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AyRojgar

Flat and land brokerage

Matching buyers and sellers for a commission. No separate government licence is needed for brokerage and the capital is a phone; Dhaka flats list from Tk 1 crore to Tk 11.5 crore.

  • Last reviewed: 19 September 2026
  • Version 1
Flat and land brokerage

Flat and land brokerage

Starting capital
৳1,000 – ৳1,00,000
Editorial estimate
Manpower
1 – 4 people
First sale
30 – 270 days
Editorial estimate
Break-even
2 – 12 months
Editorial estimate
Kind of work
Mobile service · Medium difficulty

About the business

Putting buyer and seller together - flats, land, shops or rental houses. This is not development, and confusing the two is a serious mistake. Under the Real Estate Development and Management Act 2010, a firm that builds and sells must register as a developer, and doing development work without registration is a punishable offence. But nowhere in that Act is there registration or a licence for a broker or agent. So brokerage needs no government licence - a trade licence is enough - and the capital is a phone. Development needs land, approved plans and crores in construction; brokerage needs none of it. As to deal sizes: on 16 September 2026 a major property site listed Dhaka flats for sale from Tk 1 crore in Gulshan and Banani, Tk 3.3 crore in Uttara Sector 10, Tk 5 crore in Gulshan 2 and Tk 11.5 crore in Bashundhara R/A. Even one percent of a single flat is more than a lakh. But what percentage brokers actually take is published nowhere in Bangladesh, so that number is deliberately not on this page. And the money arrives right at the end, on the day the deed is registered. Once buyer and seller have met, they can settle between themselves and leave the broker with nothing, so fixing the commission in writing before showing anything is the one real job in this business.

Unit economics

ItemRangeEvidenceSuggest a correction
Monthly working capital৳3,000 – ৳25,000Editorial estimate
Selling price৳10,000 – ৳2,00,000 / unitEditorial estimate
Variable cost৳3,000 – ৳30,000 / unitEditorial estimate
Gross margin70% – 85%Editorial estimate
Time to first revenue30 – 270 daysEditorial estimate
Break-even time2 – 12 monthsEditorial estimate
Cash cycle30 – 180 daysEditorial estimate
Waste / loss20% – 40%Editorial estimate
Daily capacity2 – 6Editorial estimate

What you need to start

  • A phone that can take photographs and video, and a way to get around. No other equipment, shop or stock is needed, and that is exactly where brokerage differs from development.Equipment
  • No property is bought. A broker only matches; no money is locked into land or a flat. The moment you start buying to hold, it is no longer brokerage and the capital moves into crores.Starting stock
  • Trade licence from the city corporation or municipality: form Tk 10, licence book Tk 50, standard tax Tk 30, non-judicial stamp Tk 150-300, licence fee Tk 100-60,000 by trade type, plus VAT and signboard fee, issued in 3-5 working days. For brokerage this is the only paper.Licence
  • There is no separate government registration for a broker or agent. The Real Estate Development and Management Act 2010 (Act 48 of 2010) registers only real estate developers (section 5) and penalises development work without registration (section 19). The moment you build and sell yourself, that registration becomes compulsory.Licence
  • Being able to read papers: the deed, the khatian and mutation, the land tax receipt and the approved plan. Understanding the difference between the mouza rate and the market price, and on which of them registration cost is calculated.Skill
  • Sources of listings: landlords, building managers and caretakers, local shopkeepers, and online listing sites. The same property sits with many brokers, so how early you hear is the whole difference.Supplier
  • No separate office is needed; a phone and getting around is enough. Many take a small office once known in the area, but it is not required.Workspace

How the work is done

  1. 1Pick one area and learn it properly: which building went up when, which street floods, where the gas line runs. A broker who does not know the area is only reading out addresses.
  2. 2Build your own list of what is for sale or rent. The information comes from landlords, caretakers, building managers and local shopkeepers, not from advertisements.
  3. 3Fix the commission rate and who pays it, in writing with the owner, before showing anything. This is the most important step in the business; start on a verbal word and you end with empty hands.
  4. 4Check the papers: the deed, the mutation (khatian), the up-to-date land tax receipt, and for a flat the RAJUK or relevant authority approved plan and building approval. Bring a buyer without checking and the blame falls on you.
  5. 5For land, look up the mouza rate. The government mouza rate and the market price are different - one Kanchpur land listing stated a government mouza rate of Tk 44,81,772 per decimal. Registration cost is calculated on that rate, so explaining the two prices separately to the buyer is your job.
  6. 6Ask the buyer first where the money is coming from - cash, a bank loan, or a relative abroad. Show ten flats without knowing that and you have wasted ten days.
  7. 7Go along at the viewing, and be clear about the agreement before handing over numbers. Once introduced, the two sides can settle between themselves and there is nothing you can do.
  8. 8Tell both sides the truth in the bargaining. Quote high to the seller and low to the buyer and it surfaces on the day of the deed and the whole deal collapses.
  9. 9Be present at the sub-registry office on the day the deed is registered and collect the commission that day. Once it is registered, the leverage to collect is much weaker.
  10. 10Once the work is regular, take a trade licence from the city corporation or municipality. Remember that brokerage needs no separate government registration - but the moment you build and sell yourself, you must register as a developer.

Seasons

  1. JanNormal
  2. FebNormal
  3. MarNormal
  4. AprNormal
  5. MayNormal
  6. JunNormal
  7. JulNormal
  8. AugNormal
  9. SepNormal
  10. OctNormal
  11. NovNormal
  12. DecNormal
HighNormalLow

Where it works well

  • Strong fitChattogram · A port economy and the largest flat market after Dhaka, with separate demand for commercial space and warehousing.
  • Strong fitDhaka · Almost the whole flat market is here. On 16-09-2026 a property site listed Dhaka asking prices from Tk 1 crore in Gulshan and Banani, Tk 3.3 crore in Uttara Sector 10, Tk 5 crore in Gulshan 2 and Tk 11.5 crore in Bashundhara R/A.
  • Strong fitGazipur · Factories and housing are spreading together; the worker rental market is large and rising Dhaka prices are pushing buyers this way.
  • Strong fitNarayanganj · An industrial area adjoining Dhaka; land and factory sheds beside the Dhaka-Chattogram highway at Kanchpur are regularly listed, and the proposed MRT line 4 is to run from Kamalapur to Madanpur.
  • Strong fitSylhet · Land and flats are bought heavily with expatriate money; because the buyer is abroad, the broker handles viewing, paper checking and the deed, so the scope of work is larger.
  • PossibleCox's Bazar · Tourism-driven land and flat dealing, but with land classification and hill and forest restrictions, checking papers is riskiest here.
  • PossibleCumilla · A major remittance district on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway, where a flat market is slowly forming in the town.
  • PossibleKhulna · A divisional city, but with far fewer transactions and lower prices than Dhaka, so the same effort earns a smaller commission.
  • PossibleMunshiganj · Land dealing has risen since the Padma bridge eased the link to Dhaka; most transactions are land, not flats.
  • PossibleRajshahi · There is a rental market around the university and government offices; more renting than selling, so the income comes in smaller pieces.

Risks and cautions

  • HighLate payment: The entire income hangs on one day - the day the deed is registered. Everything before that (showing, checking papers, bargaining) is unpaid. No deed, no money, and if the buyer's bank loan stalls or the seller changes his mind, months of work end at once, with the travel and phone money already spent.
  • HighOther: Once introduced, the two sides can settle between themselves and the broker is left with nothing. Because brokerage has no government registration or licence, there is no regulator to complain to, and without a written agreement a legal claim is hard to prove. How often this happens is not measured, but people in the trade name it as the main risk.
  • MediumCompliance: If the papers are wrong, the broker shares the blame. Forged deeds, the same land sold twice, unregistered mutation or floors built outside the approved plan - when these surface later, the buyer comes to the broker first. And building to sell yourself makes developer registration compulsory under the 2010 Act, with a penalty for unregistered development; many cross that line without realising.
  • MediumDemand: The number of transactions is not in the broker's hands. Interest rates, registration costs, an election or unrest - any one makes buyers wait, and then there are listings but no buyers. Because the same property sits with many brokers, competition sharpens exactly when work is scarce.

Sources

What changed

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