Announcement of the 32nd Certified Real Estate Agent Exam Results
About 10,000 More Passers Than Last Year
Calls to Switch to Relative Evaluation Amid Market Oversaturation
Amid a deepening "transaction cliff" caused by a weakening buying trend due to soaring apartment prices and tightened loan regulations, the real estate industry is facing growing concerns as a large number of certified real estate agents have passed the exam this year as well. With internal competition becoming excessively fierce, there is a rising call for expanding the scope of work and switching the exam to a relative evaluation system.
According to the real estate industry on the 2nd, the total number of successful candidates for the 32nd certified real estate agent exam announced the day before was 26,913. This is about 10,000 more than last year (16,554). This year’s exam attracted a record high of about 400,000 applicants for both the first and second parts combined, and the pass rate for the second part also rose to 29.07% from 22.01% last year, resulting in a significant increase in the number of successful candidates.
The certified real estate agent exam is conducted as an absolute evaluation, where passing requires only an average score above 60 points. Because of this, the number of successful candidates has fluctuated greatly, with 16,885 in 2018, 27,076 in 2019, and 16,554 in 2020, leading to criticism that the government has failed to regulate the supply and demand of agents. Since the first exam in 1985, the cumulative number of successful candidates is about 500,000, which is roughly one person per 100 population, indicating market oversaturation.
It is also pointed out that the real estate price surge under the current government has had an impact. In Seoul, even trading just two or three apartments can yield profits of tens of millions of won, leading to a significant increase in applicants in their 20s and 30s recently. Notably, this year, the number of successful candidates in their 30s was 7,147, surpassing those in their 50s and ranking just behind those in their 40s (8,453).
However, with ongoing government real estate regulations and expectations of further declines in transactions due to reduced buying demand, efforts to regulate the supply and demand of agents are increasing. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport already announced in August a plan to switch the real estate agent exam to a relative evaluation system through the "Real Estate Brokerage Fees and Brokerage Service Improvement Plan." This change could be gradually introduced as early as the year after next.
Expanding the scope of work for agents is also an issue. As large platform companies like Zigbang enter the brokerage business and cutthroat competition such as "half-price brokerage" intensifies around some brokerage firms, there is a need to increase revenue sources. The government is reportedly working to establish a foundation to strengthen competitiveness so that the brokerage industry can provide comprehensive real estate services.
Lee Jong-hyuk, the next president of the Korea Association of Certified Real Estate Agents, elected at the end of last month, pledged to "create a system that diversifies income by establishing a compensation system for various brokerage services such as real estate consulting, commercial district analysis, and lease management." Additionally, there are voices calling for expanding agents’ roles into real estate sales and housing sales agency services.
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