Stricter rules for property agents to raise standards, reduce fake listings, clarify commissions

[SINGAPORE] Property agents will soon have to complete at least three transactions over three years, or pass a refresher examination, to remain registered under new rules aimed at improving transparency and raising standards in Singapore’s real estate agency industry. 

The authorities are also exploring additional measures to ensure more clarity on commissions and reduce the prevalence of inaccurate, fake or unauthorised property listings.

Speaking at the Singapore Estate Agents Conference on Tuesday (Jul 28), Senior Minister of State for National Development and Transport Sun Xueling noted that “most consumers are satisfied with the services they receive from their property agents”.

“(But) we have also received feedback about the currency of knowledge of property agents who have not transacted over extended periods,” she said. 

About 40 per cent of the Republic’s 32,967 registered property agents did not facilitate at least three residential property transactions a year between 2023 and 2025 as at Jan 1, 2026.

The median number of residential deals closed per agent each year was two. The Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) does not track non-residential transactions but will start collecting such data from Jan 1, 2027.

The new currency requirement will take effect from January 2027. It covers all transaction types, from housing sales and rentals to commercial and industrial transactions, as well as foreign property sales and en bloc transactions. 

Those who fail to meet the minimum requirement must pass a refresher examination testing practical knowledge essential for conducting estate agency work. If they fail the exam, they must exit the industry and retake the real estate salesperson examination before they can return as property agents. 

New agents will not be required to complete any transactions in their first year as they may need more time to build their skills and client base. But they must still complete at least two transactions over the next two years, or pass the refresher exam to retain their registration. 

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Those who are unable to meet the new deal threshold due to “extenuating circumstances” – such as medical issues or if they are handling “complex property transactions” that may take more time to complete – can apply for waivers on a case-by-case basis. 

“Persons in management roles who do not intend to conduct estate agency work are not required to maintain their property agent registration and will hence not need to meet the (requirement),” CEA said.

It added that the new rule was set over a three-year period to account for market fluctuations, such as periods of low transaction volume due to a market downturn.

For the majority of property transactions, CEA will recognise one property agent each on the buyer’s and seller’s side. But more than one agent may be recognised for each side of a transaction for certain complex transactions, such as en bloc deals or the sale of high-end commercial or industrial properties.

At the same time, CEA will extend the validity period for all property agency licences and property agent registrations from one year to three years, to reduce the administrative workload.

The first three-year cycle will start on Jan 1, 2027, and end on Dec 31, 2029. 

From January 2027, CEA will also begin collecting commission data from property agencies, to be aggregated, anonymised, and eventually published.

Sun explained that the industry currently “celebrates and recognises” top performers. “At the same time, we want prospective property agents to have a realistic picture of what a career in the real estate agency industry looks like.” 

Longer-term measures

The authorities are exploring additional measures to improve transparency. Sun cited the prevalence of inaccurate, fake, duplicate and unauthorised property listings as a common concern raised by property agents and consumers alike. 

CEA will launch an online platform to verify the authenticity of online listings next year. Other measures under consideration include:

• publishing consumers’ ratings of property agents on the CEA Public Register of all licensed estate agents and registered salespersons, as well as improving consumers’ access to the register;
• requiring property agents to sign a contractual agreement, called the Estate Agency Agreement, with their clients to provide greater clarity on agents’ roles and responsibilities, and prevent “downstream disputes”; 
• providing buyers with greater transparency on how much commission their property agents will receive for a specific transaction, before commencing work;
• enhancing the Housing & Development Board’s (HDB) resale flat portal and potentially making it the default listing platform for HDB resale flats;
• studying whether consumers should be able to list their own properties directly on property portals.

“(These measures are) not intended to replace existing property portals, and property agents and sellers will be able to continue advertising on other platforms as well,” Sun added.

“Over the coming months, HDB will gather feedback from buyers, sellers, and property agents to shape future enhancements to the service.”

The announcement follows a government review of the industry aimed at raising professional standards, strengthening transparency and giving consumers greater clarity and choice.

Chan Khar Liang, CEA executive director, said stakeholders had “consistently highlighted the potential risk posed by property agents who do not complete transactions regularly”. 

“These agents may be less familiar with evolving rules and regulations, property transaction processes and market trends, which could inadvertently affect the accuracy of advice given to clients,” said Chan. 

As at Jul 1, 2026, there were 38,162 property agents and 1,018 property agencies in Singapore.

CEA’s latest annual report, published in October 2025, showed that 1,271 complaints were received from the public in 2024. 

Service and advertisement-related issues accounted for the bulk of complaints, at 523 and 505 cases, respectively. 

There were also 151 complaints involving non-compliance with property transaction rules and procedures; 31 alleging that agents had acted unethically or unfairly, such as overstating or misrepresenting facts; and 25 alleging that agents had failed to act in their clients’ best interests. 

A further 36 complaints involved other breaches, including conduct that brought discredit to the real estate industry or obstructed CEA’s investigations. 

In 2024, the agency also took action in 333 “substantiated complaints”. This includes issuing a letter of warning or censure, making an offer of composition, disciplinary action and court prosecution. 

Some 423 complaints were found to be unsubstantiated, and another 603 were referred to property agencies for resolution. 

In January, property agency ERA was issued a letter of censure by CEA for three breaches under the Code of Practice for Estate Agents. This was the second time a property agency was issued a censure, and the first against a major industry player.

CEA data showed that as at Jan 1, 2026, PropNex was the largest agency with 13,945 agents. This was followed by ERA with 8,427 agents, Huttons with 5,760 agents, OrangeTee & Tie with 2,518 agents, and SRI with 1,621 agents.

Consultancies dealing with commercial and industrial transactions include CBRE with 104 agents and Knight Frank with 98 agents. 

Knight Frank is exiting Singapore’s residential property agency business and, on Monday, said it has signed an agreement with OrangeTee & Tie to allow its KF Property Network of salespersons to move over.