Special Feature
Marathon mindset: Andrew Phee on wealth, clients and real estate legacy
Phee: The relationships I’ve built continue generating opportunities because clients remember the service quality experience, not just the transaction. (Picture: EdgeProp SIngapore)
Andrew Phee, a Division Director at ERA, never enjoyed running until the Covid-19 pandemic pushed him to find new ways to stay fit. His bi-weekly 5km routine now serves as a fitting metaphor for a successful 15-year property career: lasting relationships are built through disciplined consistency, one interaction at a time.
“Nobody naturally likes to run, but discipline means you have to do the right things even when you don’t feel like doing it,” he muses.
After brokering more than $300 million in transactions across more than 400 properties while consistently ranking among ERA’s top achievers, Phee credits his success to three unwavering principles: honesty, patience and sincerity. But it’s discipline that enables him to apply these values consistently, whether handling a simple HDB rental or closing a multimillion-dollar landed property.
From IT fixer to property pro
Phee never planned to become a property agent. With a computer science degree from Queensland, he settled into project management at Toyota Asia, fixing systems and following protocols.
What energised him wasn’t the technical work; it was walking around the office helping Toyota’s employees solve their IT problems. Typically, an IT department approaches each issue as another ticket to close. Phee brought genuine enthusiasm to every interaction. Employees began commenting on his different attitude, how he was always positive and actually seemed happy to help.
Phee’s faith is evident not only in his professional career but also in how he looks after his family by taking them on yearly vacations. (Picture: Andrew Phee)
His girlfriend, now wife, suggested he consider becoming a property agent. In 2009, being an agent wasn’t exactly a prestigious career choice. But it was after attending an ERA Success Seminar where Marcus Chu, now CEO of ERA Singapore, was speaking, that prompted Phee to consider a career change. Here was a successful leader who had built a career helping people with their property needs. It convinced Phee that he could also channel his natural inclination to serve others into meaningful work.
He believes that genuine care for clients’ welfare creates the trust that transforms modest beginnings into extraordinary opportunities. Nothing exemplifies this more than his commitment to honesty.
At times, it might mean steering clients away from their initial preferences toward more profitable alternatives. This approach sometimes costs him immediate sales, but it builds something more valuable: credibility.
One client was determined to purchase a freehold District 10 property, convinced that perpetual ownership was essential for generational wealth. Rather than taking the easy commission, Phee spent weeks providing insight about market dynamics.
“I explained how their preferred development’s entry price was prohibitively high while a 99-year leasehold mega development offered superior value per square foot in the same Core Central Region,” adds Phee.
The client initially resisted, but Phee’s patient analysis of comparable transactions, rental yields, appreciation patterns and entry price eventually convinced them.
Ten years later, their $3.3 million investment has now generated over $1.5 million in paper gains, complemented by more than $850,000 in rental income collected.
Phee receiving the Rising Millionaire 2024 award from Doris Ong, Deputy CEO of ERA Singapore. (Picture: Andrew Phee)
Small deals drive big wins
Phee’s journey in real estate has enabled him to develop a deeper understanding of the market. While other agents avoided rentals as low-commission distractions, Phee embraced them as his property education. Serving corporate tenants with substantial budgets exposed him to premium developments daily, where he observed why certain properties commanded higher rents and faster tenant placement.
His insights revealed that spacious layouts alone weren’t enough. Tenants valued comprehensive amenities — expansive grounds for dog walking, large pools for children, tennis courts for socialising, and well-equipped gyms that eliminated external membership needs. These observations would later prove crucial in his investment advice.
Balancing methodical analysis and a service-driven approach to relationship building has transformed his career trajectory, leading Phee into the luxury segment through genuine service rather than aggressively pursuing commissions. Today, he is one of Singapore’s leading luxury realtors, including selling a $25 million Good Class Bungalow and earning one of the Top Resale Landed Awards in 2024.
Andrew Phee Division has steadily grown over the years, producing achievers who prioritise ethics and professionalism. (Picture: Andrew Phee)
Service first
Success does not blind Phee to the value of sincere service, and it manifests in his willingness to handle tasks that other agents consider beneath them.
On occasion, he receives calls from expatriate wives asking for help with fixing household issues or changing light bulbs. But he doesn’t delegate or dismiss these requests. “This allowed me to build up a one-stop service approach,” Phee says. “They trust me because I’ve been serving them since they were single. Some of them got married, had children, earned their permanent residency, and eventually Singapore citizenship. Now, after 12 years, they can finally buy their own luxury condo or landed property.”
Phee’s family background — his father is a pastor, his mother a teacher — instilled values of service above self-interest. “My faith teaches me to love others and do whatever I can to help them. I’m motivated to serve my clients, and this goes beyond just my own needs”.
With 15 years of hands-on experience, Phee’s insights have helped his teammates grow in a shared direction. (Picture: Andrew Phee)
Pillars behind the profits
When Phee joined ERA’s Preeminent Group and began working with the co-founders, his ground-level insights combined with their strategic frameworks helped create the “Eight Pillars of Profitable Property.”
Their framework challenges conventional wisdom about location and exclusivity. “One of the most important pillars is the number of units,” Phee says. “The more units, the higher transactional activity for both rental and sale. If tenants love living somewhere, families will too. When families want to buy, parents will always pay a premium.”
This understanding proved decisive with a client who initially wanted a District 15 freehold property in Telok Kurau. Through careful analysis of transaction patterns and referencing property attributes against the eight pillars, Phee guided them toward a mega development in Bayshore instead.
“They bought a four-bedroom unit for $2.4 million,” says Phee. “Eight months later, comparable units were already transacting at $3 million. The key is recognising transformation potential in the area before it becomes obvious to the broader market.”
Phee goes beyond advising his client and applies his wealth-building philosophy to both his team and personal life. From one HDB to owning two private properties with his wife is validation of his investment strategies. As Preeminent Group’s Property Wealth Creation trainer, he shares portfolio restructuring techniques that have benefited his clients and division.
His proudest achievement isn’t his success but watching his team apply these principles. Most have progressed from HDB ownership to private properties, now sitting on substantial paper gains. It’s proof that his approach to mentorship mirrors his client service philosophy of investing in small, consistent improvements that compound into extraordinary outcomes.
Phee receiving the Top 7th Division Directors award from ERA Management. (Picture: Andrew Phee)
After 15 years and consistent ERA Top Achiever rankings, including Top 7th Division Director agency-wide in 2024, his business today operates primarily through referrals, and it all stems from the trust and service he has earned.
“Business becomes easier when people know how you work,” says Phee. “The relationships I’ve built continue generating opportunities because clients remember the service quality experience, not just the transaction.”
For more information,
Contact Andrew Phee | 87777007
Division Director (R024642I)
ERA Realty Pte. Ltd.
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