79% of Singaporeans satisfied with services of property agents

The survey found that consumers are mostly satisfied with the service standards of agents. (Photo: CEA) Nearly four out of five Singaporeans are pleased with the performance of property agents here, according to the latest survey conducted by the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA).
Around 79 percent of respondents said they are satisfied with their agents, but this is slightly lower than the 81 percent seen in 2012.
The marginal drop comes after the percentage of satisfied resale clients fell from 87 percent in 2012 to 82 percent last year, while that of rental clients remain unchanged at 75 percent.
Those polled said they are most satisfied in the area of service excellence, giving high marks to property agents for politeness, responsiveness and for reasonably accommodating customers’ needs.
However, respondents gave low marks in three areas, namely that their agents did not clearly explain the commission amount for brokering the deal, may have been forceful in pressuring them to complete the transaction, or did not do their best to secure the best price for the client.
The study also found that more people are undecided about whether to engage a property agent for future transactions. Compared to 24 percent in 2012, 31 percent said they don’t know if they would use their services.
Nevertheless, the proportion of respondents intending to work with a property agent is still high at 60 percent, versus 66 percent four years ago. Those planning to handle their own transactions also fell from 10 percent to nine percent.
“The findings provide us with useful insights to plan and develop initiatives that will further raise professional standards in the industry, as well as promote consumer awareness of industry practices. It also serves as a useful report card for property agencies and agents to review and improve their practices,” said CEA’s Executive Director Lee Kwong Weng.
The survey was conducted from November 2015 to February 2016, involving a total of 2,113 consumers. Of this number, 448 had not dealt with a property agent before, while 1,665 had used their services.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg

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