CEA to further raise industry standards

Not resting on its laurels, the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) will continue to take further steps to raise industry standards and protect consumers, Minister for National Development Khaw Boon Wan posted in his blog yesterday.

He stated that improvements will continue to be made via four main fronts: fine tuning the Estate Agency Work Regulations, improving industry development, promoting consumer education while continuing to address the industry's overall concerns.

CEA has also managed to close more than 75 per cent of complaints received thus far, issuing numerous letters of advice and warnings, and resorting to legal action in certain cases.

Acknowledging the council's achievements since its inception in October 2010, Mr Khaw maintained a modest tone and posted: 'We had a good one year, but it is only the first step. Let us now build on this foundation.'

For instance, he highlighted that a review of the CEA-Dispute Resolution Mechanism is currently ongoing to see how the Small Claims Tribunals can be incorporated to better facilitate resolution matters.

As at Jan 1 this year, the CEA had licensed a total of 1,487 estate agents - comprising companies registered to carry out work of a real estate nature - and 30,577 salespersons - the professionals who guide consumers around property viewings.

Notably, the industry was able to attract fresh blood with 2,733 new salespersons registered last year, out of which 81 per cent of the pool possessed tertiary education - a considerable jump from the 53 per cent reflected in the existing population of salespersons.

Comparatively, the CEA issued licences to 1,559 estate agents and registered 34,301 salespersons last year. Out of which, 73 or 4.6 per cent of the former and 3,724 or 10.9 per cent of the latter indicated that they wished to discontinue with their estate agency work in 2012.

Said Purnima Shantilal, director of CEA: 'From industry feedback, we understand that the salespersons who did not wish to continue with their registration were part-timers who are concentrating on their full-time jobs or had found a full-time job.'

Ms Shantilal also added that other reasons for departure included family commitments and taking a break from the industry.

Currently, registered salespersons are required to comply with the continuing professional development (CPD) scheme implemented on April 1 last year by undergoing six hours of training within 12 months to keep in touch with the latest shifts in policies and procedures pertaining to real estate transactions.

However, the current mandatory six training hours may not stay that way for long as CEA has indicated that that number might be increased in the continual effort to raise the industry's standards.

Source: Business Times – 31 January 2012