The Executive Committee of SEAA, alongside the keynote speakers of the conference, lined up for a photo at the end of the event on July 27. (Picture: SEAA)
SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - The Singapore Estate Agents Association (SEAA), the largest industry representative body for real estate salespersons in Singapore, held its first in-person agents conference on July 27.
The title of the conference was ‘Thriving in Tomorrow’s Real Estate Business: Gearing up for what’s coming’, and it was attended by more than 500 real estate agents.
The conference was organised by SEAA as a platform for agents to hear insights from government agencies and industry players about how the real estate industry could transform and evolve in a post-Covid environment.
There were several keynote speakers such as Adele Tan, group director of strategic planning at URA; Serene Tay, industry partner at SLA; Lee Nai Jia, former deputy director at the Institute of Real Estate and Urban Studies at NUS; and Patrick Tan, founder and CEO of Fortis Law.
For example, Tan of URA shared key elements of Singapore’s Long-Term Plan Review, a 50-year urban plan that maps out the country’s strategic land uses and infrastructure needs. Meanwhile, Tay of SLA shared features of One-Map, the definitive national map database developed by SLA.
On the other hand, Lee Nai Jia laid out various publicly available property data that agents could use to value-add their services, and Patrick Tan of Fortis Law explained various strategies to structure property transactions for high net-worth clients.
The one-day conference concluded with a panel discussion moderated by Eddie Lim an Exco member of SEAA and senior vice-president of PropNex Realty.
From left, the panel moderator Eddie Lim, Exco member of SEAA and senior vice-president of PropNex Realty; Chia I-Ling, director, policy & professional development, CEA; Patrick Tan, founder and CEO of Fortis Law; Lee Nai Jia formerly of NUS; Bernard Tong, CEO of The Edge Singapore/EdgeProp Singapore; and Bruce Lye, 1st vice-president of SEAA and managing partner at SRI. (Picture: SEAA)
The panellists consisted of Chia I-Ling, director, policy & professional development at the Council for Estate Agencies; Bruce Lye, 1st vice-president of SEAA and managing partner at Singapore Realtors Inc (SRI); Bernard Tong, CEO of The Edge Singapore/EdgeProp Singapore; Lee Nai Jia formerly of NUS; and Patrick Tan of Fortis Law.
During the panel discussion, questions were directed to Chia of CEA regarding how the regulator manages complaints from the public and how it plans to raise the level of professionalism among real estate agents.
Bruce Lye shared his experiences and growth journey developing his own agency from the ground up, and he gave advice to help new real estate agents carve out their own unique selling point to avoid feeling disadvantaged compared to more experienced agents.
Meanwhile, Bernard Tong shared how platforms such as EdgeProp Singapore act as enablers for the industry rather than disruptors. He added that the suite of property-related research tools available to agents and consumers on platforms such as EdgeProp heighten the market knowledge and helps all parties.