Push to get property agents accredited

Source : Business Times – 18 Jul 2009

AN ESTATE agents’ group has launched a push to heighten the professionalism of property agents.

Singapore Accredited Estate Agencies (SAEA) wants all housing agents to have at least an entry-level Common Examination for Salesperson (CES) certificate. SAEA wants ‘to move the estate agency profession to the next lap’, said its recently appointed chief executive officer Tan Tee Khoon.

At present, about 6,000 out of 24,000 property agents at accredited agencies have either first-tier Common Examination for Housing Agents (CEHA) or second-tier CES certification.

Although SAEA wants all agents to be accredited, obtaining a certification will be voluntary and there will be no penalty should an agent choose to not be accredited. But property agencies and SAEA are confident that the agents will choose to be accredited ’since it will benefit them in the long run’, Dr Tan said.

To encourage them to obtain certification, SAEA has obtained funding from the Workforce Development Agency (WDA) for first-tier CES accreditation. The funding will cover up to 80-90 per cent of the course fee, which is about $350, excluding examination charges. Some agencies, such as HSR, will fully subsidise the remaining costs.

Another SAEA initiative will improve the procedure for dealing with complaints and disputes involving estate agencies.

Dr Tan said that the procedure has been enhanced to provide greater transparency for consumers, from the time that a complaint is lodged until when the matter is closed. SAEA will also work with CES external examiner Ngee Ann Polytechnic to introduce a Certificate in Real Estate marketing so that CEHA and CES holders can upgrade to a recognised professional qualification.

The first 120-hour course will run from November this year. SAEA and Ngee Ann Polytechnic are working on the prospect of getting funding from the Skills Development Fund for the course, which will cost $1,500 for six months.