Property agents in Singapore will soon face stricter rules to remain active in the industry, as the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) announced a new “currency requirement” starting January 1, 2027. The regulator plans to extend the validity period of agent registrations and agency licences from one year to three years, requiring practitioners to complete at least three residential transactions over that three-year span. Agents who fail to meet this threshold and subsequently fail a refresher examination will be forced to leave the sector, though they may apply to re-enter by retaking the Real Estate Salesperson examination.
New three-year cycle begins in 2027
Agencies and agents renewing their registrations at the end of 2026 will enter the first three-year cycle, which runs from January 1, 2027, to December 31, 2029. New entrants joining later in the year will also see their registration periods end on that date. This shift is designed to reduce the administrative workload for agencies, which will now manage renewals only once a year instead of multiple times.
The CEA noted that as of January 1, 2026, about 40 percent—roughly 12,920 agents—had not completed the required three transactions between 2023 and 2025. The median number of residential transactions completed by each agent annually was two during that period, indicating a gap between activity levels and regulatory expectations. The new currency requirement complements the existing Continuing Professional Development (CPD) regime, which already mandates 16 training hours per year. While agents must continue to meet these training obligations, the transaction threshold focuses on practical market experience rather than just theoretical knowledge.
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Senior Minister of State for National Development and Transport Sun Xueling highlighted the rationale behind the changes during the Singapore Estate Agents Conference. She stated that feedback suggested agents who are inactive for extended periods may not remain current with evolving rules and market trends. The CEA executive director Chan Khar Liang echoed these concerns, noting that inactive agents could inadvertently provide inaccurate advice to clients due to a lack of familiarity with current processes.
To address potential gaps, the regulator will also begin collecting commission data from agencies and may publish aggregated, anonymised industry-level information to help newcomers make better-informed career decisions.
Flexibility for new entrants and exceptional cases
Under the new framework, there is built-in flexibility for agents facing exceptional circumstances or those just starting their careers. In their first year of registration, new agents will not be required to complete any transactions, allowing them time to build a client base. To qualify for renewal after that initial period, they must complete at least two transactions in the remaining two years or pass the refresher exam. Agents who fail to meet the requirement due to extenuating circumstances—such as serious medical issues or complex transactions—may be considered for waivers on a case-by-case basis.
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Further details of the refresher exam will be announced by the first half of 2029. The policy reflects a broader industry review aimed at raising professional standards and improving transparency. However, some industry leaders note that the rule could lead to attrition among agents who have retained their registrations but are no longer meaningfully active. PropNex associate group district director Loyalle Chin welcomed the move toward greater transparency but cautioned that robust checks are necessary to ensure deals were genuinely handled by the credited agents.
This regulatory shift signals a move away from simply tracking headcount toward focusing on the productivity and development of individual agents. It also coincides with other proposed measures, such as launching a full-scale platform in 2027 to verify the authenticity of online property listings and making the public register easier for consumers to access. The authorities are also considering requiring agents and clients to sign an Estate Agency Agreement before work begins and making the Housing Board’s Resale Flat Listing service the default platform for HDB resale advertisements.
