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Consolidation Continues among Property Agencies

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Knight Frank winds down real estate agency unit, agents to move to OrangeTee & Tie
ORANGETEE
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Adding to the growing mood for consolidation among property agencies, Knight Frank is exiting Singapore’s residential property agency business.

It has agreed with OrangeTee & Tie to allow its KF Property Network (KFPN) salespersons to move over. Under the agreement, KFPN agents will be able to move to OrangeTee & Tie, and KFPN will cease operations by the end of 2026.

Based on the latest Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) public register as at June 2026, KFPN had about 97 registered salespersons, against roughly 2,567 at OrangeTee & Tie, which as a member of Realion Group is Singapore’s fourth-largest property agency by number of registered salespersons.

In response to queries from The Business Times, Mr Justin Quek, CEO of OrangeTee and deputy group CEO of Realion Group, said the agreement is not a corporate acquisition, merger or buyout of KFPN’s business entity. No assets, business operations or customer contracts are being transferred as part of the arrangement.

“Rather, it is a business continuity plan that provides a framework for eligible KFPN associates to move to OrangeTee should they choose to, supported by commercial arrangements between the parties to enable a smooth transition,” Mr Quek said.

The closure only affects a subsidiary of its Singapore business, Knight Frank stressed.

“The rest of Knight Frank’s residential business remains intact,” the firm said, and does not affect Knight Frank Singapore’s broader residential business helmed by head of residential, Mr Nicholas Keong.

The agreement follows discussions that began in late 2025, and comes as Knight Frank sharpens its focus on its strategic core business priorities and closer regional integration, a statement said. This includes “capital markets, occupier strategy and solutions, and property and facilities management”, a spokesperson added.

Some 47 property agencies closed in 2025, leaving 998 active as at Jan 1, 2026, even as the market remained dominated by its three biggest players – PropNex Realty, ERA Realty Network and Huttons Asia.

OrangeTee itself merged with property consultancy ETC to form the Realion Group in early 2025.

Knight Frank said it chose OrangeTee & Tie for its scale, technology, training and governance to support its agents over the long term.

In January 2025, 111 KFPN agents, including then-head Evan Chung, left for rival SRI. The group represented about 40 per cent of KFPN’s 274-agent sales force in January 2024.

KFPN agents who choose to make the switch to OrangeTee & Tie will gain access to expanded training, technology and business development resources, as well as the wider Realion Group ecosystem, the statement said.

Dr Tan Tee Khoon, head of KFPN, said his priority had always been to ensure that salespersons had the right platform to keep growing their businesses.

“OrangeTee stood out because of its professionalism, client-first culture and strong support for long-term success,” he added. The Business Times

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