Do I need a separate CRM account?
No. One account works for the CRM and the portal. If you already have an agent account on a Housing Market Group portal, log in with it.
The CRM and the portals use the same agent account, so there is no second password to keep and nothing to connect between the two.
If you already have an agent account on a portal, log in to the CRM with the same email address and password. If you do not, create a free account in the CRM — it creates your agent account on the portal for the country you choose at the same time. See "How do I create a Housing Market CRM account?".