A new statutory group will be set up, and new regulations for the industry put in place to raise the professionalism of the real estate agency industry. The Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) under the Ministry of National Development (MND) will replace the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore's (IRAS') as the licensing authority for real estate agencies. MND will introduce a Bill in Parliament in the...
Property Agency
It will help manage real estate portfolios of wealthy investors FORMER Savills analyst Ku Swee Yong hopes to shake up the real estate scene here with his new agency International Property Advisor (IPA). IPA aims to connect high net worth individuals to suitable real estate investment products. 'We want to provide a service to represent the private wealth that goes into real estate investments,' said Mr...
FIRMS registered with the Singapore Accredited Estate Agencies (SAEA) will need to have professional indemnity insurance before they can renew their accreditation. A minimum limit of indemnity of $500,000 is recommended under the new rule that comes into effect on April 1. The move by the SAEA is to make consumers more confident when they engage estate agents. All commission agreements and exclusive...
From April 1, estate agencies must have a valid Professional Indemnity (PI) insurance to renew their accreditation status with the Singapore Accredited Estate Agencies (SAEA). The SAEA recommends a minimum limit of indemnity of S$500,000. SAEA said the move is designed to strengthen consumer confidence in estate agents who are believed to handle eight out of 10 real estate transactions. Having a...
PROPERTY firm HSR announced yesterday that it will list on the Singapore Exchange via a reverse takeover of electroplating company Wepco. As part of the move, Wepco will apply to be transferred from the Catalist board, where it is now listed, to the SGX mainboard. The move involves Wepco acquiring the real estate giant and issuing 80 million shares at 50 cents a piece, a total of $40 million, to HSR...
Catalist-listed electro-plating and industrial engineering services firm Wepco said on Monday that it is acquiring real estate firm HSR in a reverse takeover. It is buying the entire issued share capital of HSR for a consideration of S$40 million. The purchase will be satisfied by the issue of new ordinary shares. Wepco will issue some 80 million consideration shares at a price of 50 cents per share. At...
For every property deal they close, their agencies would take a cut of their commission, and how much would depend on the productivity and seniority of the real estate agent. But some agents are getting around this commission system — prompting one agency to issue a “final warning” to all its agents on Tuesday. In an email, ERA said it had discovered that some agents under a “80/20 scheme” —...
Stricter rules are needed to protect the public from unscrupulous real estate agents THE recent case of the couple, who sued ERA Realty Network after discovering they had been shortchanged by the company's agents when they sold their apartment, once again highlights the need for better regulatory control of real estate agents. Following the case, there were many calls for the authorities to bring about...
ERA Realty Network is implementing a set of measures to improve transparency and accountability on the part of its agents. The move - the first of its kind in Singapore - comes on the heels of a court decision criticising the behaviour of two ERA agents for breach of duty and fraud. On Thursday, the High Court ordered ERA to pay S$257,000 to a couple who had engaged one of the agents to sell their...