Real Estate Industry Transformation Map

The journey of industry transformation began with the Real Estate ITM 1.0, launched on 8 February 2018. View the achievements of Real Estate ITM 1.0 (PDF, 1MB). 

Developed through extensive consultation with stakeholders in the real estate value chain, ITM 1.0 brought together property agencies, conveyancing lawyers, valuation firms, facility managers, property developers, and property technology firms. 

ITM 1.0 targeted two key areas with transformation potential: property transaction services and facilities management*, which laid the foundation for the Real Estate ITM 2025 strategies.  

More information on some of the key initiatives successfully implemented can be found below: 

• Digitalised Property Transaction Workgroup (DPTWG) and Standard Contract Templates and Checklists

• Guide on Best Practices for Consumer Ratings of Property Agents

• Published complete records of property agents' residential property transactions

* Note: Please visit the Building and Construction Authority's website for information about the initiatives for facilities management.

Digitalised Property Transactions Workgroup (DPTWG)

Through the Real Estate ITM 1.0 launched in 2018, CEA has been chairing the DPTWG to implement initiatives to enable the real estate sector to move towards seamless, efficient, and secure property transactions from end-to-end. The workgroup comprises representatives from key government agencies and relevant industry associations that are involved in or support property transactions.    

The DPTWG has introduced the following initiatives to streamline and digitalise the property transaction process: 

1. Standard contract templates for residential transactions 

The DPTWG has developed standardised contract templates for rental, and sale and purchase of residential property transactions. 

Government agencies, a consumer association, industry associations, and experienced practitioners actively contributed to developing these templates. 
 
These templates provide a common industry standard and include clauses and obligations relating to the main aspects of the property transaction that seek to protect and balance the interests of contracting parties. 
 
While the templates are just a guide, property agents and consumers will save time spent on contract negotiations and receive assurance that these are fair to contracting parties in a property transaction. 

You may refer to the following links to find out more about these standard contract templates based on your transaction type. 

2. Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to enable automated checks 

Government agencies have made available APIs on property-related government data to automate due diligence checks, e.g., property ownership, validity of passes for foreign tenants etc, to meet compliance requirements without compromising on data privacy. 

Through these automated processes, consumers can be assured that due diligence checks have been carried out by property agents using government-verified data. 

Government agencies that have made property-related data available include: 

* If you are interested in using these APIs, please contact us through our Feedback Form. 

3. Detailing the steps involved in a residential rental transaction process 

The DPTWG has mapped out the steps involved in a typical residential property rental process, and detailed the various checks that should be performed at the various stages of the rental transaction to protect the interests of contracting parties.  

Landlords, tenants, or their property agents can perform these checks to protect their interest or the parties they represent. 

The three key stages of a residential property rental process are:  

i. Listing or searching for a property to rent 

Property agents will also need to carry out additional checks as part of the regulations on preventing money laundering, proliferation financing, and terrorism financing. 

ii. Confirming the rental

After the landlord and tenant have discussed and agreed on the terms of the rental, they should complete these tasks: 

• For renting of HDB flats, the landlords must first obtain HDB's approval before they sign a tenancy agreement with the tenant. Tenants and property agents involved should also check that HDB has given its approval before the tenancy agreement is signed. 

• Landlords and tenants should document all the agreed terms of tenancy in the tenancy agreement. Consumers can use the standard tenancy agreement templates developed by the DPTWG.

iii. Paying stamp duty and starting the tenancy

After the landlord and tenant have signed the tenancy agreement, they must mutually agree on the timing to hand over the property. 

Within 14 days of signing the tenancy agreement, stamp duty on the rental must be paid to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS). The party who is liable to pay stamp duty is usually stated in the agreement. The amount payable can be checked via IRAS' website.

The party who has agreed to pay the stamp duty should also check that the duty is fully paid by requesting the stamp duty certificate.

For more information on stamp duty payment options, you can visit the IRAS’ website. 

4. Creating a comprehensive digital service journey through integration of Government property-related portals 

The HDB Flat Portal 

In January 2021, HDB rolled out the HDB Flat Portal to streamline the process of buying and selling of flats. The portal’s main features include:

• Customised financial calculators for buyers and sellers to estimate their housing budget and sale proceeds, respectively.

• A one-stop loan listing service for buyers to obtain information on housing loans offered by both HDB and participating financial institutions (FIs).

• A flat-listing service with information on current and upcoming new HDB flats for buyers to compare their housing options holistically.

To provide a more seamless experience for flat buyers, HDB has incorporated three new features in the portal since May 2023:

• HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter, which provides flat buyers with holistic information on their eligibility to purchase an HDB flat, CPF housing grants, and HDB housing loan. With the HFE letter, flat buyers will have upfront clarity on their total housing budget and financing options, to make prudent housing decisions.

• Integrated loan application service, which facilitates the application of housing loan from HDB and participating FIs, reducing the need for flat buyers to submit separate loan application to HDB and the FIs.

• Digital platform to guide new flat buyers on their housing journey, from flat application to keys collection.

In May 2024, HDB launched the Resale Flat Listing (RFL) service, a listing of HDB flats on the open market for sale, integrated with the HDB Flat Portal. The RFL service enables:

• Flat sellers or their property agents to list their flats for sale.

• Flat buyers or their property agents to browse and compare new and resale flat holistically on one platform, and carry out transactions directly with the flat sellers or their property agents.

Strengthening professionalism and upskilling the workforce 

CEA is working with the real estate agency industry to strengthen professionalism and enhance the competencies of industry practitioners to remain competitive and relevant in the changing environment. 

1. Publish property agents’ transaction records

Since September 2021, CEA has been publishing property agents' Housing & Development Board (HDB) resale flat and rental transaction records as well as private residential sale/purchase and rental transaction records on the CEA Public Register.

Property agents and agencies can market their track record and experience by showing verified records of completed transactions to prospective clients. This increases transparency to consumers and facilitates their decision-making process to choose their property agents.

2. Develop a framework for consumer ratings of property agents

CEA launched a Guide on Best Practices for Consumer Ratings of Property Agents in October 2020. Developed by a multi-stakeholder workgroup comprising representatives from property agencies, industry and consumer associations, the property portals and academia, the Guide seeks to introduce consistent standards for the rating of property agents and to build trust among users of such ratings platforms.

3. Review Continuing Professional Development (CPD) framework

Developed in consultation with the industry, CEA implemented the current Continuing Professional Development (CPD) framework for property agents under the Real Estate Industry Transformation Map on 1 October 2019.

The current CPD framework aims to facilitate property agents to keep abreast of the latest changes in policies and procedures relating to property transactions, and to be equipped with the necessary knowledge and skillsets to thrive in digital environments.

As part of the requirements for the annual renewal of their registrations, all property agents must fulfil a total of six credits under the new CPD framework: four credits under Professional Competencies and two credits under Generic Competencies.

Courses related to Professional Competencies offer property agents opportunities to develop and deepen their knowledge in estate agency work. These are grouped into three categories: laws and regulations, property markets, and other related estate knowledge.

Courses related to Generic Competencies will contribute towards property agents’ overall personal development and sharpen their “soft skills”. These are aligned to SkillsFuture Singapore’s list of Critical Core Skills and are grouped into 16 Critical Core Skills, including those on digital fluency, communication and developing people.

Under Real Estate ITM 1.0, CEA partnered NTUC LearningHub to introduce the SkillsFuture for Digital Workplace programme contextualised for the real estate industry workforce, to help them remain competitive and relevant in the digital environment. We will continue to work with the real estate agency industry under Real Estate ITM 2025 to identify and curate relevant digital skills to improve the digital literacy and competency of property agents.

You can visit the CPD webpage for more details.

4. Prepare workforce for digital environment

CEA is working with trade associations and organisations to provide training programmes to upskill KEOs and property agents. 

Together with NTUC LearningHub, CEA introduced a SkillsFuture for Digital Workplace programme contextualised for professionals in the real estate agency industry. The aim is to help real estate professionals gain new skills to remain relevant in the industry.

Guide on Best Practices for Consumer Ratings of Property Agents

The Guide on Best Practices for Consumer Ratings of Property Agents was developed as part of the Real Estate Industry Transformation Map 1.0 after 11 months of collaborative work by the Ratings of Property Agents Workgroup (RPAWG). Led by CEA, the RPAWG comprised representatives from the real estate agency industry, industry and consumer associations, academia, and the property portal industry.

The Guide aims to establish consistent standards for rating property agents and build trust among platform users. These standards enable consumers to effectively compare property agent ratings across various platforms provided by different property agencies and property portals. 

Benefits to the industry

The Guide sets an industry standard for rating property agents, incorporating key attribute categories of Service, Professionalism, and Skills along with safeguards and due processes to enhance the veracity, timeliness, and comparability of ratings across platforms. It serves as a reference for property agencies, property portals, and other stakeholders planning to develop their own rating platforms.

As more rating platforms adopt the Guide, consumers will be able to make more informed decisions when choosing a property agent to represent them.

Property agents can use their ratings from various platforms to market themselves and improve their service levels. This enables property agents who put in the effort to go the extra mile for their clients and provide value-added services to be recognised publicly.

Download the Guide on Best Practices for Consumer Ratings of Property Agents (PDF, 369KB).

Several organisations represented in the RPAWG have committed to adopting the features and recommendations set in the Guide. Collectively, these organisations would cover about 90% of the property agent population.

For more information:

• Factsheet (PDF, 75KB)

• Frequently asked questions (PDF, 144KB)