Almost 300 CBRE agents to move over to ERA Realty
The 'strategic collaboration' is aimed at pooling their combined strengths in the residential market, says ERA CEO.
Singapore
NEARLY 300 CBRE Realty Associates agents focused on residential transactions will move over to ERA Realty Network under a "strategic collaboration", the two entities have said in a joint statement.
"Salespersons from CBRE Realty Associates will transfer to ERA and operate as part of ERA. CBRE will maintain a small core residential team," it said.
This move, coming amid a consolidation of property agencies here, bumps up ERA's agent network to around 6,500 agents and strengthens its position as the second-largest property agency here after PropNex Realty.
Jack Chua, chief executive of ERA, said the move will "bring together our combined strengths in the residential market to benefit the overall brokerage business".
"(ERA) will allow (CBRE) associates to tap ERA's existing array of local and overseas project opportunities, as well as elevate their professional service to their existing clients with a strong agency support system powered by experienced corporate services, technological innovations and comprehensive residential agent training."
PropNex overtook ERA last year to become the nation's largest real estate agency by size of sales force when it merged with Dennis Wee Realty (DWG); it now has about 7,530 salespeople.
Some market observers wondered why the news, which broke on Thursday in a media report, was not announced on the Singapore Exchange by APAC Realty, the listed company that operates the ERA brand.
A source in the know told The Business Times that while the arrangement was "not a sale", there were "commercial terms" which the source described as "not substantial" and thus did not warrant a disclosure.
However, corporate governance specialist Mak Yuen Teen of the NUS Business School, who was shown the Thursday media report about the collaboration, said: "There's no minimum deal size (for disclosure), but this would seem to me to be material information.
"There are some exceptions to the requirement for immediate disclosure, such as if it is an incomplete proposal, or when it is against the law to disclose, or if it is a trade secret. These don't appear to apply at all. There's also a principle that, when in doubt, disclose."
