Property veteran Nicholas Mak quits ERA

Mar 27, 2023

THE head of research and consultancy at ERA Realty Network, Nicholas Mak, has resigned, with Monday (Mar 27) being his last working day at the property agency.

The high-profile Mak is frequently quoted in the media; and going by his LinkedIn profile, has been with ERA since June 2019.

He previously led the research and consultancy teams at ZACD Capital, SLP International, Knight Frank Singapore and Chesterton International. He also had a stint as a real estate lecturer at Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

“The past four years here (at ERA) have been a fruitful learning experience about the culture and practices in the real estate agency business,” said Mak in an e-mail to the media. He added that he would be clearing leave before starting the next stage of his career in the real estate industry.

Earlier in the day, ERA’s key executive officer, Eugene Lim, had sent an e-mail to the media, saying that Mak was “stepping down from his role immediately”.

“We extend our sincere appreciation for his contributions to ERA and wish him success in his future endeavours,” Lim said.

It was previously reported that more than 700 property agents left ERA in 2022, with at least 640 joining arch-rival PropNex Realty.

PropNex, which is mainboard-listed, is the largest agency in Singapore, with 11,667 salespersons as at Jan 1, 2023, data from the Council for Estate Agencies portal showed. ERA, in second place, had 8,344 agents. The rest of the top five agencies by number of agents are Huttons Asia, with 4,872 agents; OrangeTee & Tie, with 3,163; and SRI, with 1,234.

The ERA regional master franchise rights are held by real estate services provider Apac Realty, which is also listed on the mainboard of the Singapore Exchange. Last month, Apac Realty reported a 46 per cent drop in net profit to S$9.9 million for the six months ended Dec 31, 2022, down from the S$18.3 million posted the same period a year ago.

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