PropNex now Singapore's largest property agency

PropNex Realty pips ERA Realty with 6,688 agents after 88% of DWG agents join PropNex following a merger

Lynette Khoo


PROPNEX Realty has become the largest real estate agency here with 6,688 agents, after some 80 per cent of Dennis Wee Group (DWG) salesmen crossed over with the merger of the two agencies.

Based on the latest agent count on the Council for Estate Agencies registry on Monday, PropNex has nudged long-time No 1 agency ERA Realty - whose agent strength stood at 6,176 - off the top place.

Following a memorandum of understanding inked last month for the merger of the homegrown agencies PropNex and DWG, 845 of DWG's 1,063 agents have signed the PropNex Associate Agreement, consenting their transfer to PropNex Realty.

The merger, the latest in a string of consolidations to hit the industry in recent years, did not involve equity transfer between the two firms nor was there a dollar value pegged to the deal.

PropNex said on Monday some 88 per cent of active DWG salesmen who earned at least S$50,000 or above in the past 12 months have crossed over.

Of the balance 218 DWG salesmen who did not choose PropNex, 105 are inactive salesmen who have no sales in the last 12 months. For the remaining 113 DWG salesmen, the majority have decided to continue their estate agent service in other real estate agencies.

"Since the announcement of the merger, many agencies went all out to woo the DWG salespersons to join them. I am truly humbled that ultimately, 88 per cent of DWG's active salespersons chose to pursue their real estate careers with PropNex," said PropNex Realty CEO Ismail Gafoor. "We are committed to continuously provide great opportunities and support for our newly joined salespersons to help them reach their potential professionally."

For the new project sales segment in the first half of the year, PropNex led in terms of total sales compared to its joint marketing agencies for close to 20 projects in Singapore.

In the past two weeks, more than 500 former DWG salesmen have participated in special immersion programmes at PropNex, of which many focused on project marketing.

PropNex Realty senior strategic partner Dennis Wee, who founded DWG, attributed the smooth crossover of former DWG agents to the extensive administrative support provided and special briefings conducted personally by the PropNex leaders. "In the past four weeks, the commitment shown by PropNex to integrate DWG salespersons into its culture had been incredible."

PropNex Realty said it is confident that its 6,688-strong sales force will add greater value to developers in their outreach to buyers while at the same time, match consumers to a wider range of listings available.