27YO Property Agent Claims to Own 8 Properties & Made $1 Million in Commission a Year

Last Updated on 2023-05-05 , 10:30 pm

Housing is a headache for many young Singaporeans.

According to a survey called Youth STEPS conducted by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) Social Lab and the National Youth Council (NYC), housing affordability is one of the top concerns of Singaporean youths.

However, this 27-year-old property agent claims to own eight properties and that he made $1 million in commissions in a year.

It sounds like he’s living the dream.

Podcast by JNA Real Estate

Christian Oh shared his journey in a podcast and YouTube video published by JNA Real Estate on 18 April, hosted by the company’s founder, Jervis Ng.

According to Ng, Oh is the director of investments at JNA Real Estate, a job that is “not easy”.

Ng explained, “This person has to go through plenty of investment consultations with the clients and must have generated profits in their real estate investments.”

As the director of investments, Oh sets the investment strategies for clients and brokers.

At age 26, Oh reportedly owned a total of eight properties.

He owned seven local properties and one overseas property. 

Oh’s Childhood

According to Oh, he and Ng have been friends for almost 17 years.

Oh was a studious student who “studied every single day”.

He believed in studying to “get good grades, go to a good school and get a good job” to make life as comfortable as possible.

Ng confirmed that Oh was a good student at school.

Ng chuckled, “He was always getting academic prizes while I was out somewhere playing basketball.”

According to Oh, he was inspired to pursue real estate due to divine intervention at the age of 22.

He was motivated to join the real estate industry after an incident in his childhood.

It occurred around 2009, right after the 2008 financial crisis. 

A real estate agent had advised Oh’s father to purchase two private properties while keeping the family’s BTO flat.

However, this was ill advice, resulting in his parents needing to depend on credit card debt to finance the mortgage and their lifestyle.

The financial stress resulted in the family selling the flat below market value.

His parents kept their financial woes a secret from Oh and his siblings until he graduated from Junior College.

Oh said, “It was at that moment I broke down in tears, because I did not know about the tough times they had gone through in order to give us what we had.”

His parents had ended up selling both condos prematurely to clear their debt, and the family downgraded to a three-room HDB flat in Ang Mo Kio.

“The Darkest Pit” of Oh’s Life

Fortunately, Oh obtained a government scholarship worth $100k to pursue his university education.

Wanting to relieve his parent’s financial burden further, Oh took up multiple jobs and started two businesses.

However, all his businesses, including a tuition agency, failed.

He also tried investing in cryptocurrency, but it cost him over 75% of his savings.

This resulted in Oh entering “the darkest pit” of his life, prompting him to turn to faith for peace.

Turning to his faith resulted in him reconnecting with Ng, who welcomed Oh to church and introduced him to selling and investing in property.

He also had to break his scholarship to pursue real estate, which was a difficult decision as it meant he would have to pay a six-figure sum.

Luckily, it all worked out for him.

In his second year in the industry, he was making $500,000.

Oh said he made over $1 million in commissions in 2021.

How did he do it?

Oh’s first property was a two-bedroom unit at Marina One Residences, which he purchased in 2020.

Atas siol.

Of course, this wasn’t a decision he made on a whim.

He purchased the property only after analysing over 200 property developments.

According to Oh, one of his reasons for purchasing the unit was “due to its attractive undervalued per square foot pricing”, comparing it to a unit on “the outskirts of Jurong”.

He purchased three other commercial properties in rapid succession that he’s currently holding on to and leasing for passive income.

He also bought an industrial property he currently leases to an interior design company and is “fetching steady rental flow”.

The remaining two condos he purchased are under his mum’s and fiancee’s names.

You would think eight properties is enough, but Oh is looking for another one to park under his sister’s name.

Hiccups Along the Way

However, Oh has had some hiccups along the way.

Remember the overseas property mentioned earlier?

Oh shared, “Sadly, the overseas property was not the best purchase due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which impacted the sale progress and price.”

Furthermore, he failed to purchase Peace Mansion at 1 Sophia Road, a property he’s been eyeing from the beginning.

The apartment complex and Peace Centre underwent an en bloc sale in late 2021.

Oh said that purchase would have garnered him $870,000 in profit in less than three years.

Inspiration

Referring to Oh’s story, Ng noted that from a child’s perspective, seeing one’s father fulfil the Singaporean dream by owning three properties and then downgrading to an HDB flat again must not be easy.

Oh said, “Honestly, I’m very thankful for my dad because even though he went through all this financial stress, he’s still holding the family and keeps us going.” 

Thankfully, his father is entirely cleared of financial debt.

Ng said he couldn’t tell that Oh’s family was suffering from financial struggles back then.

The pair even enjoyed buffets at Sukura and went to kbox together during this period. 

Ng noted this was “the power of a father’s love.”

He added, “Real estate is not just about convincing people to buy what you want them to buy, but ultimately helping them change their lives.”

On Oh’s end, he mentioned, “There was no one to advise them [his parents] to rent out one of the condos to collect massive income, and it was left empty when they were busy with their lives.”

He stated, “My main motivation was always to give my parents financial freedom. From there on, I never looked back.”

Will Oh Retire Soon?

Oh declined to reveal his net worth but stated that he doesn’t intend on retiring anytime soon.

He said, “Even though currently my passive income can consistently cover the expenses in life, I’ve realised that life is more than just aiming for retirement.”

Recalling his family’s painful experience with real estate, Oh said, “I believe it is a calling of mine to make retirement in Singapore through real estate investments possible for every Singaporean household.”

More About Oh

According to his website, Oh was a PropNex Millionaire in 2021.

Furthermore, he is one of the top real estate investment advisors and the first and youngest Super Platinum Achiever in PropNex Singapore.

He has also received several top producer awards.

An Instagram post in 2022 on Oh’s account details his feelings regarding his career.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Christian Oh | JNA Real Estate | Capital Markets (@chrisoqy)

He wrote, “I’ve never really cared for the grandiosity that comes with such events nor desiring to be in the limelight.

“What I truly found to give me a sense of fulfilment, purpose and achievement is the opportunity to change lives.

“Every action, every conversation that is placed purposefully on my path, I give my best to make a positive impact.

“Whether that’s through my profession as a real estate investment advisor with data-based facts or more heartfelt conversations about life.

“I am grateful to be able to have this opportunity to share a word of encouragement with so many people and give glory to God.”

Join our Telegram channel for more entertaining and informative articles at https://t.me/goodyfeedsg or follow us on Twitter : https://twitter.com/goodyfeed

Risks of Investing in Property

Unlike what those 30-second YouTube advertisements tell you, investing in properties is not a get-rich-quick scheme.

In 2022, Minister of State for Trade and Industry Alvin Tan echoed Oh’s sentiments. 

Namely, the importance of exercising financial prudence when purchasing a property.

In the podcast, Oh shared, “Since there was no additional buyer stamp duty (ABSD), this [his commercial properties] was a good source of passive income.”

However, on the night of 26 April, the government announced a series of new property cooling measures.

Singaporeans buying their second residential property must now pay an ABSD of 20%.

Previously, Singaporeans only had to pay an ABSD of 17% for their second property.

For Singaporeans eyeing a third property, they now have to pay an ABSD of 30%, up from 25%.

According to the Ministry of Finance (MOF), the Ministry of National Development (MND) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the ABSD increases aim “to promote a sustainable property market and prioritise housing for owner-occupation”.

They noted the “renewed signs of acceleration amid resilient demand” of property prices in the first quarter of 2023.

They added, “If left unchecked, prices could run ahead of economic fundamentals, with the risk of a sustained increase in prices relative to incomes.”

According to 2022 data, the ABSD rate increase is projected to affect about 10% of residential property transactions.

Since Oh has eight properties, this increase may affect some of his passive income.

Notably, the ABSD does not currently affect Singaporeans purchasing HDB flats or executive condominium units from housing developers with an upfront remission.

Nonetheless, Oh’s tenacity to achieve so much at a young age is admirable.