How to Check Property Agent Transaction Record in CEA Public Register

Have you ever visited a cafe that, as your friend swore to you, makes the best cappuccino in Singapore, only to be severely underwhelmed by it? Imagine if that was your property agent, and instead of wasting $12 (plus GST) on mediocre coffee and stale pastries, you’re squandering away thousands of dollars for a “specialist” who’s charging a higher-than-average commission for subpar service, or worse, finding out that he’s not even licensed to help you sell your home.

And you’re wondering, how do you even find the good agents out there? The ones that are trusted and proudly recommended by not one person, but thousands of people who have worked with them previously.

All you have to do is know where to look.

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Where can you find a good property agent?

You can start looking at the Public Register, created by the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA), where you can find all the licensed real estate agencies in Singapore, and the registered property agents you can engage to sell your home. 

Before we move forward, please note these terminologies:

• A ‘salesperson’ refers to a property agent; an individual
• An ‘estate agent’ refers to a property agency; a business or a company

What do you look for in CEA’s Public Register?

#1: Check if your property agent/agency is registered/licensed

This criteria is non-negotiable as CEA legally requires all property agents and agencies in Singapore to secure a valid license or registration before conducting any estate agency work. 

According to the Estate Agents Act, property agencies operating without a licence can be fined up to $75,000 and imprisoned for up to three years, while property agents who are not registered can be fined up to $25,000 or imprisoned for up to a year. Though you won’t be directly slapped with the fines, you won’t want to be caught in the crosshairs either. After all, you still want to sell your home.

Search via  property agent’s name or number

Step 1: Go to CEA’s Public Register

Step 2: Click the ‘Salesperson’ tab

Step 3: Key in any of these particulars:

1. Salesperson’s Name
2. Salesperson’s Registration Number
3. Salesperson’s Contact Number
4. Estate Agent’s Name  

Step 4: Hit ‘Search’ 

At this stage, you should be able to see this page:

Step 5: Tap ‘View more details’

After which, you should be able to see this page:

Search via the property agency’s name or number

Step 1: Go to CEA’s Public Register

Step 2: Click the ‘Estate Agent’ tab

Step 3: Key in any of these particulars:

1. Estate Agent’s Name
2. Estate Agent’s Licence Number

The results should look something like this:

P.S. The licensing and registration information on CEA’s Public Register is updated daily, so you can check it anytime. 

#2: Verify if your property agent’s registration number is accurate

Your property agent’s registration number should be included in any of his/her sales materials or presentations (e.g. flyers, bus ads, online ads in the form of posts or videos, presentation slides), which is also a requirement made by CEA. 

The registration number will be unique and should contain 6 digits and an alphabet at the front and back. Example: R123456A

If it doesn’t resemble the above example, then you should move on and find another agent to help you sell your home.

#3: Ensure that your property agent’s name, contact number and registration number match the records on CEA’s Public Register

Make sure that the name, mobile number, and registration number of the agent you’re talking to matches whatever is on CEA’s Public Register so you can protect yourself from scam artists.

Let’s say you’re talking to a Mr Joe King and you follow the steps above to check if this property agent is registered with CEA. Though his name does pop up on the register, the mobile number he’s using to send you listings on WhatsApp is not what’s recorded on CEA. In this case, the person you’re talking to may be impersonating an actual, registered property agent and harbouring an ulterior motive. 

In that case, you should stop your contact with the faux agent immediately, report him/her to the authorities and start searching for another property agent, following the steps above to verify his/her authenticity. 

#4: Review your property agent’s transaction records in the last 24 months

CEA’s Public Register also allows you to look at your property agent’s most recent transactions, particularly in the last 2 years. So let’s say you’ve found your agent in the Public Register and clicked ‘View more details’, you should be able to see this page:

From this page, you can look at your property agent’s transaction history with a Seller, Buyer, Tenant, or Landlord:

• HDB resale records
• HDB rental records
• Private rental records
• Private resale records

These records are updated on the 15th of every month, and only show transactions that were completed within the last year, from the date of access. Transaction records that are older than 24 months can be found on data.gov.sg, though the available records there are only for the period starting from 1 January 2017.

Some other things to note about these transaction records:

• HDB resale transactions are provided by HDB.
• Rental transactions for HDB or private properties are provided by the property agencies.
• If your property agent worked with a team of other property agents to represent the same transacting party for a specific transaction, their property agency will determine which agent the transaction will be recorded under for publication in the Public Register.

With access to a property agent’s recent transactions in Singapore, you can have some idea of how well they can serve you based on their success rate of transacting either a resale HDB flat or private property in your town, regardless of whether you’re a seller, buyer, or tenant.

#5: Find out if your property agent has been disciplined by CEA in the last 2 years

It will be under ‘Disciplinary Actions’, and will explain the cause of the disciplinary action, the date it was received by the agent, and the date on which it will take effect.

If your property agent has had a disciplinary action made against him by CEA, you will see it on his/her agent’s page:

As there are about 30,000 property agents in Singapore, it might be too troublesome for you to go check each and every one of their registration details on CEA’s Public Register. 

Besides, you may get a referral from your friends and family before going online to search how to find a good property agent and reading this guide, which we understand. The opinions of the people closest to you matter more than us, a company you may have only heard of now. 

That said, once you’ve listened to what your loved ones have to say, and you’ve talked to those agents they recommended to you, it’s time to get a second opinion. This is where Ohmyhome comes in. 

We want to encourage you to not only verify the credibility of those referred property agents, but also check ours. Buying or selling a home will be one of the biggest financial decisions you’ll ever make in life, and we want to make sure you choose the right property agent to represent you, and champion your needs, in the process. 

So go ahead and look for Ohmyhome on CEA’s Public Register, and feel free to reach out to us via this form here if you have any further questions.

Let Ohmyhome assist you in selling your resale HDB flat or private property

Sell your home for a high price in no time, hassle-free with us! Our Super Agents are CEA-certified and among the Top 1% in Singapore. With more than 8,000 happy customers served, we’ve garnered 4-star ratings on both Facebook and Google! Because at Ohmyhome, we‘re always by your side, always on your side.

Secure an appointment with any of our Super Agents by dropping us a message in the chatbox at the bottom, right-hand corner of the screen. You can also drop us a message on WhatsApp and we’ll be in touch with you right away.

Not ready to speak with an agent? Stay updated on your home valuation, recent transactions, and cash flow with Homer AI!

Homer AI is our home ownership management & e-Valuation tool that will provide an accurate estimation of your home valuation that’s updated every month, so you can track if it increased, stayed the same, or decreased.

Homer AI can also help you:

• Estimate how high you can sell your home. With an accurate home valuation, you’ll know the exact market rate for your home and negotiate with confidence.
• Financially plan for your next dream home. How much do you actually get to keep? Do you have enough for your next home? Relax, leave the calculations to Homer AI.
• Stay updated on the property market. No more waking up to thousands of news articles about new cooling measures. Get it straight from one source.