Property agents must complete three deals in three years for renewal: CEA

Property agents in Singapore will need to complete a minimum number of transactions to renew their registration from 2027, the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) announced on Tuesday, 28 July 2026.

Agents who do not meet this requirement can instead sit a refresher examination to remain eligible for renewal, CEA said in a media release.

Senior Minister of State for National Development Sun Xueling unveiled the changes at the Singapore Estate Agents Conference, held at the Lifelong Learning Institute.

Under the new Currency Requirement, property agents must complete at least three property transactions over a three-year registration period, or pass the refresher examination, to renew their registration.

Alongside this, CEA will extend the validity of all property agency licences and agent registrations from one year to three years. The first three-year cycle runs from 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2029.

Sun said the regulator introduced the requirement after receiving feedback about the currency of knowledge among agents who had not transacted for extended periods.

CEA's 2024 Public Perception Survey found that three in four consumers expected their agent to complete at least one transaction annually, yet roughly 40 per cent of agents currently fall short of this.

As of 1 July, Singapore had 38,162 registered property agents and 1,018 licensed property agencies, CEA said. Between 2023 and 2025, the median number of residential transactions per agent each year was two.

CNA had reported in 2024 that CEA was considering a minimum transaction threshold for agents to remain registered, following concerns raised during industry engagement sessions. Agents currently face no such requirement to renew registration.

Recognised transactions under the new rule include the sale, purchase and rental of Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats, private homes, and commercial and industrial properties, as well as foreign property sales and en bloc sales.

Executive Director of CEA Chan Khar Liang said industry stakeholders had consistently flagged the risk posed by agents who transact infrequently, who may be less familiar with evolving rules and market trends.

"As property transactions are one of the largest financial decisions Singaporeans make, it is therefore important that property agents meet the new Currency Requirement," Chan said, according to the CEA media release.

New agents will not need to complete any transactions in their first year, giving them time to build skills and a client base. From their second year, they must complete two transactions over the remaining period, or pass the refresher exam.

Agents facing extenuating circumstances, such as serious medical issues or unusually complex transactions, may apply through their agencies for waivers on a case-by-case basis, CEA said.

Details of the refresher examination, including its format, will be announced by the first half of 2029. Despite the longer registration cycle, licensing and registration fees will continue to be charged annually rather than as a lump sum.

Licensing fees for agencies start from S$330 (US$255) a year and rise to at least S$40,000 depending on agency size, while agents pay S$280 annually for registration. Renewal application fees, currently paid every two years, will shift to once every three years from 2027.

Sun also outlined longer-term measures under study, including collecting agency commission data from January 2027 to publish aggregated, anonymised industry figures, though individual agents' commissions will not be disclosed.

CEA is also examining whether to allow consumer ratings of individual agents on its public register, and whether to let sellers list properties directly on property portals without engaging an agent.

To address inaccurate or duplicated listings, CEA will launch a platform next year to verify listing authenticity, building on work by the Alliance for Action on Accurate Property Listings, with unique codes assigned before publication.

The regulator is also studying whether to make HDB's Resale Flat Listing service, launched in May 2024, the default listing platform for HDB resale flats, without replacing existing portals.

These measures follow earlier changes this year, including a revised continuing professional development framework requiring agents to complete 16 training hours annually, and enhancements to the CEA Public Register in June covering three years of enforcement records.