Source : Straits Times - 11 Aug 2008
NO doubt about it. The removal of property agent commission guidelines by the Institute of Estate Agents is a bad and irrational move.
The institute has undone its many years of good work that instilled a sense of proper worth for the work agents do. The public and the media are always inclined to portray agents as devils and the clients as angels or damsels in distress. While there are exceptions to any rule, I would argue to the contrary. Show me one client of honorary character, and I’ll show you 10 agents who will return the favour over and beyond the call of service.
The fact of the matter is, the gentleman client is a rarity in the Singapore property market. The largely fictional scrupulous agent is a direct result of the dearth of principled clients. In theory, one devil client is enough to spawn 10 devil agents. Sadly, nine in 10 clients tend to be the devil. This is a market that never appreciates good service offered, though exceptions apply. Regardless of the industry, monetising good service is close to impossible with Singaporeans. When your business comprises all service and no tangible product, it becomes a huge problem of survival.
Removing commission guidelines in a gentleman’s market is well and good, but to do so in Singapore is detrimental to the industry and its benefactors, both agents and clients. Soon everyone will have forgotten there were ever guidelines. And most clients will try to get away with free service and a pound of flesh. As the situation deteriorates, agents will tend towards bad service, and the honest ones will eventually drop out. And we will have a scoundrel’s playground for a real estate market. Welcome to reality.
In any case, Institute of Estate Agents guidelines were just that. No agent could effectively enforce them, because they were not enforceable in court. What the guidelines did was to give the collective conscience of property players a proper perception of the worth of work done by agents. Now that thin string to common sense is gone. Get ready for many sad stories.
Forget about “Integrity”, “Service” and “Excellence”. Expect minimum, disgruntled and devalued service.
James Rajan
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