Agents brace for lean times as commissions take hit from slowing home sales

SEVERAL rounds of policy changes and a market slowdown have taken a toll on real estate agencies’ revenues, and agents are steeling themselves for lean times ahead. 

Singapore’s two largest real estate agencies, PropNex and Apac Realty, which operates the ERA franchise, recently posted steep drops in commission income in their interim earnings reports. 

PropNex’s revenue shrank 22.9 per cent to S$364.3 million, its lowest since 2020. Revenue from both its agency services and project marketing services segments fell sharply in the six months ended June 2023. Net profit dropped 18.4 per cent to S$22.1 million from S$27 million.