Choosing a property agent in Singapore just got easier: how the updated CEA register works in your favour

What actually changed?

Until now, getting a full picture of an agency or agent was a bit of a chore. You could look up an individual agent, but only if you already knew their name, contact number, or registration number. There was no easy way to step back, see an agency as a whole, or weigh your options side by side.

CEA describes the update as part of its ongoing effort to raise professionalism across the industry and strengthen consumer protection. In practice, it adds three features to the Public Register:

All three views run on a rolling three-year window. The current release covers 2023 to 2025, and CEA refreshes the data every March, so the register always reflects the most recent three years and older records drop off automatically. The records shown cover Letters of Censure for less serious breaches, Disciplinary Committee actions, and court prosecutions.

How to read the register fairly

A natural question is why a record can appear against an agency when a breach is committed by an individual agent. The answer is built into the Code of Practice for Estate Agents (COPEA): agencies have a duty to manage and supervise the agents registered under them and to make sure they work professionally and within the law. So each action is attributed to the agency the agent was registered with at the time, which is exactly the kind of accountability that protects you as a consumer.

This is also why the register measures enforcement against the number of agents at an agency rather than its transaction volume. A large agency with thousands of agents will naturally show more activity in absolute terms, so looking at it relative to headcount is the fair way to read the data. The takeaway for consumers is reassuring: bigger numbers are not automatically a red flag, and a little context goes a long way.

It is not only about red flags

The register is also where good work gets recognised. CEA continues to publish the Singapore Institute of Estate Agents' (SIEA) SG Real Estate Agents Excellence Awards on the profile pages of agents who receive them. So when you look someone up, you are not only checking for problems, you are also seeing the recognition and standing that the best agents have earned.

How to use the updated register

Before you sign an exclusive agreement, pay a holding deposit, or commit to a lease, it is worth taking five minutes to look up your agent. Here is a simple checklist:

• Verify the registration: Confirm your agent's name and registration number match what they have told you. Unregistered individuals posing as agents are a real source of property scams, so this one step matters most.
• Look at their experience: Check the types of properties and districts they typically transact in to see whether they are a good fit for your segment.
• Read the record in context: Note any past actions, but read them alongside the agency's size and any awards on the profile. The goal is a balanced view, not a single number.

Our commitment at Bloc

We believe transparency is the most important element of any real estate market. The URA transaction database and the CEA register should not be gatekept behind agent logins or complex user interfaces.

To keep our platform a safe, high-trust environment, we enforce a strict policy: on Bloc, only CEA-registered agents are allowed to list properties.

Every listing is cross-referenced with the CEA register. If an agent's licence is suspended, expired, or revoked, their listings are taken down. We build the verification checks so you do not have to double-check every single listing.