Property agents to benefit from technology

In the future, agents could have access to government data to check the owner of a particular flat, a property’s floor area or the immigration status of potential tenants.

The government has revealed that there have been several moves in leveraging technology to improve the process for property transactions, but more growth is needed in this segment, reported the Straits Times.

Second Minister for National Development Desmond Lee said this during PropNex’s Quarterly Convention on Tuesday (15 August), while providing an update on the ministry’s Real Estate Industry Transformation Map unveiled in March.

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With advanced technology, he said real estate agents can automatically sift through government data to check the owner of a particular flat, a property’s floor area or the immigration status of would-be tenants. However, this innovation is still being studied.

“Today, there are still a lot of manual processes in a property transaction, which can be time-consuming… If these are reduced, property agents can focus more of their time on higher-value work such as giving quality advice, personal touch, the human touch, and offering additional services to their customers,” Lee noted.

His suggestion was lauded by OrangeTee Associate District Director Jasmine Lau, who said it would lead to less paperwork cost on the side of agents, allowing them to focus on other things like customer service, marketing and strategy.

While she called on the government to ensure that the upcoming innovations would not make property agents redundant, Lee explained that the property sector must face “the new realities” of slower manpower and economic growth.

Another technological push is for property agencies to make available the info of their agents online, including track record, so clients can rate and review them, said Lee, noting that OrangeTee introduced such a platform in February 2016.

“This is an aspect which (the Council for Estate Agencies) will continue to encourage and study how to bring about wider acceptance and adoption within our industry.”

He added that OrangeTee’s platform had increased commissions and sales transaction numbers, based on research from the National University of Singapore’s School of Design and Environment.

“The ability to respond and innovate is important to keep abreast of technological advancement… OrangeTee’s Property Agents Review is a significant step in this direction,” said Ong Seow Eng, the study’s lead researcher and a professor in the Department of Real Estate.

 

Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg