Important to understand motivations for choosing a career in real estate: SEAA

PLEASE refer to The Business Times report “Real estate execs concerned about oversupply of property agents: NUS survey” (Mar 20, 2024).

While discussions about oversupply are crucial, it is equally important to understand the motivations behind choosing a career in real estate.

Beyond commission incentives, individuals are drawn to this profession for reasons such as wanting to transit from climbing the corporate ladder to establishing a business that brings more job satisfaction and fulfilment.

Many real estate salespersons are in this industry because they believe their business provides a value-added service to their clients – be it in helping them make one of their biggest financial decisions, assisting them to get their dream home, accumulating passive wealth as a hedge against inflation, or planning for retirement.

It gives tremendous joy to most real estate salespersons that they can transform lives. These sentiments were echoed by a majority of the awardees of the SG Real Estate Agents Excellence Award, organised by SEAA.

The annual awards recognise the effort, success and stellar performances of individual salespersons.

The awardees voiced a sense of fulfilment in their career, and claimed that many of their clients have become their friends. It is never smooth sailing starting a business.

The cost of starting out as a real estate salesperson is generally lower. Aspiring salespersons need to spend a couple of thousand dollars on the RES (Real Estate Salesperson) course and examination fees, CEA (Council for Estate Agencies) registration fees and other marketing fees upon joining the industry.

This is little compared to forking out tens of thousands of dollars setting up retail and F&B shops, shouldering high labour costs, staff training, equipment and rental for bricks-and-mortar premises.

SEE ALSO

Real estate execs concerned about oversupply of property agents: NUS survey

A growing number of new entrants are fresh graduates who have chosen to establish their own business over working a nine-to-six desk-bound job, adhering to a corporate culture, slogging hard for a corporation, and worrying about healthcare costs and living thriftily upon retirement.

However, not everyone is suited for a career in real estate. It requires, for example, in-depth knowledge of policies and regulations, good product knowledge, skills in communication, marketing, negotiation and problem-solving, empathy and compassion, and a drive to continuously upgrade.

With the number of salespersons climbing, it means that each must be on his or her toes, looking out for the latest technology and tools that enable the delivery of more value to clients; each also has to work harder to compete for business.

Eventually, those who are not as resilient or cannot keep up will exit the industry.

As the leading industry association, we maintain a steadfast commitment to adding value for our members.

We achieve this by continually upgrading their skills through technology adoption and rigorous training programmes.

Recently, we enhanced our tie-up with our long-term working partner, Amicus, a Singapore Database Company, and rolled out the revamped Agent Keys – technological tools that help our members reach out to more potential clients and deliver more value to them.

We are also rolling out more CPD (continuing professional development) courses to raise our members’ skills and professionalism.

One of them is the upcoming Singapore Estate Agents Conference 2024, to be held on May 17, 2024. Our invited speakers will share their views on the outlook for property, as well as discuss topics of interest such as disputes over commissions and the Best Practice Guide for Co-broking Commission.

SEAA’s confidence in the long-term prospects of the real estate sector remains unwavering, driven by factors such as urbanisation, evolving demographic trends and sustained economic growth.

We are dedicated to fostering positive dialogues and collaborating with industry stakeholders and regulators to ensure a sustainable and thriving real estate market for all.

We continue to encourage all real estate salespersons to join us as members for a more unified voice. Together in strength, we can work towards a better real estate agency industry.

Singapore Estate Agents Association