Ruby Hon Yuen-ping

Concrete Analysis | Property agents’ watchdog vows harsher penalties on errant brokers as it aims for orderly sales environment

Name: SCMP
Telephone: +852-2680-8888

The Estate Agents Authority will no longer tolerate bad behaviour as it looks to stiffen penalties on salesmen and their employers, including revoking their trade licence

Reading Time:3 minutes

Why you can trust SCMP

The Estate Agents Authority says that as sales of new flats have been rising, it has led to sales sites teeming with a mix of licensed unlicensed salesmen, which inevitably turns chaotic. Photo: SCMP

Ruby Hon Yuen-ping

Published: 12:02pm, 25 Sep 2018Updated: 5:33pm, 25 Sep 2018

The property market in Hong Kong is dominated by the sale of new homes in recent years with most of the transactions conducted by property agents. Crowds of salesmen are commonly seen at the sales sites, and occasionally there are reports of salesmen fighting as they look to corner clients.

Not all of these salesmen are licensed and some of them are unlicensed employees or interns of property agencies. The sales sites of first-hand homes hence have been seething with a mix of licensed and unlicensed salesmen, which has inevitably led to chaos.

The Estate Agents Authority (EAA) is aware of the situation and has been working to remedy it.

As the regulator of property agents in Hong Kong, the EAA is very concerned about their conduct in promoting new flat sales. We have issued relevant practice circulars in the past for the trade to comply with and I have also repeatedly reminded them to demonstrate self-control and discipline. That said, chaotic scenes and even fights still take place from time to time.

Potential buyers queue up to buy flats at the Cullinan West II put on sale by Sun Hung Kai Properties, at the International Commerce Centre in West Kowloon on September 2. The Estate Agents Authority has strengthened compliance checks at sales sites. Photo: Felix Wong

As well as strengthening compliance checks at sales sites, the EAA has worked on different measures to find ways to improve the situation. Earlier this year, the EAA reached a consensus with 32 property developers and issued a charter on the sales of first-hand properties. It prohibits unlicensed employees of property broking companies from taking part in promotions, and commits to take punitive measures against property agents and their companies for any unruly behaviour.