Fewer property agents will be plying the trade from next year, but they will - hopefully - be better informed.
The property industry is bracing itself for a mass cull of estate agents as the industry's first ever regulator, the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA), begins operations tomorrow.
Agency bosses estimate that the current national 30,000-strong pool of agents will shrink by a third to about 20,000 overnight because of stricter standards laid down by the new council.
The new regulations mainly involve the strict enforcement of industry exams, and are aimed at ridding the industry of errant, sub-standard agents who have tarred its reputation.
Industry watchers expect the rising number of complaints in recent years to decline as the quality of agents rises. Agencies are expected to submit a final list of names of agents who make the cut to the CEA by midnight tomorrow.
Registration with the council, which comes under the Ministry of National Development (MND), will become mandatory from Jan 1. The big property agencies – PropNex, HSR, Dennis Wee Group, Orange Tee - will lost anywhere from a third to over a half of their agents.
The CEA was set up after legislation to regulate property agents for the first time was passed in Parliament last month. For many years, consumers had lobbied for greater regulation of an industry dogged by a rising number of complaints against agents who were attracted by Singapore's periodic property booms.
Complaints against real estate firms and agents shot up almost 60 per cent in recent years: from 670 in 2005 to 1,070 last year, according to the Consumers Association of Singapore.
To make the cut, agents must have passed existing industry examinations. Those who have not must have brokered at least three deals in the past two years. The latter group are given more time to pass the exams.
Agents who fail to meet these criteria will be treated like new applicants who must take new courses and a stricter exam set by the CEA. Further industry consolidation is also expected. Already, C&H Realty has merged with its sister company C&H Properties to reduce overhead costs.
'There will be less competition in the industry now, which will be a good thing as service standards should go up,' said C&H Realty managing director Albert Lu.
Property agents interviewed welcomed the regulation of the industry, saying that for too long, inexperienced agents or part-timers made promises they could not deliver, and tarnished the profession.
Who Will Make the Cut
PropNex 4,000 of its 6,000 agents
HSR: 3,500 of its 7,000 agents
Dennis Wee: 3,000 of its 5,000 agents
ERA Asia Pacific: 4,200 of its 8,000 agents
OrangeTee: 2,500 of its 3,600 agents
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Comments:
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anonymous said...
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March 12, 2012 1:22:00 AM
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anonymous said...
I've personally some across and heard of, owner or tenant that
agreed and signed to pay commission letter.
But after deals completed, refuse and denied to pay even though black and white letters was signed. Is there ways to claim or complaint?
December 02, 2010 10:59:00 PM
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anonymous said...
I've personally some across and heard of, owner or tenant that
agreed and signed to pay commission letter.
But after deals completed, refuse and denied to pay even though black and white letters was signed. Is there ways to claim or complaint?
December 02, 2010 10:57:00 PM
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anonymous said...
Unless CEA can come up with a better solution, there will still be unscrupulous/unethical agents who will disregard the best price for owners and landlords by not informing them of the co-broking agent client's offers. Thus keeping the commission wholly to themselves.
Perhaps more can be done by co-brokers providing their business cards to the owner/landlord after they have given the agent the exclusive rights. They can then check (if they bother)if the co-broker's client has genuine interest.
December 01, 2010 1:18:00 AM
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anonymous said...
With a cut and all the rules like that, it is not going to help buyer at all, instead, buyer might not be able to get the flat that they want due to the commission that the agent who serve them who might not be able to get from the buyer..
November 30, 2010 8:28:00 PM
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