New Resale Flat Listing (RFL) Service – What Does It Mean To Sellers And Buyers?

HDB has launched the Resale Flat Listing (RFL) service to create a transparent, reliable and trusted marketplace for the listing and transactions of HDB resale flats. Flat owners or their property agents can list flats for sale and complete their resale transactions on the HDB Flat Portal.

The RFL service will soft launch on 13 May 2024 while the official launch is set to be on a later date within the same month. The RFL service is the latest enhancement to the HDB Flat Portal and will be free of charge for the time being.

Why has HDB launched the Resale Flat Listing Service?

1. Improve convenience for buyers and sellers of HDB flats

Since 2018, HDB has launched the HDB Resale Portal to streamline and simplify the resale transaction process. Subsequently, the HDB Flat Portal was launched to complement the HDB Resale Portal for home buyers and sellers to gather information on the purchase (new or resale) or sale of a flat, on a single integrated platform.  Some of the enhancements include one-stop loan listing service, customisable financial calculators, as well as information on the HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter.

The RFL service is the part of HDB digitalisation efforts aligned with the government’s Real Estate Industry Transformation Map strategies. The aim of the industry transformation map is to use technology to deliver seamless and efficient property transaction services.

2. RFL to help verify HDB buyers and sellers

The RFL will help weed out fake HDB listings, which is pervasive on listing portals, through verification of resale listings.

For flats sellers with a valid Intent to Sell, they can either choose to appoint a property agent to manage their flat listing on the HDB flat portal, or list and market their flat on their own. But each seller can only post one flat listing to ensure that there is no duplicative listing for the same flat.

Even though any prospective flat buyer can browse the flat listings on the RFL service, only those with a valid HFE letter can obtain the sellers’ contact details, allowing them to schedule viewing appointments through the HDB Flat Portal.

3. RFL to help manage sellers’ price expectations which will ensure a more sustainable property market in the long run

The system will prompt the seller if the listed price is 10% higher than the last transacted price in the vicinity over the past six months. This feature helps sellers stay informed about recent resale prices and allows them adjust their listing price to better reflect market conditions.

Are real estate agents still relevant with the launch of the Resale Flat Listing?

The biggest question on everyone’s mind would be, “will real estate agents and listing portals become a thing of the past for the HDB resale market?”

1. A real estate agent can help navigate the complex HDB sales process

For many consumers, transacting an HDB flat might only happen once or twice in their lifetime. With the constantly evolving HDB resale rules and paperwork, the resale process can seem daunting for many consumers.

By engaging a real estate agent, sellers and buyers can receive guidance on the up-to-date processes and advice how they can approach the sales process efficiently.

2. Real estate agents to negotiate in your interest, and help brokerage the best deal

Some real estate agents specialise in certain housing estates, which enables them to develop strong market insights and intelligence. In this way, they can help sellers conduct thorough competitive market analysis, and have proven to bring sellers the best possible price achievable for their units.

Beyond just negotiating prices, real estate agents serve as intermediaries between buyers and sellers, helping them to align on intangible aspects such as the submission dates and HDB appointment dates.

To illustrate, a seller must ensure the delivery of his HDB unit after they have moved into their next home. This will require extensive coordination, from managing the flow of funds from the sale to the purchase, to timing the move and settling into the new place before the handover of the existing flat.

3. Business as usual for listing portals even though they are expected to a decline in HDB listings

For the time being, the RFL service will be free of charge allowing HDB sellers with their exclusive property agents to save on advertisement cost.

Furthermore, since the RFL will allow only allow sellers with a valid Intent to Sell to post their listings, this will help weed out fake HDB listings, which is pervasive on listing portals.

With the RFL, we anticipate HDB sellers will be less reliant on existing listing portals, and that could lead to a decline in HDB listing on such portals.

We believe the RFL will benefit real estate agents who focus on exclusive listings and here’s why:

4. Savings on advertisement cost for HDB real estate agents

Once appointed by the HDB sellers, the HDB real estate agent can leverage on the RFL to advertise the listing. For now, the RFL is free of charge and this can translate to savings on advertisement cost.

5. Pre-qualified buyers for the listings

 The RFL allows any prospective flat buyer to browse the flat listings but those with a valid HFE letter can obtain the sellers’ contact details, allowing them to schedule viewing appointments through the HDB Flat Portal.

This ensures that the prospective buyers are pre-qualified before the viewing, which may not be the case for now. Currently, some buyers may not have completed the necessary loan assessment before viewing the flats, and this impedes their ability to make an offer.

Separately, some buyers may be looking to take a bank loan for their upcoming HDB purchase, and for now the RFL does not cater to this group of buyers.

6. RFL will help to manage sellers’ price expectations

The system will prompt the seller if the listed price is 10% higher than the last transacted price in the vicinity over the past six months. This feature helps sellers stay informed about recent resale prices and allows them adjust their listing price to better reflect market conditions.

7. Providing a more accurate reflection on the available listings in the market

For real estate agents serving buyers, having an accurate overview of the available listings in the market helps them facilitate appointments more efficiently. They no longer need to sift through fake listings on listing portals, enabling them to better inform their buyers about market conditions and advise on realistic buying prices.

In a nutshell, the RFL is poised to offer greater transparency to the HDB market, fostering more sustainable price growth over time term. However, it faces some initial challenges such as facilitating contact between buyers using bank loans and sellers to arrange viewings. Sellers must also be ready to be overwhelmed by non-serious enquires from buyers and real estate agents. Overall, we view the RFL as a significant step towards improving transparency and efficiencies of the real estate market. Real estate agents should work alongside with the RFL to enhance their professionalism and service to their clients.

Disclaimer

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