Nearly 100 “letters of advice” have been issued by the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA ) to errant property companies and agents within the first year of its operations.
Launched in October 2010, CEA was established by the government to raise the professionalism of the property agency industry in Singapore
“We have started on a lighter regulatory touch to give estate agents (property firms) and salespersons some time to adjust to the enhanced regulatory framework,” said Chionh Chye Khye, Executive Director of CEA .
“Going forward, we will be taking firmer disciplinary actions against errant estate agents and salespersons through our disciplinary committees. Penalties would include warnings, fines, revocation or suspension.”
“Court prosecution may also be undertaken for serious cases,” he added.
The CEA has also charged an unregistered agent in court since the law to rein in errant property agents took effect.
As of 31 August 2011 , 33,054 real estate agents were registered with the council, and a total of 1,535 agencies have also been given licences.
Chionh noted that the number of agents could drop by 1,000 to 2,000 due to the tougher position and weakening property market outlook.
Several market players believe that CEA ’s presence has worked to check unusual behaviour to some extent.
“We do see that many of the agents take CEA ’s regulations very seriously. They know that they will get into trouble if they don't follow the guidelines,” said Eugene Lim, Key Executive Officer at ERA Realty.
Meanwhile, the CEA will conduct its first-ever public perception survey by the end of this year. This will serve as a baseline to observe the public’s perception of the industry in the coming years.
Info courtesy - PropertyGuru.com.sg
