Forum: Agent buying at property launches is ethically contentious
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A recent Business Times news article on property agents purchasing up to 20 per cent of units at certain new private launches highlights a practice that, while not prohibited under current regulations, raises serious concerns about conflict of interest and market professionalism.
Property agents are entrusted to act as intermediaries, advising clients with impartiality and integrity. When agents themselves purchase units at priority stages of a launch, they assume dual roles: both market participants and professional advisers.
This duality creates a clear conflict of interest. Agents may be incentivised to promote projects not solely on merit, but to support their own investment positions. Priority access also grants them an insider advantage, crowding out genuine home buyers and undermining the principle of equal opportunity.
Beyond fairness, agent buying distorts market signals. Concentrated agent purchases can create artificial scarcity, fuelling fear of missing out, or Fomo, among buyers and encouraging speculative behaviour.
Data from September 2024 to October 2025 shows that while overall agent purchases accounted for only 4.2 per cent of new private homes, certain projects saw far higher concentrations – such as Emerald of Katong (20 per cent) and Norwood Grand (10 per cent). These figures suggest that in “hot” launches, agent participation can materially affect perceptions of demand.
Such practices risk eroding public trust in the impartiality of agents and the integrity of the industry. Professional credibility depends on transparency and the avoidance of self-serving behaviour.
Currently, priority access for agents is a private commercial arrangement between developers and agents, not regulated by the Urban Redevelopment Authority or the Council for Estate Agencies.
While this places the practice outside the scope of statutory prohibition, it leaves a regulatory gap where ethical concerns remain unaddressed.
To uphold market integrity, several measures could be considered:
- Mandatory disclosure of the proportion of units sold to agents at launch;
- Purchase caps to prevent excessive concentration of insider buying; and
- Professional codes of conduct clarifying acceptable practices and reinforcing agents’ fiduciary responsibilities.
Agent buying at property launches may be permissible under current rules, but it is ethically contentious. Without greater transparency and safeguards, the practice risks undermining public confidence in both developers and agents. The industry must act proactively to preserve fairness, professionalism and long-term stability in Singapore’s property market.
Philip Tan
