1997 |
May |
Enactment of Estate Agents Ordinance (“EAO”) |
Nov |
Establishment of the Estate Agents Authority (“EAA”) |
The late Dr Hon Marvin CHEUNG Kin-tung, GBS, OBE, JP was appointed the founding Chairman of the EAA |
1999 |
Jan |
First batch of licences was granted to persons exempted from certain licensing requirements |
Issuance of Code of Ethics |
Mar |
Held the first qualifying examinations for estate agents and salespersons |
Nov |
Estate Agents Practice (General Duties and Hong Kong Residential Properties) Regulation came into effect |
2000 |
Jan |
Reduction of licence fees by 20% |
2001 |
Dec |
End of the three-year transition period of the licensing system – an important landmark in the trade's progress towards professionalism as all new entrants must fulfill all licensing requirements without exemption from then |
2002 |
Jan |
Estate Agents (Licensing) (Amendment) Regulation 2001 came into effect. Licence fees were reduced by 30% and qualified licensees were allowed to renew their licences within 24 months from the lapse of their last held licences |
2003 |
Nov |
Dr Steven POON Kwok-lim, BBS, JP was appointed the Chairman of the EAA |
2005 |
May |
Launch of the Continuing Professional Development ("CPD") Scheme |
2006 |
Mar |
Introduction of Certificate of Attainment and Attainment symbol to encourage estate agents’ participation in CPD scheme |
2007 |
Mar |
Establishment of Section 28 Investigation Committee |
Nov |
10th Anniversary of the EAA |
2008 |
Jun |
Introduction of CPD Mark for Estate Agencies |
Aug |
Signing of agreement with the Guangzhou Real Estate Agent Service Administration Centre on Hong Kong practitioners obtaining a qualification to practise estate agency work in Guangzhou |
Nov |
Ms Vivien CHAN, SBS, JP was appointed the Chairman of the EAA |
2009 |
May |
Launch of a one-off, six-month licence fee concession scheme |
2010 |
May |
Issuance of three new practice circulars regulating estate agents’ sales practices of first-hand residential properties |
Nov |
Signing of agreement with the China Institute of Real Estate Appraisers and Agents ("CIREA") on mutual recognition of professional qualifications between Mainland and Hong Kong estate agents |
2011 |
Jul |
Completion of the first training course and examination for the scheme of mutual recognition of professional qualifications for estate agents in the Mainland and Hong Kong |
2012 |
Nov |
15th Anniversary of the EAA |
2013 |
Jan |
The practice circular requiring estate agents to provide "saleable area" for second-hand residential properties took effect |
2014 |
Nov |
Prof William LEUNG Wing-cheung, GBS, JP was appointed the Chairman of the EAA |
2015 |
Mar |
Awarded the first “Caring Organisation” logo from the Hong Kong Council of Social Service |
Sept |
Launch of new consumer education initiative in the form of public seminars to enhance consumers' knowledge relating to property transactions |
2016 |
May |
Launch of e-Services for online licence renewal application by individual licensees |
Oct |
Launch of the EAA's Certificate Programme in Practice |
Nov |
Awarded the first batch of “Silver” Premium Symbol to eligible licensees under the CPD scheme |
2017 |
Jan |
Publication of disciplinary decisions together with the reasons for the decisions for achieving greater transparency |
Feb |
Launch of a new consumer education website, "Be Smart in Appointing Estate Agents" |
Jun |
Signing of agreement with the CIREA to renew the mutual recognition of professional qualifications scheme for estate agents in Hong Kong and the Mainland |
Nov |
20th Anniversary of the EAA |
Dec |
Second training course and examination for the scheme of mutual recognition of professional qualifications for estate agents in the Mainland and Hong Kong completed |
Issuance of new practice circular on the sale of uncompleted properties situated outside Hong Kong |
2018 |
Jul |
Signing of the Charter on the Sales of First-hand Residential Properties with developers for maintaining good order at sale sites |
Aug |
The EAA’s first purchased office in use |
Nov |
The EAA and trade representatives attended the Mutual Evaluation by the Financial Action Task Force on the compliance and effectiveness of Hong Kong’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regime |
Dec |
Awarded the first batch of “Gold” Premium Symbol to eligible licensees under the CPD scheme |
2019 |
Jun |
The first CSR activity organised by the EAA with the estate agency trade to clean up the Hong Kong shorelines |
Jul |
Launch of computer-based examination for the Salespersons Qualifying Examination |
Aug |
The EAA's “5A Agent” publicity campaign promoting the “5A” qualities of professional estate agents was awarded the “Education Award (Consumer Education)” by the Association of Real Estate License Law Officials (ARELLO), an international recognition |
2020 |
Jan |
The EAA announced to offer a one-off professional development subsidy to eligible individual licensees |
May |
Under the second round of Anti-epidemic Fund, the Government provided a one-off cash subsidy equivalent to two years’ licence fees to eligible individual licensees through the EAA |
Jun |
“Estate Agents Community Service Proposal Competition” successfully held with positive participation from the trade |
Nov |
Ms Elaine LIU, JP was appointed the Chairman of the EAA |
2021 |
Jun |
Two educational outreach teams set up to assist the estate agency trade in complying with AML and advertisement-related requirements |
Oct |
The EAA’s second purchased office in the same building in use |
Dec |
188 estate agency shops awarded the “CPD Mark”, the highest number recorded in the last ten years |
2022 |
Mar |
The EAA held an online ceremony for the “Estate Agents Energy Saving Award Scheme” and awarded 387 estate agency shops |
Launched new educational campaign with a new slogan “To Buy or not to buy off-plan properties outside Hong Kong, assess the risks before you buy!” |
Apr |
The EAA received the Grand Prize Award (2020-22) from Employees Retraining Board |
Jul |
Mr Simon SIU Chak-yu, BBS, JP was appointed the Chairman of the EAA |
Oct |
25th Anniversary of the EAA |
Nov |
Launched Premium CPD Mark for Estate Agencies |