ST : Surprise as 32,800 estate agents make cut

Oct 30, 2010

Surprise as 32,800 estate agents make cut

By Cheryl Ong

MORE than 32,000 property agents have met the minimum requirements for accreditation, despite the criteria being raised this year.

Enforcement by the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA), a new regulatory body, had been expected to root out a third of the 30,000 property agents thought to be practising here. So it has surprised the industry that 32,800 agents met the new, stricter requirements that kicked in a week ago, the CEA said yesterday.

A preliminary breakdown indicates that 70 per cent of those who made the cut had passed the industry exam; the rest did so by making at least three transactions in the last two years.

The statutory board, set up this year, required all estate agents to register with it by Nov 30. It will also require them to sit examinations and to stick to a code of ethics, failing which they and their agencies could be fined, suspended or have their licences revoked.

These moves follow growing complaints against property agents, and the need for some policing of the largely fragmented and self-regulating industry through mandatory licensing.

PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail said the surprisingly high number of agents who qualified for accreditation showed the actual number of agents here had been underestimated. 'All this while, we were groping in the dark. It really shows how badly the industry needs regulation,' he said.

But industry observers expect the number of agents to fall, with two more rounds of 'culling' coming before the year end.

The first of these is the Nov 30 deadline to register with the CEA. The other source of attrition will come from those with fraud convictions possibly not being cleared to practise. This is unlike the existing voluntary accreditation scheme, which lets agents rejoin the industry after their jail terms.

Dennis Wee Group director Chris Koh estimates the final tally of agents to be 25,000 by the year end.

Yesterday, the CEA listed the new rules effective from Nov 15: From that day, agents cannot represent both buyer and seller, or refer clients to moneylenders. Agencies must also have a system for handling complaints and follow advertising guidelines.

From Jan 1, only CEA-registered agents can work, and they must be covered by indemnity insurance.

Said Jurong GRC MP Halimah Yacob: 'You expect standards in every profession... If a property agent considers himself a professional, he should welcome the rules and regulations.'

ERA agent Shirley Chan, 65, said the rules are strict but necessary. 'The regulations make it clearer to us what behaviour flouts the rules, and makes us accountable for our actions,' she said