's not just the owner who loses. The entire ecosystem loses.
The legal consequences that no one mentions
As a specialized lawyer, I am seeing an alarming increase in the legal cascade generated by the non-payment of commissions.
The destructive chain
- They don't charge commissions → They can't pay salaries
- They're not paying salaries → Employees sue for justified resignation
- They are ordered to pay benefits → They don't have the liquidity to pay
- They don't pay benefits → Corporate garnishments
- Seizures → Forced closure of the company
It's time people understood that real estate agencies are businesses. There are no informal businesses selling to construction companies because the system requires formal business registration. We have payroll, benefits, taxes, insurance, and all the obligations of any formal business.
When a construction company fails to pay commissions, it doesn't just affect the property owner. It sets off a legal time bomb that destroys formal jobs, generates labor lawsuits, and creates a domino effect of foreclosures.
Real cases I handle:
- Labor lawsuits filed by employees dismissed without benefits
- Corporate embargoes by suppliers and employees
- Forced liquidations of companies with years in the market
- Contractual disputes that end up in court
The crisis isn't just economic, it's legal. And the consequences are reaching even the developers who created the initial problem.
The human cost: The families behind the statistics
Behind every closed real estate transaction are real stories:
- Maria, a single mother and agent for 8 years, had to emigrate to the United States and clean houses because she couldn't collect 6 months of outstanding commissions here.
- Roberto, a real estate owner with 10 employees, sold his house to pay severance because three developers owed him commissions for more than a year.
- Carmen, an administrative assistant, lost her apartment because the real estate agency where she worked did not pay on time.
These are not anecdotes. They are direct consequences of a broken system where the most vulnerable link always pays the highest price.
The numbers no one wants to see
The data is devastating. In my company, I have documented cases that reveal the pattern:
2017 Project: 8 years without paying commissions. Reason: "Instructions from the trustee." The project was delayed, clients declined, and the construction company never paid.
2019: 6 years with outstanding commissions.
2020: 5 years without paying full commissions.
This is not a temporary problem. It is a systematic pattern where we assume the financial risk for the entire chain.
As my dear colleague and friend Darnetty Lugo says: "It's not how much you sell, it's how much you get paid. If you sell $3 million and don't collect commissions on those sales, you're not doing anything."
Real estate agencies that survive do so by "plugging one hole to open another," financing with their own resources the commissions they should have charged years ago, while maintaining the same operating expenses and business commitments.
The call for a multi-sectoral roundtable
As someone who cares about the sector, a real estate entrepreneur, and Secretary of the Board of Directors of AEI (Association of Real Estate Agents and Companies) 2024-2026, I formally call for the establishment of a multi-sectoral roundtable for the sector:
I call upon:
- ACOPROVI (Dominican Association of Housing Builders and Developers)
- ACOSDE (Association of Builders of Santo Domingo East)
- ASOFIDOM (Association of Dominican Trust Companies)
- AEI (Association of Real Estate Agents and Companies)
Proposed agenda:
- Payment protocols, with maximum terms established between all parties
- Clear responsibilitiesof fiduciaries in the flow of payments
- Conflict resolution mechanisms before going to court
- Guarantee funds for cases of sectoral liquidity crisis
- Financial transparency in the status of projects and release of resources
This multi-sectoral forum is not a declaration of war. It is an invitation to collective survival.
The reality that some prefer to deny
I know some agencies will read this and say, "That doesn't happen to me; I'm getting paid." And I sincerely congratulate them. I applaud those who have managed to maintain healthy business relationships and stable payment flows.
But the stark reality is that most are going bankrupt. That others don't want to admit it is a completely different matter.
It deeply pains me to see people emigrating to other places and markets because the real estate sector has bankrupted them. It pains me immensely to see talented individuals, trained for years, abandoning an industry they love because they can no longer support their families.
Denial doesn't change the facts. Complicit silence doesn't save jobs. And pretending everything is fine while colleagues lose their homes, their vehicles, and their emotional stability is not union solidarity.
If you're doing well, use it as a platform to help those who are struggling. If your business is stable, become a voice for those who no longer have one.
Because at the end of the day, when the business fabric of the sector breaks down, we all lose. The sector's reputation is damaged, customer trust erodes, and the market shrinks for everyone.
The specific proposal
Agenda for the multi-sectoral roundtable:
1: Joint diagnosis – Each association presents its reality without filters
2: Identifying friction points in the financial flow
3: Development of payment and guarantee protocols
4: Legal framework for the protection of all parties
5: Pilot implementation and monitoring
Expected outcome: A sectoral agreement that protects the sustainability of the entire real estate chain.
The moment of truth
The president of ACOPROVI had the courage to admit her crisis. I have the courage to admit ours. Will we all have the courage to solve it together?
This is not the time for collective egos or individual grandstanding. It is a time to recognize that when one part of the ecosystem collapses, all the others weaken.
Trust companies that give instructions not to pay are destroying business relationships.
Builders who postpone payments indefinitely are bankrupting their sales partners.
Real estate companies that accept unsustainable conditions are validating a toxic system.
And we are all missing the opportunity to build the most prosperous real estate sector in the region.
The final call
As a sector leader, businesswoman, and specialized lawyer, my commitment is to the prosperity of all actors in the Dominican real estate ecosystem.
To ACOPROVI: Your crisis is real, but our alliance can multiply your sales.
To ACOSDE: Your business owners need a thriving real estate sector for their investments.
To ASOFIDOM: Your decisions impact the entire chain of payments and commercial relationships.
AEI: It's time to lead with proposals.
The multi-sectoral roundtable can be the start of a new era of collaboration, or we can continue each justifying why the other is wrong while the sector collapses.
The domino effect can destroy or it can build. The choice is ours.
Who is joining this historic call?
Want to be part of the solution? Share this article and tag the mentioned organizations. It's time the entire industry understands that together we grow, or together we fall.
