Since 2002, the Central People's Government has introduced a qualifying system for estate agents, thereby bringing estate agency under the ambit of the National Qualifying System for Professional and Technical Personnel. All individuals engaged in real estate brokerage activities are required to pass prescribed qualifying examinations which will lead to the award of the Certificate for Practice as an Estate Agent or the Certificate for Practice as an Assistant to Estate Agent. They must then register with the appropriate authorities. The qualifying examinations for Estate Agents are organised on a nation-wide basis, and the first such examination took place in December 2002.

Mr Chow Wai-man was a candidate in that first examination and passed all the subjects. As far as we know, he was the first person from Hong Kong passing the national examination. In an interview with the Authority, he shares his experience of sitting the examination and the secret of his success.

Mr Chow joined the estate agency industry in 1991. He moved to Shanghai for career development in 1995 and has since been practising in the Mainland. He has served in major cities including Beijing, Shenzhen and Xiamen. Hence, he is experienced in estate agency work both in Hong Kong and the Mainland.

The Nation-wide Qualifying Examination for Estate Agents consists of four parts, namely "Real Estate: Policies and System of Basic Operation", "General Principles of Estate Agency", "Practice of Estate Agency" and "Complementary Studies for Estate Agents." Mr Chow said that "General Principles of Estate Agency" probably would not be too difficult for candidates with practising experience in Hong Kong, but the other three parts were unfamiliar to Hong Kong practitioners because of the difference in law, systems, property conveyance procedures, and even trade jargons, between the two places. Unless a candidate is already in possession of substantial practice experience in the Mainland, he will have to rely heavily on textbooks and other relevant reference materials. He might also have to attend some training courses.

Even with solid experience in estate agency work in the Mainland, a candidate without sufficient and strategic preparation might still find it difficult to pass the examination. Mr Chow had two friends who were both experienced estate agents in the Mainland, and one of them was the editor of a real estate magazine. However, they both managed to pass three parts of the examination only. To illustrate how strategy and techniques were relevant to the achievement of good examination results, Mr Chow gave an example. There were some multiple-choice questions in the examination, and there might be more than one correct answer to each question. If the candidate did not attempt the question at all, he would not be awarded marks for the entire question. On the other hand, if he did make an attempt, but choosing only those answers that he was confident with, then he might still be awarded marks for those chosen answers that happened to be correct. Mr Chow, however, cautioned candidates that there would be penalty for wrongly chosen answers, and that unless one was quite certain about the correctness of an answer, it would be better not to choose one at all. According to Mr Chow, past examination papers of many professional qualifying examinations in the Mainland had been published. As the qualifying examination for estate agents had been held for two years, some of the examination papers might have become available in the market. He added that a good understanding of the scope and form of the examination would definitely be of great use to a candidate.

Since Hong Kong is seeking mutual recognition of professional qualifications with the Mainland, Mr Chow was asked whether his qualification to practise in the Mainland would be threatened if other Hong Kong estate agents could also practise in the Mainland. Mr Chow replied that although he was qualified for practice in the Mainland, he would advocate mutual recognition of professional qualifications between the two jurisdictions as the Mainland estate market was one of tremendous potential for development, and there was a very keen demand for estate agents of high calibre. On the other hand, the Hong Kong estate agency profession has a very long history. Notwithstanding their inadequacy in the knowledge of Mainland legislation and market conditions, Hong Kong practitioners, with their experience and strong will to succeed, should enjoy a good chance for development in the Mainland. Mr Chow frankly said that he had plans to set up his own business in the Mainland. He also commented that, if a partner was needed, he would certainly give priority consideration to Hong Kong practitioners.

Note: The Nation-wide Qualifying Examination for Estate Agents requires that a candidate pass all four parts of the Examination within two years. A passing grade can be carried forward to the following examination year.