How to be a real estate (property) agent in Singapore (2024)

By darren ongOn August 21, 2024August 21, 2024

8 min read

How to be a top real estate (property) agent in Singapore (2024)

Property Agent Career | Property Agent Mentorship Singapore | RES Course | RES Exam | Singapore Property Agent Course

Considering a career switch or just graduated but do not have any idea what kind of career you want?

Maybe real estate might give you a fulfilling and prosperous career. But it is no longer like before where you can straightaway walk into any real estate agency and fill up the application form and start your real estate career.

In this article guide, I will share with you the various steps you need to do to be a real estate property agent in Singapore!

Firstly, a real estate agent is like running your own business. You are considered self-employed. All businesses definitely will involve some initial start-up costs.

In order to be a real estate agent, there is an initial start-up cost as well. Not only that, but you also need to go through courses and pass the examination before you can embark on your career as a real estate agent.

“Not to worry. It is not as scary. Study hard, and you will pass.”

Prpoperty Agent Course and Exam Pre-Requisite:

- Age: 21 Years and Above
- Citizenship: Singaporean or Permanent Resident
- Education Level: Minimum of 4 GCE ‘O’ level passes or equivalent (WPLN)
- Fulfils CEA fit and proper criteria

Let’s take a look at the property agent course known as the Real Estate Salesperson (RES) course and RES exam. Also, we will look into some of the recommended course providers in Singapore that are conducting the RES course.

Property Agent RES Course:

From 2010, the Council of Estate Agencies (CEA) has instituted that all RES or property agents need to undergo rigorous courses and pass all the exams before they are qualified to be a RES or property agent.

It is vital as it helps all aspiring agents to be, to learn, and understand the policies and regulations governing estate agency work. It also aims to ensure higher levels of professionalism and proficiency in the Singapore real estate industry.

The course content covers a wide range of topics and segments relating to real estate, and to be frank; it can be boring and difficult for those who are not academically endowed.

But not to worry, there is always someone to turn to when one encounters difficulty—that why I am here writing this to give you a head start.

Course Contents Syllabus:

You must complete the RES course with a minimum of 75% attendance record before you are eligible to receive the “Certificate of Completion for RES course”.

You need to produce the RES course Certificate of Completion to register for the RES Exam.

You need to pass the RES exam within two years from the date of issue of the Certificate of Completion for RES course.

Property Agent RES Course Fee:

The RES course fee is between $700 – $800 depending on which course provider you sign up.

The subsidy that you can use:

- For NTUC member, you may apply to use the $250 UTAP subsidy for the RES course.
- If you are Singaporean or Permanent Residents, you may utilize your SkillsFuture credit of up to $500 for the RES course.

List of recommended CEA approved Best RES course providers for 2024.

There are many RES course training centers available in Singapore. In case you are not sure where to find the RES course providers, this compiled list might be helpful to you as I have heard good reviews from newly joined real estate property agents who have joined us.

These RES course providers have different training schedules to cater to busy working adults or parents such as specific weekday night classes, express classes, weekend-only classes, or Saturday classes only, etc.

Recommended property agent (RES) course providers in different areas that you preferred:

- Central Area – Hastor Property Services / Real Centre Network / BenchMark RealPro / Institute of Estate Agents (IEA)
- Western Area – Pioneer Training & Consultancy / Real Centre Network
- Eastern Area – Real Centre Network / Singapore Estate Agents Association (SEAA)

Hastor Property Services Pte Ltd
Website: www.hastor.com.sg
Tel No: 88561000
Tel No: 88569000
Email: [email protected]
Office: 3 Bishan Place #06-01, CPF Bishan Building Singapore 579838

BenchMark RealPro Pte Ltd
Website: https://www.benchmarkrealpro.com
Tel: 67355860
Tel: 67355861
Email: [email protected]
Venue: 151 Chin Swee Road #03-31 Manhattan House Singapore 169876.

Institute of Estate Agents
Website: www.iea.sg
Tel No: 63231770
Email: [email protected]
Venue: 6 Raffles Boulevard Marina Square @ JustGo #03-308 Singapore 039594

Pioneer Training & Consultancy Pte Ltd
Website: www.pioneertraining.org
Tel No: 64626093
Tel No: 94243483
Email: [email protected]
Venue: Blk 134 Jurong Gateway Road #03-309P Singapore 600134

Life Mastery Academy Pte Ltd
Website: www.lma.com.sg
Tel No: 62556091
Tel No: 62556083
Email: [email protected]
Venue: Blk 190 Lorong 6 Toa Payoh @02-510 Singapore 310190

Real Centre Network Pte Ltd
Website: www.realcentrenetwork.com
Tel No: 65113009
Email: [email protected]
Venue: 490 Lorong 6 Toa Payoh #09-16 HDB Hub Biz 3 Singapore 310490
*Update: RCN now has branches in Tampines and Jurong too.

Realty International Associates Pte Ltd
Website: www.riaschool.com.sg
Tel No: 63396000
Email: [email protected]
Venue: 490 Lorong 6 Toa Payoh #03-13 HDB Hub Biz 3 Singapore 310490

Singapore Estate Agents Association
Website: www.seaa.org.sg
Tel No: 67021602
Email: [email protected]
Venue: 60 Paya Lebar Road #13-23 Paya Lebar Square Singapore 409051 (Office Lift Lobby 1)

Ngee Ann Polytechnic
Website: www.cet.np.edu.sg
Tel No: 64630596
Email: https://www.cet.np.edu.sg/contact/
Venue: 535 Clementi Road Blk 50 #01-01 Singapore 599489

For more information, you may visit https://www.cea.gov.sg/professionals/salesperson-registration-matters/apply-for-the-real-estate-salesperson-course for more information.

Property Agent RES Exam:

After completing the RES course, you are required to take two RES exam papers and pass both RES exam papers before applying to be a licensed real estate property agent.

You may register for the RES examination at NTUC Learninghub, CEA’s appointed examination administrator.

RES Exams are conducted three times a year during Mar, July, and Nov. My advice is that it will be best to monitor for the RES exam registration opening 1 to 2 months before the scheduled RES exam date stated on the CEA website and register your interest asap on the scheduled date for stage 1 registration opening.

You might want to read more on RES Exam Revision

RES Exam Schedule 2024:

The Exam formats are as following:

Each Exam Paper (2 ½ Hours)
- PAPER 1
  - Competency Part 1: Real estate agency industry overview and basic land law concepts
  - Competency Part 2: Dealings with interests in land
- PAPER 2
  - Competency Part 3: Regulation of real estate agency industry and real estate marketing
  - Competency Part 4: Property transactions
– Each Exam Paper (100 marks)
- Section A: 60 MCQs (1 mark each, Total 60 marks).
- Section B: 20 MCQs about 1 or 2 case studies (2 marks each, Total 40 marks).

Singapore Institute of Management Headquarters (SIM HQ)
461 Clementi Road. Singapore 599491 (paper-based examination)

Important Notice: November 2022 RES Exam Two-Stage Registration Process starting from August 2021 Real Estate Salesperson (RES) Examination: Read More…

MONTH	DATE / TIME	EXAM PAPER	REGISTRATION PERIOD *
MARCH 2024	23 MAR 2024, SAT (9.30AM – 12PM) 24 MAR 2024, SUN (9.30AM – 12PM)	RES PAPER 1 RES PAPER 2	Stage 1 – FormSG 14 Feb, Wed (from 9am to 12 noon) Stage 2 – LHUB 22 Feb, Thu to 25 Feb, Sun
JULY 2024	20 JUL 2024, SAT (9.30AM – 12PM) 21 JUL 2024, SUN (9.30AM – 12PM)	RES PAPER 1 RES PAPER 2	Stage 1 – FormSG 11 Jun, Tue (from 9am to 12 noon) Stage 2 – LHUB 20 Jun, Thu to 23 Jun, Sun
NOV 2024	16 NOV 2024, SAT (9.30AM – 12PM) 17 NOV 2024, SUN (9.30AM – 12PM)	RES PAPER 1 RES PAPER 2	Stage 1 – FormSG 1 Oct, Tue (from 9am to 12 noon) Stage 2 – LHUB 12 Oct, Sat to 15 Oct, Tue

MONTH

DATE / TIME

EXAM PAPER

REGISTRATION PERIOD *

MARCH 2024

23 MAR 2024, SAT
(9.30AM – 12PM)

24 MAR 2024, SUN
(9.30AM – 12PM)

RES PAPER 1

RES PAPER 2

Stage 1 – FormSG
14 Feb, Wed (from 9am to 12 noon)
Stage 2 – LHUB
22 Feb, Thu to 25 Feb, Sun

JULY 2024

20 JUL 2024, SAT
(9.30AM – 12PM)

21 JUL 2024, SUN
(9.30AM – 12PM)

RES PAPER 1

RES PAPER 2

Stage 1 – FormSG
11 Jun, Tue (from 9am to 12 noon)
Stage 2 – LHUB
20 Jun, Thu to 23 Jun, Sun

NOV 2024

16 NOV 2024, SAT
(9.30AM – 12PM)

17 NOV 2024, SUN
(9.30AM – 12PM)

RES PAPER 1

RES PAPER 2

Stage 1 – FormSG
1 Oct, Tue (from 9am to 12 noon)
Stage 2 – LHUB
12 Oct, Sat to 15 Oct, Tue

Property Agent (RES) Exam Fee:

The RES exam cost fee is $425.10 inclusive GST for two papers.

Do note that if you failed the paper and need to retake the RES exam, the exam fee is $239.80 inclusive GST per exam paper.

RES Exam Result:

The exam administrator will notify you of your results.

If you are unable to pass the paper within a two-year timeframe, you will need to retake the RES course and sit for the full RES Exam again (both exam papers 1 and 2).

NOTE: If you are confident that you should have passed the exams, an appeal can be submitted to NTUC Learninghub to review your exam paper at $65.40 inclusive GST (Review fee is non-refundable). The CEA’s appointed examination administrator will notify you of the examination results within five working days.

Important note for foreigners and aspiring real estate property agent that you must bear in mind:

You are not automatically qualified to be a real estate property agent even after attending the RES course and have passed the RES examination.

You need to comply with the full RES license registration requirement set by the Estate Agents Act, which includes fulfilling the fit and proper criteria.

For SPR less than ten years, you need to submit either a certificate of no criminal conviction or proof of stay in Singapore for ten years or more.

For the foreigner, you need to have a valid employment pass (EP) issued by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), then consult a real estate agency company to submit for a preliminary assessment for registration eligibility to CEA.

Thereafter, you will need to produce a letter of sponsorship from the real estate agency when you register for the RES course. (You may refer to the end of this article for a list of recommended CEA approved RES course providers 2021)

What next! After you have passed the RES exams? How to become a real estate property agent?

If you passed both the RES Exam papers, Congratulation!!

Are you EXCITED to come onboard and strike for a greater career ahead?

My advice is to do so some research on which agency to join. If you haven’t, here are the top 4 real estate agencies at the moment in Singapore. Huttons Group, OrangeeTee & Tie, Huttons, Propnex, and ERA.

Get on your feet and meet up with some of the experienced real estate agents to understand the company’s support that you can expect for your real estate career. Good mentorship is also crucial. Get someone that you feel he/she can click with you, share, and guide you in your new career.

You will then need to proceed to the licensed real estate agency to register for your RES license before you can practice any real estate work. If you found a mentor, he/she will bring you and guide you on the registration.

Property agent Career Starts Here: RES License Registration and Start Your Exciting Real Estate Career Journey:

1) Submit a RES license registration:

A. Visit the real estate agency that you wish to join.

B. Get an application form from the counter and submit your salesperson application to CEA for the In-Principle Approval’ (IPA).

2) RES License Registration fees are as following:

- RES Registration Fee: $50 + $230 = $280 (Annually payable to CEA)
- Professional Indemnity Insurance: $120
- Agency admin fees for ID Tag, name cards, Startup and Admin fees: Range between $300 and $500.

If you haven’t found a mentor to guide you, then this is the step you need to do to become a real estate agent.

3) CEA Approval:

A. You should expect to receive approval notification from CEA within 4-6 weeks.

B. Once the real estate agency received approval notification from CEA, CONGRATULATIONS! You are ready to start on an exciting and rewarding real estate career!

4) Meet up with your mentor:

A. If you have already found a mentor to guide you, meet up with him, and discuss what you can do to achieve a breakthrough in this exciting career.

Did this article help you?

Are you looking for real estate career mentorship to shorten your learning curve to achieve more?

Drop me a Whatsapp or Email if you would like to find out more or start your real estate career with our team or attend our next Real Estate Career Seminar!

Enjoy 100% RES joining fee subsidies for brand new agents. The limited slot is available NOW.

CONTACT ME

Cheers,
Darren Ong
HP: 93839588
Senior Associate District Director
Huttons Asia (Navis Group)

Darren is an experienced licensed real estate agent and team leader with over a decade of active involvement in Singapore real estate field of work with numerous top achiever awards. He is very approachable and down-to-earth in sharing his knowledge with his associates.

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