A bonus is a must, says the real estate crowd

Luxury home estate agents do not like the aftermath of the December 17 Macquarie Bank shareholders meeting on remuneration arrangements.

The Macquarie meeting decided that henceforth its staff bonuses will be typically split equally between cash and shares, a decision prompted to head off any crackdown on bankers' pay by government regulators in the wake of the global financial crisis and government bailouts.

Estate agents fear the home-buying spree in Sydney's merchant banker belts that followed, like clockwork, past cash-dominated bonuses might not happen for a second consecutive year.

But a subsequent $6 million-plus purchase of a Mosman residence by a long-time director of Macquarie Europe, Darren Keogh, may assuage some agents' concerns.