Who wants to be a property agent? Rewards could outweigh risks

[SINGAPORE] The job market in Singapore is tight, with some sectors struggling to fill vacancies. However, the property agency business is doing fine in attracting new joiners.

According to the Council for Estate Agencies, the number of property agents as at Jan 1, 2025, was 36,058, up from 35,251 a year ago. The agent population at the start of 2025 is up by 5,659 or 19 per cent, from 30,399 at the beginning of 2021.

The number of agents grew despite developers selling far fewer private homes excluding executive condominiums (ECs) in Singapore in each of 2022, 2023 and 2024 compared with 2021. In 2024, developers sold 6,469 private homes excluding ECs – under half that of 13,027 units in 2021.

However, recent months have seen a surge in new condo sales. In February, developers sold 1,575 private homes excluding ECs, about 10 times the 153 units moved a year earlier and 45 per cent more than the total sold in January, the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s data indicated.

Still, are new joiners to the property agency business behaving irrationally, given intense competition among agents and uncertainty of earnings?

Typically, agents bear substantial marketing costs. As agents are generally paid on a success basis when a deal closes, their earnings can fluctuate. Also, agents often need to work evenings and weekends to suit their clients’ schedules.

Nonetheless, driven young people could be justified in pursuing a career as a property agent, and forgoing getting a regular pay cheque plus the various perks and benefits from being a salaried employee.

Financial drivers and flexibility

Being an agent offers a way to earn more at a young age versus peers who are gradually climbing career ladders as salaried employees.

A young and energetic property agent who works long hours might be able to close more deals. In turn, earning a high income when young may help greatly in wealth creation – earnings can be invested to grow through compounding. Furthermore, a person who becomes a condo owner ahead of contemporaries enjoys an advantage should home prices rise over time. 

Secondly, becoming a property agent can be a wise choice for those who seek the freedom of being their own boss. And being one’s own boss might hold increasing appeal amid weakening job security. 

Sure, one has to work hard to pass examinations to become a property agent. Still, an agent need not incur substantial upfront costs or operating expenses, unlike many entrepreneurs. For example, someone opening a food outlet might have to spend a large upfront sum on equipment and renovation plus fund significant recurring expenses on rental, manpower and supplies.

An established property agent has the flexibility to adjust the amount of time to devote to the job. This is valuable as a person’s commitments and interests evolve.

When needed, an agent can work part-time to cater to family needs, pursue other passions or build a separate business among others. Also, an agent can generally choose to work for as long as he or she wants to or is able to, without being subject to say a retirement age that applies to salaried workers.

While a property agent’s earnings might fluctuate, established agents can earn relatively steady income from handling rental transactions. Commissions are earned fairly regularly from the signing of new home rental leases or lease renewals.

Income generated from handling leasing deals is especially helpful when say sales of private homes freeze immediately following new property cooling measures.

Knowledge gained from working in the Singapore’s housing market also allows agents to use such knowledge to build wealth via property ownership. Perhaps an agent is better able to identify properties that may outperform.

Moreover, agents often enjoy priority in securing choice units at new condo launches, as they can buy units at a project’s VIP preview held ahead of the public launch.

Moats and sustainability

A successful property agent can gradually build a moat. Through word-of-mouth and customer loyalty, agents can build up a network of repeat customers from satisfied clients as well as their family members and friends. Many of these customers might transact homes several times over the course of their lives as their needs change.

Furthermore, successful property agents can over time lead of teams of agents and thus have the opportunity to earn from the efforts of other team members.

It has been said that technology allows buyers and sellers to bypass agents, but the threat of massive job redundancies among property agents might be minimal.

The human touch may still be invaluable in transacting homes. As many buyers and sellers transact homes infrequently and such deals involve large sums of money, both buyers and sellers might seek assurance from using a competent middleman whom they are comfortable with.

Building a career that is tied to physical property here can be rewarding, given Singapore’s growing stature as a global city and good infrastructure. Many wealthy people see local property as stores of value because of Singapore’s stability in a world rife with geopolitical tensions.

Among various physical property types, homes can be an especially stable asset class, as demand for high quality abodes appears to be strong on a sustainable basis. Think of the consistent desire of people to channel gains from career, business or investment success into owning quality homes for their households to enjoy.

While finding career success in any field is tough, sound reasons drive young people to be property agents.

However, the lure of being a property agent may not help improve Singapore’s economic competitiveness and productivity. Also, some of the human capital tied up in the property agency business could potentially be better deployed in areas such as healthcare to cater to an ageing population. Amid Singapore’s tight labour market, might capping the number of property agents benefit the economy and the community? 

Let’s respect the choices of those who become property agents, but hope the sector does not excessively suck up human talent.