Property agents may 'borrow' transactions to meet new requirement for registration renewal, despite the rules

SINGAPORE: Some inactive property agents may “borrow” transactions from others to fulfil a new requirement that they must complete at least three transactions over three years to maintain their registration, some agents told CNA. Active agents said they could submit a transaction under an inactive agent’s name, even though he or she was not involved in the deal. The inactive agent would then transfer the commission to the actual agent involved. But this could undermine the Council for Estate Agencies’ (CEA) efforts to ensure that property agents maintain their currency of knowledge and provide up-to-date advice to their clients, said one expert. The regulator told CNA that about 40 per cent of property agents who have been registered with CEA since 2023 did not complete at least three residential property transactions in the preceding three years. From 2023 to 2025, the median number of residential property transactions completed by each agent per year was two. Most of the eight agents who spoke to CNA on the condition of anonymity said they were aware of this practice and acknowledged that it could be a workaround when the requirement kicks in next year. In response to CNA’s queries, CEA said that for the majority of property transactions, it would recognise one agent for each side – one for the buyer or tenant, and one for the seller or landlord. “This would be the property agent on each side of a transaction who interacted directly with the client and undertook most of the estate agency work,” the authority said, adding that it is an offence to submit false or misleading information.

“PASS THE DEAL” Property agents pointed out that because multiple people can work together on a listing, proving who carried out the actual work can be challenging. Property agents sometimes work in teams that contain senior and junior members, including some who are new to the industry. A “part-time” property agent – who transacts around once a year – said team managers could step in to help the less active agents maintain their transaction requirement. “It’s not difficult,” he said. “They can pass the deal to you … a small deal – room rental, a few hundred dollars. They ask you to go and process this order, then you complete your transaction, you got one count already.” Asked whether this practice was allowed, he said: “By right no … but if you go ‘by left’, who would know, right?” An active property agent told CNA that it would be hard to prove that the agent who lodges the transaction did not play a part in the deal. For example, they could claim that they provided marketing ideas. “If they really, really want to put up a show, then the inactive agent should at least show up once or twice so that the client knows that this particular inactive agent is actually also involved,” he said, although he added that he would not practise this. The commission could then be lodged under the inactive agent’s name, and they would also bear the corresponding income tax bill, he said. “The inactive agent has to weigh the cost. Is it worth it for (them) to pay (more) income tax just to maintain the licence? So I think most inactive agents, they may ultimately choose to drop out.” A senior agent said he would offer to "help" if approached by a junior agent in his team who could not meet the transaction requirement. “I think it's common, and will be very easy for senior agents to just park a few deals under them,” he said, adding that sellers may not care who the transaction is recorded under if the conditions of the deal have already been met. Under the new rules, agents who do not meet the minimum number of transactions can also pass a refresher examination to remain eligible for registration renewal. The senior agent said he assumed that passing the refresher examination is not going to be easy. CEA previously said the refresher exam will focus on practice-related knowledge essential for conducting estate agency work, and further details will be announced by the first half of 2029. “I'm not sure whether everyone will be helping, but I'm sure it's very easy to help them (inactive agents). There's no incentive not to help,” he said. Still, he pointed out that it would be “very easy” to clock three transactions over three years, and he did not know of any agent who would need help. He suggested that agents should be required to hit a minimum income, instead of a minimum number of transactions, as that would be harder to circumvent. CEA said that n ew property agents who have just joined the industry will not be required to complete any transactions in their first year. From their second year of registration, they will be required to meet the new requirement. This means they will need to either complete at least two transactions over the remaining two years of their registration period, or pass the exam. Agents who are unable to meet the requirement due to extenuating circumstances, such as serious medical issues or those handling complex property transactions that may take more time, may be considered for waivers on a case-by-case basis.

HEADCOUNT As of Jan 1, there were 36,816 property agents and 997 property agencies. More than 87 per cent of agents were in the top five agencies: PropNex Realty - 13,945 ERA Realty Network - 8,427 Huttons Asia - 5,760 OrangeTee & Tie - 2,518 SRI - 1,621 Mr Nicholas Mak, chief research officer from Mogul.sg, said there is a “very strong” incentive to maintain headcounts. “Even the inactive (agencies), as long as the inactive agent doesn't give them trouble, they will try to keep them,” he said. “It's for branding purposes.” For one, property developers may choose to appoint bigger agencies to market their residential launches. Some property agents may also choose to join bigger agencies because they believe that there are more career and business opportunities, he said. At the team level, there are also benefits to having a higher headcount, said one property agent. “Even now, I think there are a lot (of teams) still doing that. Like no active agent, but with the headcount, they can go up to the next level of the rank or something like that. “Two things: sales and headcount. Because there is criteria to go up to the next rank, (teams) must have certain sales with a certain team number,” she said. The property agent added that if she had an inactive associate, she would ask them to take over the lead early in a transaction with the lowest value and close the deal. “It’s nothing illegal, cause you also get approval from the owner. Like okay, this person will be serving you,” she said. In this situation, the inactive agent genuinely takes over the client and performs the estate agency work, rather than merely having the transaction recorded under their name. NOT A RISK WORTH TAKING Under the Estate Agents Act, property agencies and agents are required to submit property transaction records to CEA. It is an offence to submit false or misleading information, which includes submitting a transaction under an agent’s name when the transaction was handled by another property agent, a spokesperson from CEA said, adding that they take a serious view of such misconduct. Offenders may be prosecuted in court and jailed for up to 12 months, fined up to S$10,000 (US$7,810), or both. For certain complex transactions, such as en bloc transactions or the sale of high-end commercial or industrial properties, the spokesperson said CEA may recognise more than one agent for each side of a transaction. Agencies will need to provide supporting documents to the regulator to substantiate the involvement of their agents in completing these transactions. CEA will assess the number of agents – and which agents are to be recognised – on a case-by-case basis, the spokesperson added.

Some inactive property agents CNA spoke to said they would rather give up their licence. “I don't think this is going to work long term,” said Mr Wesley Ong, 25, a full-time university student who has not transacted since getting registered in 2024. As he was enrolled in the Real Estate Business Diploma programme before April 2020, he was exempted from taking the Real Estate Salesperson (RES) examination. He said he had not heard of this workaround before. “Maybe it can protect your licence now. But are you (going to) … keep relying on other people's transactions just to protect your licence? Then three years down the road, you still don't have any property transacted,” he said. “Ultimately, at the end of the day, you're still earning nothing. Then what’s the point?” Another agent added that she did not think active agents would go so far as to risk their registrations. “Now the government is so strict. So with those active agents, I doubt they will help in that way. It is your livelihood, your team. Why would you want to risk it for someone who is inactive? “If they fail to deliver, they just have to go and do the (refresher) exam … So it's not that there is no leeway,” she said. The agent, who works full-time in a different industry and got registered about 10 years ago, said she keeps the licence because it could “come in handy”. She suggested that agents who cannot meet the minimum transaction requirement can work under a qualified team leader, before the agent resumes independent practice. “Professionalism is actually all about knowledge, mentorship and continuous learning, not just transaction numbers,” she said. STEPPING UP MEASURES CNA reached out to the five biggest property agencies by headcount for comment. Key executive officer of ERA Eugene Lim said the agency will step up legal and compliance training to reinforce that it is an offence to falsify transaction submissions. Committing such an offence may result in CEA revoking their registration, and they will no longer be able to conduct estate agency work after that, he said. He added that CEA will start collecting commission payment information from all estate agencies from next year, and can easily match this against the transactions submitted. “If an agent is found to record a transaction under another agent’s name, he would have made a falsified submission, and that may likely constitute an offence,” he said. He added that three transactions over three years is not difficult to achieve, and that CEA recognises all types of transactions. Huttons Asia’s CEO Mark Yip said the company expects all transactions submitted by its salespersons to “accurately reflect the estate agency work carried out”. The salesperson responsible for the transaction is expected to submit the relevant documents in accordance with CEA's requirements, he added. “Our internal processes are designed to support accurate record-keeping and regulatory compliance,” he said. In terms of how the new requirements may affect headcount, he said the company expects the overall impact to be gradual, with the more noticeable effects likely to be around the next major renewal cycle. Chief agency officer of PropNex Realty Eddie Lim said the agency does not allow a transaction to be recorded under the name of a salesperson who was not genuinely appointed or involved in the transaction. The transaction submission is supported by relevant documents, including the prescribed CEA estate agency agreement or applicable appointment forms. These documents identify the appointed salesperson and are signed or acknowledged by the property owner or client and the salesperson concerned. This provides a formal record of the appointment and the salesperson responsible for representing the client. He added that any suspected inaccurate declaration or improper attribution will be reviewed under PropNex’s governance and compliance processes. In practice, salespersons may work in partnerships or teams on the same side of a transaction to provide greater value to consumers, Mr Lim said. However, only one agent can formally record the transaction to meet the currency requirement. Other team members who contribute substantially through marketing outreach, buyer engagement, market analysis, consultation, negotiations, documentation and transaction coordination cannot record the transaction, he added. “But when a consumer complaint comes in, CEA holds everyone responsible. “PropNex intends to engage CEA on how the currency requirement could appropriately recognise genuine and documentable team participation without weakening the integrity of the framework.” OrangeTee & Tie declined to comment, while SRI did not respond to queries. Mogul.sg’s Mr Mak said the workaround may undermine CEA’s governance of the property agency industry. “The ‘borrowing’ of real estate transactions among property agents not only misleads the public on the proficiency of the agents, but it also makes a mockery of the government policy and regulations,” he said. He suggested ways to plug the loophole, including raising the minimum number of transactions, strengthening auditing processes and increasing penalties for wrongdoing. “You have to make an example. Justice must be done and seen,” he added.