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I WELCOME the proposal to regulate property agents (‘Property agents to be regulated‘, Oct 5).

I wish to highlight an unethical practice of some property agents:

Some agents put up advertisements claiming they take ‘zero per cent commission’ from sellers. This seems like a good deal for sellers, given that the market rate is 2 per cent commission. But these agents require sellers to sign an exclusive agreement lasting three months. If the seller breaks this agreement before its expiry, a penalty fee of $5,000 is imposed.

These agents will also not be present during viewing sessions by potential buyers. They will SMS the viewing date and time to prospective buyers, and sellers will be left to handle the buyers and their agents. Continue reading →

New rules should protect property agents

Posted on 19 Oct 2009 | Comments Off

I REFER to the recent debate over the regulation of property agents in Singapore (‘Property agents to be regulated‘, Oct 5) .

As a property agent, I applaud the Government’s plan to set up a regulatory framework for the real estate industry. The proposed framework seems to be protective of consumers. But what about the rights of property agents? Having been in this line of work for three years, I have seen my fair share of how ‘ugly’ this industry can be:

Clients these days do not give exclusivity to property agents to market their properties. Instead, they take advantage of the resources of the agents who are hungry for their business to market their properties. This is to the advantage of the clients as they get many advertisements and awareness out of this so-called competition among property agents. Continue reading →