From millennial to millionaire: striking gold in property and insurance

JERVIS Ng was pursuing a degree in law and business at Singapore Management University, but he soon realised he wanted a career in the real estate industry.

After starting a string of failed businesses while serving his national service, the 27-year-old gave himself an ultimatum to pick a career in insurance or real estate. When he saw property agents raking in commissions of as much as S$100,000 per month, he knew what to choose.

Today, he runs his own team, Jervis Ng Associates (JNA) Real Estate, under PropNex Realty. It was a path, he says, that offered him one of the fastest ways to repay his student loans.

By Ng’s account, it has been a lucrative path. In the past two years, JNA Real Estate has brokered over 1,600 homes worth a collective S$1.5 billion, which Ng largely attributed to a focus on high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth (UNHW) individuals. Ng himself owns a S$3.8 million condominium unit with his fiancee.

Ryan Wee, a 29­-year­-old financial services manager at Prudential, began working as an insurance agent before he graduated from university. Having studied economics and finance, he initially wanted to work in a bank as he thought that was “the normal route that most graduates embark on”.

“Understanding there is a negative perception of financial consultants, I didn’t shy away but instead wanted to prove that ethical and responsible financial consultants do exist,” he said.

Wee has qualified for Prudential’s Million Dollar Round Table for a few years now, and said his income “has grown over the years”. Some of the top selling points of the job for him include financial stability, the flexibility to take time off or spend time with his family when needed, as well as “learning and development opportunities” that have added to his skill set. Wee said his career at Prudential is likely to be “lifelong”.

Charlene Ho, a senior marketing director at ERA Realty Network, became a real estate agent in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic began. The 28-year-old was studying journalism and public relations in university, but ventured into real estate space during a term break. 

“I told myself that I would give this a try, and if I didn’t pass the exams then I would move on,” she said. Last year, Ho was one of ERA’s top achievers, and her average monthly earnings were in the “mid-five-figure” amounts.

“Over time, I have garnered more clients, learnt better and more efficient ways to prospect and add value to my clients, so progressively, I get to do more sales,” Ho said.

Real estate, insurance sectors booming

More millennials have been eschewing traditional professions to enter the real estate and insurance sectors, lured by the booming property and financial sectors, and by the promise of flexible work arrangements.

PropNex Realty’s chief executive Ismail Gafoor said the real estate firm had a total of 2,406 active salespersons below 35 years old in 2022, an approximate increase of 13 per cent from 2021. That outpaced PropNex’s total salesperson count, which rose 8.1 per cent as at Jan 1. 

The average annual commission earned by real estate agents under 35 came in at S$90,000, he said. About 15 per cent of the company’s top 100 performing agents were also below 35 years old, Gafoor said.

“We foresee that the young people including graduates are joining the industry. It is no longer a second career option for these new joiners,” Gafoor said.

Marcus Chu, chief executive of Apac Realty, said almost one-third of ERA’s sales force is under the age of 35. This figure can also be attributed to the resilience of Singapore’s real estate market. 

“Property agents have full independence over their time and how they manage their businesses. There is also no ceiling to their income, thus the industry has plenty of growth and learning opportunities to continually upskill and challenge them,” he added. 

Chu noted that in 2022, a quarter of ERA’s top performing agents were those under 35 years old.

Over in the insurance sector, companies also noted more interest from millennials and the younger generation. 

AIA Singapore’s chief distribution officer Chin Chung Wen said the company has seen an increase in the percentage of AIA insurance representatives who are below 35.

“We are seeing a consistent upward trend in the number of applications year on year,” he said. 

He said Singaporeans have become “more savvy” in financial planning, which has boosted interest in the sector as a career. The overall perception of insurance representatives and financial planning as a career has also shifted over the years, amid increasing appreciation from Singaporeans on the importance of financial planning.

Prudential Singapore chief agency officer Rom Lee said those under 35 have constituted about 85 per cent of the new financial consultants recruited annually over the last four years.

“Younger workers are looking for purpose at work, work-life balance as well as learning and development opportunities. These can be found in a career as a financial consultant,” Lee said.

HSBC Life, which also accounts for AXA Singapore’s insurance business following HSBC’s acquisition of the company, said that approximately three-quarters of the new additions to its agency force each year are under 35. This, however, is not a recent trend, an HSBC Life spokesperson said. 

Both AIA and Prudential said their top earners are spread across various age groups, while HSBC Life’s spokesperson said many of the young financial planners end up qualifying for the Million Dollar Round Table.

Changing industry landscapes

Younger agents and financial planners have also found themselves at an advantage over older colleagues, as their industries digitalised over the past few years.

JNA’s Ng, for instance, has taken to eye-catching videos and Instagram posts about new properties on the market. It was, in fact, a video about a Camden Park Good Class Bungalow – then home to Singapore-listed investment holding company Enviro-Hub Holdings’ executive chairman Raymond Ng – that got him airtime on various news channels. 

Ng’s team has taken to the likes of Instagram posts or YouTube videos to market properties. Depending on the “marketing efforts” for each unit, JNA Real Estate takes a commission ranging from 2 per cent to 3.5 per cent for each property that changes hands, he said.

PropNex’s Gafoor said salespersons’ roles are no longer simply about “showing the house”, but requires them to provide consultancy services and more in-depth insights for the clients whom they are serving.

“Salespersons need to do their marketing more in social media platforms, using videos and uploading their listings in property portals and websites. This requires them to be IT savvy in using technology to be effective,” he said. 

Financial consultants, too, sounded similar thoughts. HSBC Life’s spokesperson said financial planners have had to find new ways of reaching their customers. 

“Digitalisation and engaging customers online have been significant themes in the past few years,” she said. Those under 35 could have an advantage as they are more likely to be “digital natives”. 

Prudential’s Lee said how financial consultants “engage customers and deliver financial planning” has changed over time. 

For instance, despite the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, Lee said about 45 per cent of Prudential’s sales in 2022 were conducted remotely. 

“Financial consultants today are equipped with apps and technology, such as financial analysis tools to support customers in a more targeted and efficient manner,” he said, adding that such tools enable insurance agents to “better identify customers’ needs, recommend suitable products and present them in an easy-to-understand format”. 

Staying cautious

Despite the wealth in the industry, some have sounded warnings that the good run may not last long. 

Real estate analyst Ku Swee Yong observed how agencies recruited some agents before graduation with the promise of additional training, side income, or part-time or flexi-time work schedules.

“The lure of seemingly easy money brought many into agency work, based on commissions with little or no basic pay,” he said. 

The nature of the jobs means that these agents are unlikely to have money in their Central Provident Fund (CPF) accounts, and have not chalked up work experience at more traditional employers like the public sector or multinational corporations. 

Ku said skills from real estate or insurance agency career paths are not easily transferable. 

“The property agents who made a lot of money in the last two years were those who focused on selling developers’ new launches from showflats. This is a very narrow skill set,” he warned.

After these deals are closed, agents may not necessarily have the skills or experience to help clients with renting out the apartments or helping with reselling of apartments. 

If the market for new property launches slows, these property agents may have to use their savings to meet their obligations. “They have to try finding a job with a basic salary... but how would their resumes be relevant to a bank, or a manufacturer such as Hitachi or Nestle?”

Jaya Dass, managing director of Randstad Singapore and Malaysia, said that work trends have been changing rapidly. Forces that have boosted the popularity of industries like real estate and insurance broking in the past few years could just as easily evolve.

“Whatever is being practised or appreciated right now, may be just a novelty element,” she said.

Tides are changing more quickly than people anticipate, she said. For instance, the retail sector has moved from bricks-and-mortar stores to having an online presence. 

This means that industries that are currently enjoying a good run, may soon find themselves struggling. 

“(The change) is so quick that there isn’t a standstill at any one point in time, to say that this particular job is in demand,” she said. 

“That rate of change used to be three to five years. Now I think it’s two to four, and it might become 12 to 18 months soon.” 

Venturing down your own path or setting up your own company is a “bold move” laden with risk, Dass warned. “Sometimes it pays off very well, other times it’s an experience and nothing else,” she said. 

The key for this is for job seekers to stay dynamic and fluid, and never just rely on one particular skill. “Organisations are starting to learn how to look at people as talent rather than a solution to a job description,” she said. 

*Amendment note: An earlier version of the article incorrectly reported that Jervis Ng had graduated from Singapore Management University. The article has been amended to reflect the change.