PUBLIC PERCEPTION ON REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

The general perception of the image and status of real estate professionals in Singapore is not as good as some other professionals such as the doctors and lawyers. Although valuers, property managers and real estate agents are considered as professionals, these professions are very often viewed to be not in the same class as professionals in other industries. The objective of this study is to determine the status and reputation of real estate professionals, namely, the valuers, property managers and real estate agents in comparison with other professionals consisting of the architects, lawyers, accountants, engineers and doctors. A survey was done on 220 respondents to obtain the public's perception on the above mentioned eight professionals and the data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, factor analysis and multidimensional scaling. From seven attributes (Reputation of Profession; Status of Profession; Public Acceptance of Profession; Recognition of Profession; Marketability of Profession; Rewards & Remuneration and Satisfaction as a Career) that are commonly used by the public when judging a professional, the factor analysis extracted two main factors, namely "Social Standing" and "Rewards", which were subsequently applied to the two dimensional perceptual map developed by the multidimensional scaling model. The study found that the status and reputation of real estate professionals are not as good as the other professionals. While valuer is perceived to be the least rewarded professional when compared with the others, real estate agent and property manager are also perceived to have both low social standing and low rewards.