CEA advertising rules for property agents on social media

The guideline that applies

CEA's Practice Guidelines on Ethical Advertising (PG 02-11) took effect on 1 August 2011; the current text is version 2.0. It applies to all advertising by estate agents and salespersons, and it says plainly that "all regulations and policies respecting advertising apply equally to the Internet", including social media. Read the full text on CEA's practice guidelines page.

1. Five details on your advertisements

Flyers, banners and online advertisements must show:

• your name, as registered with CEA;
• your CEA registration number;
• your estate agency's name;
• your agency's estate agent licence number; and
• your contact number, as registered with CEA.

The numbers should be labelled "Salesperson Registration Number" and "Estate Agent Licence Number", or "CEA Registration Number" and "CEA Licence Number". Newspaper classified and SMS ads need only your registered name and contact number. On social media, your account profile must also state your registration number and your agency's licence number.

The guideline does not spell out whether every slide of a carousel needs the details. Putting them on every image is the cautious approach, because a single slide can be shared on its own.

2. Your agency must approve your ads first

Estate agents must vet their salespersons' advertising before it is published, with approval by the Key Executive Officer or through a process they set up. That includes ads on your own social media. Check your agency's approval process before you post.

3. Claims you can't make

• Titles and superlatives you can't prove. Claims of expertise, specialisation or success must be backed by verifiable facts. Phrases like "King of xx", "Specialist" or "Expert" are named as examples of dubious or misleading wording.
• Guarantees. Any conditions behind a promotion or guarantee must be stated upfront, and guaranteeing a Cash-Over-Valuation (COV) price is not allowed.
• "No agents", "no co-broke", "already co-broke". These phrases must not be used.
• Rental yields and capital gains may only be quoted with the basis and a credible source, with terms defined and the time period stated for past data.
• Market forecasts must be substantiated with statistics from reliable sources, such as government agency reports.

4. Transaction data and unit details

When you cite past transactions, the specific floor levels and unit addresses of transacted properties must not be disclosed. Data bought from URA's REALIS is for personal research, not for marketing.

5. The owner's consent, and honest listings

• Get the owner's prior consent before advertising a property, in writing, by SMS or another verifiable way. Each salesperson advertising it needs their own consent.
• Dummy and copied ads are not allowed. Photos must show the actual property without misleading edits.
• Remove the ad once the property is no longer available.
• Ads must not state a race or religion preference, except to comply with HDB's Ethnic Integration Policy.
• SMS ads and cold calls are not allowed between 10pm and 9am.

What happens if you get it wrong

Breaching the guideline can lead to disciplinary action. In one case CEA published in 2024, a salesperson was fined a total of $14,000 and suspended for five months for inaccurate and misleading advertisements.

How ORQADOS helps

Content Autopilot puts your five CEA details on every visual it creates and checks each post's wording against these rules (unproven titles, guarantees, "no agents", yields without a source, forecasts, unit numbers) before you can approve it. Your agency's own approval still applies. See Content Autopilot.

Source: CEA Practice Guidelines on Ethical Advertising, PG 02-11 (PDF).

This guide summarises official sources as at 9 October 2026 and is not legal advice. Rules change; check the linked source, and your agency's compliance team, before relying on it.