Examination and license fees for real estate agents and agencies in Hong Kong (pictured) will remain unchanged this year, said the Estate Agents Authority (EAA).
“The EAA is aware of the challenges the trade is facing at present. However, while it is inevitable that there are ups and downs in the property market, the levels of license fees should not be linked to changing conditions,” said Vivien Chan, Chairman of the EAA.
She noted that the organisation is an independent body that relies on exam and license fees at its primary source of income.
Currently, the license fee for individual estate agents is HK$1,280 (S$207) for 12 months and HK$2,510 (S$406) for 24 months, while fees for an agency is HK$2,800 (S$453) and HK$5,460 (S$884) for 12 months and 24 months respectively.
According to a news report, these fees have not changed since 2002. The EAA offered agents and agencies a one-off waiver of six months on the license fee for 2009, after the property market fell in 2008. However, this resulted in its income declining by as much as HK$30 million (S$4.86 million).
The EAA had earlier said that fewer people wanted to become property agents due to the slowing property market. Only 1,877 candidates took the qualifying exam in February, down 45 percent from the same period last year.
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