Some proposals are expected to be launched soon for the improvement of the real estate industry. Proposals include establishing a tribunal to deal with disputes and accrediting all real estate agents.
Such proposals were made following a consultation between the Ministry of National Development and industry players from 10 September to 01 October.
Starting on 13 October 2009, feedback from the public regarding the suggested regulatory framework will be welcomed. This is a one-month public consultation exercise.
Recently, complaints against real estate agents have dramatically increased. In the past six years, there were only 400 noted complaints, while last year, more than 1,400 complaints were recorded.
The government intends to initiate some changes to strengthen the professionalism in the real estate sector.
Included in the proposals are: organising a public central registry to list the qualifications of agents, track record and employment history; establishing a demerit point system to punish delinquent agencies and agents; and instituting an independent body to warrant mandatory accreditation to all property agents.
“We do encounter agents which are double or triple agents – that means at one time they’re agents with not only one company but sometimes with two or even three companies. So with a central registry system, we’ll be able to stop this,” said ERA Asia Pacific Associate Director Eugene Lim.
"And those that are double and triple agents, we’ll be able to know who they are and these people will be taken out from the industry. Also another industry problem that this central registry can help to solve is checking on agents’ past performance."
The concept of having a tribunal to deal with disputes has been welcomed by industry players.
"However, the people who are going to be sitting on the tribunal have to be people on the ground, who know about real estate transactions and subject matter experts. You can’t simply put somebody there to mediate, to solve problems if the person doesn’t really understand the nuts and bolts of the real estate industry," said president of Institute of Estate Agents Jeff Foo.
However, industry players expect that licensing individual agents will also be considered by the government.
"Licensing seems to be more serious, something which the individual agents would be more careful of because now they carry an individual licence and if they don’t meet the service standards or if they don’t perform or if they do something wrong, then their licence may be suspended and they may not be allowed to practice," said Mr. Lim.
The framework may focus first on the area where majority of complaints came from, and that is on the residential property transactions. If necessary, the government may include commercial properties and other transactions for real estate to broaden its framework.
According to the government, the framework’s main elements will be announced early this December and by mid 2010, the legislation must already be commenced.