There are now 28,571 registered property agents in Singapore.
The number of registered property agents in Singapore rose slightly to 28,571 as at 1 January 2018, up from 28,397 during the same period last year, according to data released by the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) on Thursday (4 January).
This is still lower than the 29,262 registered agents seen at the start of 2016.
While CEA issued 66 new property agency licences and 1,344 new property agent registrations throughout 2017, a total of 44 property agency licences and 2,028 property agent registrations lapsed after 31 December.
Chia I-Ling, director, policy & licensing at CEA, said: “The increase in the number of registered agents could be due to a positive outlook on the real estate market.”
Lim Yong Hock, key executive officer of PropNex Realty, said: “In today’s market, increasing number of younger individuals are drawn to the real estate segment as the profession is no longer deemed as a “mid-career switch” option, but instead a long term rewarding career.
“In PropNex, we have fresh graduates and professionals who were doing really well in their previous careers joining us, drawn by their passion for properties and opportunities presented in the industry.”
CEA data also shows that the number of licensed property agencies fell to 1,269 as at 1 January from 1,286 a year ago.
The largest property agency in Singapore is PropNex Realty with 6,684 agents, followed by ERA Realty Network with 5,882 agents and OrangeTee & Tie (3,898).
Source: Council for Estate Agencies
The number of salespersons at PropNex shot up by 21 percent from 5,510 last year, mainly attributed to a merger with Dennis Wee Group (DWG) in June.
“We are indeed witnessing a change in the real estate industry scene where many small to mid-sized firms might choose not to continue operating on their own and will instead consolidate their business with the bigger players,” noted Lim.
Said Chia. “As the industry continues to evolve, CEA encourages property agents to upskill and leverage technology to keep pace with the changing business environment and meet increasing consumer expectations.”
Lim revealed that PropNex has invested more than $10 million in the last five years to provide a range of trainings and development programmes for salespersons to raise their knowledge, skills and service standards, in order to remain relevant in the industry.
PropertyGuru is organising an Agent Summit 2018 on 16 January. Find out more about the future of real estate agents and technology. To register, please click here.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
