18/08/2026
๐๐จ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ซ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ซ๐ง ๐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ญ? ๐ฐ
When compared with the income of a salaried employee, that can be true from that angle.
But there is an important perspective.
A salaried employee is generally paid for their time and expertise, with a predictable income at the end of each month.
A property agent operates very differently.
๐๐ง ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐๐ฅ๐-๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ง๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ.
Because an agent is self-employed, gross commission is really business revenue โ not take-home income.
And like any business revenue, the headline figure means much less until you account for what it cost to generate it.
There is no guaranteed salary simply for putting in the hours.
An agent can spend days, weeks or even months working on a property โ and if no transaction takes place, the income from all that work can still be $0.
That is why gross commission should not really be compared directly with take-home salary.
It is effectively closer to ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ซ๐๐ฏ๐๐ง๐ฎ๐.
And like any business, what matters is not just how much revenue comes in, but how much it costs to generate that revenue.
The recent Straits Times article on how marketing expenditure affects property agentsโ earnings highlights this reality.
Property portals. Photography. Videos. Digital advertising. Prospecting tools. Subscriptions. Transport. Petrol. Parking. ERP. Agency-related expenses. Taxes.
๐๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฅ๐-๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฒ๐๐, ๐๐๐๐ข๐ฌ๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐จ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ ๐ฌ๐ข๐ ๐ง๐ข๐๐ข๐๐๐ง๐ญ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ.
Then there is one cost that is even harder to quantify:
๐๐ง๐ฉ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐๐๐.
One listing can involve 10, 15, 20 or even more trips โ meetings, preparation, photography, viewings, follow-ups, negotiations, inspections and handover.
Many of these happen at night or over weekends.
So it is not just working time.
It can also be time taken away from family.
And after all that, if the property does not transact, the expenses remain, the time is gone, and the agent doesnโt just earn $0 โ the agent actually makes a loss.
The commission is visible. The cost of earning it usually isnโt.
Which leads to another important point:
The longer a property stays on the market, the more expensive it can become.
More advertising. More portal reposting. More viewings. More travelling. More follow-up. More time.
๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ก๐ฒ ๐๐ญ ๐๐๐, ๐ฐ๐ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐๐๐๐ง ๐จ๐๐ฌ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐จ๐ฉ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ซ๐ค๐๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ.
With the rising cost of property portals' advertising credits, we believe agents should not have to rely solely on expensive portal exposure.
We have been building alternatives โ from heavily subsidised video production for omni-channel marketing, to tools that help our agents use PG credits more efficiently, to AAG InstantPro and training designed to improve the effectiveness of our agents' marketing and help them get to the right buyer faster.
Because reducing marketing cost is only one side of the equation.
The other is shortening the time needed to get the property sold or rented.
The longer a listing remains on the market, the more advertising dollars, portal credits, travelling and unpaid time it can consume.
That is also why we are currently developing and testing the new ๐๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ๐
๐ซ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค โ to help our agents identify the right target audience fast, sharpen the marketing message and position each property more effectively from the start.
The objective is simple:
Help our sellers achieve their target price in the shortest possible time.
Because that is not just good for the agent.
It is completely aligned with the sellerโs interest too.
Better positioning. Less wasted marketing. Shorter time on market. Better outcomes for everyone.
