SINGAPORE: Home buyers and sellers can now contact property agents and rate their service using a new mobile app called RealHome.
A beta version of the app was launched on Monday (Mar 12), and when it is fully rolled out in a month’s time, users will also be able to search for property listings in real-time as well as schedule viewings with agents handling those units.
The app, which is available for download for free on Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store, was officially launched by Second Minister for National Development Desmond Lee. It is part of efforts to improve transaction services, under the real estate industry transformation map which was unveiled last month.
Screengrab of information about past transactions provided on the RealHome app.
Spearheaded by ERA Realty, Huttons Asia and PropNex Realty, the RealHome app aims to improve industry standards by allowing consumers to rate and review agents after a successful transaction.
Each review will also include information such as the transaction identification, a brief property address, as well as the type of transaction, to ensure that the reviews are “legitimate and credible”, according to the agencies.
“The online ratings and testimonials ‘reward’ well-deserving salespersons who performed to the best of their abilities,” said CEO of Huttons Asia Goh Kee Nguan.
“Through this transparent sharing, it will inadvertently raise the level of professionalism among salespersons who will strive for better reviews from their clients on the portal.”
Said Mr Lee: “In recent years, we have seen the emergence of many property-related online portals and services, disrupting traditional players in the real estate transaction services sector.”
“Property agencies in Singapore have found the need to embrace this shift towards online services, and find new ways of delivering value to consumers by constantly innovating, and doing so relentlessly,” the minister added, noting that do-it-yourself transactions for public housing resale flats increased from 11 per cent in 2010 to 28 per cent last year.
“Innovation is key to the transformation of the industry.”
APP FOR AGENTS PROVIDING REAL-TIME PROPERTY REPORTS
An app for property agents was also launched by the three agencies, under a not-for-profit consortium set up to manage the online platforms.
Using the RealAgent app, agents will be able to receive real-time transaction data and updated reports of specific properties. Access to the app will be free for agents for a year, and will subsequently be “priced affordably”, the agencies said.
Property information and listings on the apps will be provided by more than 16,000 agents from the three agencies, which currently capture more than 60 per cent of residential property transactions in Singapore.
A partnership agreement between nine real estate agencies, members of Singapore Estate Agents Association, Institute of Estate Agents Singapore, as well as members of KEO Connect, a group for key executive officers in the real estate industry, was signed on Monday, with talks underway to bring other industry players on board.
The leaders of the three agencies are also sitting on a new digitalised property transactions workgroup set up as part of the real estate roadmap, led by the Council for Estate Agencies.
Mr Lee said that the Government will make it easier for the industry to access property-related data later this year, in a bid to help automate administrative processes that make up a property transaction.
“Our goal is for agents and property portals to be able to automatically certify key details, such as whether a seller is the legal owner of the property or whether a potential foreign tenant has a valid work pass in Singapore – all with the click of a button,” said Mr Lee. “This will be an opportunity for firms to undertake significant process innovation to become more productive.”
