| 1997 |
May |
Enactment of Estate Agents Ordinance (“EAO”) |
| Nov |
Establishment of the Estate Agents Authority (“EAA”) |
| Dr the 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 |
| 2001 |
Dec |
End of the three-year transition period of the licnesing 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 |
| Dec |
EAA delegation visited government officials in Beijing to reflect estate agents’ support for CEPA |
| 2005 |
May |
Launch of the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Scheme (voluntary stage) |
| Jul |
Level of Estate Agents Qualifying Examination enhanced |
| 2006 |
Mar |
Introduction of Certificate of Attainment and Attainment symbol to encourage estate agents’ participation in CPD scheme |
| Jul |
Level of Salespersons Qualifying Examination enhanced |
| 2007 |
Mar |
Establishment of Section 28 Investigation Committee |
| Nov |
10th Anniversary of the EAA |
| 2008 |
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 an one-off, six-month licence fee concession scheme |
| 2010 |
May |
Issuance of new practice circulars regulating sales practices of first-hand 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 |
| Aug |
First focus group meeting was conducted to communicate and discuss with the frontline practitioners on different topics |
| 2012 |
Mar |
Publishing of Best Practice Checklist with ICAC jointly |
| May |
Issuance of practice circular on provision of "saleable area" for second-hand residential properties to take effect on 1 January 2013 |
| Sept |
Launch of the EAA e-Learning platform |
| Nov |
15th Anniversary of the EAA |
| 2013 |
Mar |
Launch of publicity campaign to promote information about "saleable area" and "estate agency agreement" |
| Jun |
Professional forum held to explore the direction of and opportunities brought by the professional development of estate agency trade |
| 2014 |
Jan |
Launch of New Scheme for Disciplinary Cases |
| Apr |
Publishing of Guide to Purchasing Second-hand Residential Properties with Consumer Council jointly |
| Jul |
Distribution of “Consumer Education Package” to the trade to help raise public awareness of the points to note when appointing estate agents |
| Nov |
Professor William Leung Wing-cheung, SBS, JP was appointed the Chairman of the EAA |
| 2015 |
Mar |
Awarded the “Caring Organisation” logo from the Hong Kong Council of Social Service |
|
Launch of a series of seminars on topics relating to first-hand residential properties for practitioners |
| 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 |
|
Acknowledged as a “Manpower Developer” by the Employees Retraining Board
|
| 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 |