Singapore’s Council for Estate Agents (CEA) has revealed data which shows an above-10 percent drop in the number of registered real estate agents and salespersons in the country.
As at 1 January 2012, the CEA had licensed 1,487 estate agents and registered 30,577 salespersons. Out of the pool of registered salespersons, 2,733 were new entrants to the industry. Last year, the CEA issued licences to 1,559 estate agents and registered 34,301 salespersons, but it revealed that 72 estate agents and 3,724 salespersons indicated that they did not want to continue with their estate agency work in 2012.
Purnima Shantilal, Director (Licensing and Investigation) of CEA said, “From industry feedback, we understand that the salespersons who did not wish to continue with their registration were part-timers who are concentrating on their full-time jobs or had found a full-time job. Other reasons included family commitments and taking a break from real estate work.”
She added that under the new regulatory framework for the real estate agency industry, estate agents and salespersons will take on greater responsibility and commitment towards enhancing the professionalism of the industry. As professionalism improves, consumer interests will be better served and protected.
In 2011, the real estate agency industry in Singapore was able to attract 2,733 new salespersons with qualifications fulfilling the new criteria for registration. About 81 percent of these new entrants have tertiary education. In comparison, the proportion of existing salespersons with tertiary education is about 53 percent.
The CEA had earlier announced the extension of the deadline for provisional registered salespersons to pass the RES Examination to 30 June 2012. To date, 1,569 (5.6 percent) of 27,844 registered existing salespersons have been given provisional registration but have not passed the RES Examination. Those who are unable to do so will have their registration lapsed after 30 June 2012.
Registered salespersons also have to undertake mandatory continuing professional development (CPD) of six hours to ensure that they upgrade themselves and keep abreast of the latest changes in policies and procedures related to real estate transactions. The number of CPD hours will be increased over time to raise the professional standards of the industry.
As the CPD Scheme was implemented on 1 April 2011, the 2011 CPD cycle will run from 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012, meaning salespersons must complete six hours of training within this period. Those who are unable to meet the CPD requirement will have their license/registration lapsed after 31 March 2012. From 2012, the CPD cycle will run on a whole calendar year from 1 January to 31 December.
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