Property slide. What property slide? Mr Gaz Aspar can be forgiven for asking that question - the property agent and his wife together make an average of $30,000 to $45,000 a month.

He and wife Sharifah Rashidah, 34, are making the most of that - they are upgrading from a four-room Housing Board flat in Bedok to a three-room condo in Katong.

He is still settling transactions to close the deal for his new home, which he intends to move into by March.

The couple, both agents with local property giant PropNex, have two boys, aged six and one, and are expecting their third son next month.

He credits their success amid hard times to a workhorse ethic and positive thinking.

The go-getter, who was one of PropNex's Top 30 producers for October, says: 'I can't slow down. I don't like to slow down. So even if the market is slow, I will keep working to find new listings.'

The couple work seven-day weeks and over 12 hours a day.

The gruelling hours mean that by the time they come home, their children, cared for by a maid, are asleep.

He says: 'Of course I feel sad. It's especially so when I take my clients out sometimes and I see them with their kids. But I believe it's a short-term sacrifice to make.'

He has been a property agent since 2003 - one of the worst years to enter the industry. The Sars epidemic was wreaking havoc, and people were still sitting on negative assets from the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

He says: 'When I came into the business, it was not a bull run. I stayed and fought my way through tough times.

'The market is secondary. It's the mindset that's the important factor.'

This article was first published in The Straits Times on December 7, 2008.