Tag Archives: Council for Estate Agencies

Update on licensing and Registration exercise for Estate Agents and Salespersons

Posted on 15 Feb 2016 | Comments Off on Update on licensing and Registration exercise for Estate Agents and Salespersons

As at 1 January 2016, the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) has licensed 1,369 estate agents and registered 29,262 salespersons. A total of 104 estate agents and 3,573 salespersons left the industry. In the past year, there were 1,299 new salespersons who joined the industry. This is a decrease from the 3,006 new salespersons in 2014.

The number of licensed estate agents and registered salespersons as at 1 January over the last three years is shown in Table 1.

As at
1 Jan 2014

As at
1 Jan 2015

As at
1 Jan 2016

Number of salespersons

31,783

30,830

29,262

Number of estate agents

1,425

1,369

1,369

The number of new salespersons into the industry over the last three years is show in Table 2.

1 Jan – 31 Dec 2013

1 Jan – 31 Dec 2014

1 Jan – 31 Dec 2015

Number of new salespersons

3,336

3,006

1,299

Commenting on the overall decrease in the number of registered salespersons, Mr Heng Whoo Kiat, Director, Policy & Licensing, CEA, said, “This could be a reflection of the property market sentiments.” He added that salespersons are also probably mindful of the cost of being in the industry. Under CEA’s regulatory framework, salespersons are obliged to commit time and resources to meet the continuing professional development requirements for annual renewal of their registration. As for new entrants to the industry, they have to complete a course and pass a qualification examination.

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Fewer complaints against property agents

Posted on 18 Nov 2015 | Comments Off on Fewer complaints against property agents

Consumer complaints against property agents in Singapore fell to 702 cases in the 2014 financial year, from 751 cases in the previous year, reported Channel NewsAsia, citing figures from the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA).

Complaints relating to HDB flats accounted for 46 percent of all cases, while 34 percent were related to private residential properties, said CEA.

Of the HDB-related complaints, 91 were linked to rental deals, 232 were related to resale transactions and another 134 complaints were linked to the sale of private properties.

According to CEA, the decline in consumer complaints was due to enhanced industry standards, due to the professional development of salespersons, consumer education and regulatory enforcement.

In a joint statement, council president Greg Seow and executive director Chionh Chye Khye revealed that CEA ramped up investigations and took disciplinary actions in various cases of malpractices and breaches of industry guidelines during the 2014/15 financial year.

“We invested in staff training relating to investigation work and industry regulations so that our officers are equipped to ensure rigorous standards and timely completion of all investigations, and effective management of consumer complaints,” they said.

Meanwhile, the number of licensed estate agents dropped to 1,422 as of March 2015 from 1,449 in the previous year. The number of registered salespersons also fell to 32,006 from 33,498 previously.

Looking ahead, CEA plans to strengthen capabilities in support of industry development. It also plans to add more resources and avenues to enable practitioners to sharpen their competencies via continuous learning.

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