Residential property consultant Peter Ow is set to leave Knight Frank at the end of the year.
Mr. Ow hopes to have a long break before he decides on what to do next, he told The Business Times in an interview. “I’d like to take things easier and spend more time holidaying and golfing.”
“I’ve been with Knight Frank for the past 23 years and in the real estate business for a total 30 years. This will be the first time I can take a really long holiday. All along because of the job, it’s been very difficult to plan holidays as I have to wait till the very last minute, to make sure there are no property launches, to be very sure.”
Though he has not thought of what he would do after returning from his holiday, Mr. Ow said he is likely to enter “semi-retirement” and may establish his own residential consultancy firm.
“The residential agency business has changed so much in the past 20 years or so. In the old days, you advertised and buyers came to you. Nowadays, it’s a lot harder to sell properties – as you have to go out to find buyers, and persuade them to buy your property. It’s so competitive; firstly, there are a lot of properties and the agents’ population has grown over the years, especially during the boom years.”
His post as head of residential services at Knight Frank will be taken over by Wendy Tang, but his position as managing director for residential services will remain vacant for now.
Commending Mr. Ow’s achievements, Tan Tiong Cheng, chairman of Knight Frank, said: “I recruited Peter in October 1987, when he was 32, as a manager in the residential department. Over the years, he has built up the residential agency business from a small team of five to 33 full-time staff as well as 1,300 associates today.”