Commentary: Outdated knowledge, not technology, is the real threat to property agents

The new minimum transaction rule for property agents will help to raise the industry’s professional standards while protecting consumers, says industry observer Lee Nai Jia.

SINGAPORE: For most people, a home is likely to be one of the largest purchases they will make in their lifetime. Mistakes over price or financing can burden a household for years, so current and trustworthy advice are especially important.

Now, with easier access to property market information and tools allowing consumers to transact without a middleman, expectations of what a property agent can offer have naturally risen.

A new minimum transaction requirement for agents announced last month seeks to raise the bar amid lingering skepticism about the profession's relevance in the age of technology.

PROTECTING CONSUMERS

Generally, most consumers have a positive experience with their property agents.

A survey by the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) found that 92 per cent of clients were satisfied with their agents in 2024, up from 77 per cent in 2021.

That said, the same year also saw a rise in complaints, which is a warning that minimum standards must continue to be raised.

In 2024, CEA received 1,271 complaints, up from 1,126 in 2023. Service-related issues remained the largest source of complaints – accounting for about 41 per cent – but other areas saw an uptick. Advertisement-related complaints rose by nearly 35 per cent to 505, and complaints involving non-compliance with transaction rules increased by close to 21 per cent to 151.

While these rising numbers partly reflect market activity and consumer awareness, issues like stale listings, inaccurate descriptions and misleading prices actively waste home seekers’ time and distort their understanding of market value.

A MODEST THRESHOLD

The newly announced rule will require property agents to complete at least three qualifying transactions over three years, or pass a refresher examination, to be eligible for registration renewal from 2027. This supplements an existing 16 hours of training obligations each year.

This came about following concerns raised during industry engagement sessions, CEA said in 2024. About three in four consumers polled separately by the regulator expect property agents to facilitate at least one transaction a year to be familiar with current rules and procedures.

Under the previous regime, property agents could retain their licence even if they were largely inactive. The new rule is not a judgement on part-time agents; rather, it highlights the importance of recent experience.

In a fast changing world, property agents must keep pace with increasingly complex financing conditions, eligibility rules, transaction procedures, marketing standards and anti-money-laundering obligations.

Completing three transactions over three years would likely be a modest threshold for those who are active in the industry, given how eligible transactions extend beyond residential transactions and include commercial and industrial deals, foreign property and en bloc sales. For more complex commercial, industrial or en bloc transactions, CEA may also recognise more than one agent on each side of the transaction.

Still, concerns have risen that some inactive property agents may “borrow” transactions from others to fulfil the new requirement. This is a possibility that cannot be ruled out, but the number of such cases is likely to be low. Under the Estate Agents Act, it is an offence to submit false or misleading information, including recording a transaction under an agent’s name when it was handled by another salesperson.

This could also be mitigated by measures already being considered. One of CEA’s proposals in the pipeline is to require property agents and their clients to sign an agreement before any work begins, with agents disclosing the parties from whom they will receive commission.

AGENT NUMBERS TO FALL?

The new rule should reasonably lead to a rationalisation in the number of agents but consumers are unlikely to face a shortage and corresponding fee increases.

As of Jul 1, there were 38,162 property agents and 1,018 property agencies in Singapore. This is an all-time high for the number of agents, which has been growing every year since 2017.

CEA statistics show that the number of registered property agents rose significantly from 30,399 in early 2021 to 36,058 in early 2025. On the other hand, residential rental and sale transaction volumes went the other way – from about 206,000 to 185,996 over the same period, based on data gathered from HDB and the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s REALIS platform.

Viewed together, these figures suggest that the market should still have more than enough agents to facilitate transactions, even if some agents were to leave the industry under the new requirement.

A reduction in nominal headcount may even be healthy. Excessive fragmentation intensifies competition for a limited pool of leads.

Crucially, fewer registrations should not automatically translate to higher commissions. The new rule does not cap agent numbers, new entrants can still join the industry, and commissions remain entirely negotiable.

REMAINING RELEVANT

At the same time, additional measures are being explored to ensure more clarity on commissions and reduce prevalence of inaccurate, fake or unauthorised property listings so that consumers can make an informed decision.

Higher standards improve the quality of advice consumers receive, but they do not guarantee that every listing is accurate. This is where the Housing and Development Board’s (HDB) resale flat listing service can play a larger role. Because HDB is well placed to simultaneously validate sale intent and streamline the transaction process, its listing portal could become a highly reliable, verified backbone for the market.

Authorities are considering enhancing the portal and potentially making it the default listing platform for HDB resale flats. They are also studying whether consumers should be able to list their own properties directly on property portals.

While better information and accessible tools may encourage more owners to transact without an agent, they do not eliminate the value of professional representation.

Property agents act as intermediaries during difficult negotiations. They also have to reject offers, communicate unwelcome information and shield their clients from confrontational exchanges or complaints. This human and emotional component remains difficult to replace with technology alone.

The latest rule changes aim to create a more professional, transparent and trusted property market - one in which consumers receive current advice and are better protected when making one of the most consequential financial decisions of their lives.

It also protects property agents. Technology advancements will not make agents irrelevant but those who fail to keep their knowledge current may make themselves so.

Lee Nai Jia is director of Singapore-based property media company PropertyDoctors.