SINGAPORE, 22 January 2021 – One year on, the pandemic has wrought many changes in Singapore’s property market. Despite the uncertainties, the public and private residential property markets recovered and ended 2020 on a positive note. The HDB resale price index has increased steadily last year, ending the year at 5.0% higher than 2019. At the same time, the private housing price index also appreciated at an accelerating pace in 2020.
HDB resale price and volume surpassed pre-pandemic levels; the rental market badly affected
HDB resale price index in 4Q 2020 expanded 3.1% quarter-on-quarter (qoq), faster than the preceding quarter. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the HDB resale transaction volume in the last three months of 2020 was remarkably healthy. The number of HDB flats sold in 4Q 2020 was 20.6% higher than the corresponding period in 2019, despite it slipping 1.9% qoq.
The HDB rental market, on the other hand, has taken a hit due to the slowdown in the local economy and employment market. In the fourth quarter of 2020, a total of 8,472 HDB flats were rented out. This was 29.9% lower than the HDB rental volume in 4Q 2019. For the whole of 2020, the HDB rental volume contracted 19.5% yoy to 38,798 flats. This the largest rate of decline since such data was made publicly available in 2006.
Private residential property price trend
According to the latest real estate statistics released by the URA, the Singapore private residential property market had survived the pandemic relatively unscathed. The private residential property price index increased 2.1% quarter-on-quarter (qoq) and 2.2% year-on-year (yoy), surpassing the pre-pandemic price level.
Performance for Private housing primary market and residential rental market
The private housing primary market had turned in the best performance for an October to December quarter since 2012 as the number of new private homes sold reached 2,603 units. Despite launching relatively fewer housing units in 2020 compared to the preceding year, real estate developers sold a total of 9,982 private housing units, a marginal 0.7% more than the dwelling units sold in the year before, signalling that the primary market had survived the pandemic fairly well.
The private residential rental index ended the year with a slight 0.1% qoq expansion. On a yearly basis, the rental index decreased 0.6% compared to 4Q 2019, likely due to landlords being more willing to rent out their units at a lower rate in order to avoid vacancies, given the weak rental market sentiment.
Outlook for property markets in Singapore
In 2021, the key factors that will influence the private and public housing markets in Singapore would be the expected economic recovery and subsequently, the recovery in the employment market. In addition, the implementation of the vaccination programme would also improve confidence in the real estate market. Gradual easing of travel restrictions might lead to more foreign buyers and investors coming back to.
Although the HDB resale price index ended 2020 with an impressive rate of growth, it was still 7.5% lower than the peak of the price cycle in mid-2013, which means that there is still room for expansion. As the Singapore economy and job market are expected to improve in 2021, it would add to the growth momentum for housing prices and resale volume. In addition, the delay in the construction of new HDB flats would also push some first-time homebuyers to the HDB resale market.
Developers may have fewer residential projects available for launch this year compared to 2020. About 10 of the 25 projects expected to be launched in 2021 are located in the Core Central Region. Therefore, the limelight in the primary market in 2021 would shift to the prime residential districts.
As the job market improves, more foreign professionals would come to Singapore. Furthermore, international students would also return to Singapore to resume on-campus study. This would increase residential leasing demand, resulting in a gradual recovery in residential rental rates and transaction volume.
For more insights, please click here.
SINGAPORE, 15 January 2021 – The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) released its monthly private housing primary market sales information for December 2020 today. The data has shown an increase in the number of transactions for new private home sales.
Private residential primary market sales in December 2020
Real estate developers launched 1,349 private housing units, excluding Executive Condominium, for sale in December 2020, the third highest number of units launched in a single month last year.
Three new residential projects were launched last month, namely Ki Residential at Brookvale, Clavon, Phoenix Residences. They are located in Outside Central Region (OCR).
Subsequently, developers sold 1,217 private housing units in December, 57% higher than in November 2020, mainly contributed by the new major launches. As a result, about 75.9% of all the private housing units sold by developers in December was located in the OCR.
Although no new Executive Condominium (EC) project was launched in 4Q 2020, 48 EC units were sold in December, which was the same number as the preceding month.
Developers sold more properties in 2020
According to official data released by the Urban and Redevelopment Authority (URA) today (Jan 15), despite launching fewer private housing units and the property market being battered by the pandemic and economic recession in 2020, developers sold 10,024 private housing units in 2020, 1.1% higher than the 9,912 units sold in 2019.
| Year | Private housing units launched | EC units launched | Private housing units sold | EC units sold |
| 2019 | 11,345 | 820 | 9,912 | 505 |
| 2020 * | 10,883 | 1,044 | 10,024 | 961 |
Source: URA, ERA Research
*Note: Based on preliminary numbers
As a result, the take-up rate for private residential units has improved from 87.4% in 2019 to 92.1% last year. The increase in the take-up rate of EC was even more dramatically, from 61.6% in 2019 to 92.0% in the following year.
The improvement in the take-up rate was because developers held back the launches of major projects in the first half of 2020 due to the high level of pandemic-driven uncertainties in the market at the time. However, the sales and marketing activities continue unabated, leading to the higher sales volume last year.
Increased transactions reflect positive property market outlook for 2021
The Singapore residential property market has ended 2020 on a positive note. The launch and sales momentum are likely to continue into the first quarter of this year with the launch of major projects such as Normanton Park, Parc Central Residences and The Reef at King’s Dock.
“As the vaccination programme is rolled out in Singapore, housing demand could increase further in the second half of this year as the economy and job market improve,” said ERA Realty’s Head of Research & Consultancy, Nicholas Mak. “At the same time, homebuyers from overseas could return to Singapore as travel restrictions are gradually eased as more people are vaccinated. However, there could be fewer major residential launches in 2021 compared to last year. As a result, some housing demand could spill over to the resale market.”
For more insights, please click here.
ERA Singapore is the first real estate agency to adopt digital signatures for the convenience of its agents and customers
SINGAPORE, 12 January 2021 – ERA Singapore’s real estate agents and customers can now sign various property-related documents online. This includes tenancy agreements, option to purchase letter for private properties and more. The signing solution provides a seamless, timesaving yet secured experience for its customers and agents.
ERA Singapore is the first private company to have adopted a digital document management solution powered by Dedoco. Dedoco’s digital document management solution utilizes GovTech’s recently launched Sign with SingPass feature under the Smart Nation initiative for the signing of documents. To date, ERA has enabled digital signing of all forms of tenancy agreements from private, commercial, industrial to HDB or room rentals, letter of intent, option to purchase for private properties, CEA forms, and more. The company will progressively roll out more documents to include digital form-signing.
“These digital initiatives are examples of how ERA is embracing Proptech into our business so that our trusted advisors have a competitive edge. In an increasingly digitalised world, we are constantly thinking of breakthroughs to bridge physical limitations and enable seamless processes for buyers, sellers, and trusted advisors alike. Our aim is to provide personalised services along every step of the real estate experience, no matter where they are located,” said Jack Chua, Chief Executive Officer of ERA Singapore.
About 100 transactions have been completed in the span of three weeks (from 13 December till 31 December 2020) using the new digital signing feature, signifying an openness to a new way of signing. It has helped to save cost and time by removing the manual processes of obtaining the signatures and verifying physical paperwork. It is also more time-efficient for property owners, especially those who are based overseas, and can minimise contact and exposure risk when servicing their customers.
“The adoption of digital signing for essential documents that are legally compliant is definitely a good start and has helped tremendously as the signing can now be done anytime from anywhere. The secure and integrated workflow has provided a much-needed convenience to me and my clients. This process saves time and increase my work efficiency“, says Jason Low, ERA Group Division Director who has digitally signed the form, Exclusive Estate Agency Agreement for the Lease of Residential Property by a Landlord, upon the completion of a 2-year residential rental transaction.
“The signing process can now be completed within 1-2 minutes as compared to in the past, where forms had to be printed, signed, and scanned for submission. SingPass Mobile is an important element in ensuring that the authenticity and integrity of the digital signature is assured,” says Ben Peh, ERA Division Director who logged in via SingPass and signed the ERA Salesperson Declaration form as part of standard form-submission after completing a rental transaction.
Ensuring the strictest compliance to data privacy and security, Dedoco’s blockchain-enabled application will further help ERA to register a decentralised audit trail of the signing evidence, thus providing real-time validation of documents and transactions.
“With COVID-19 affecting business transactions tremendously, Dedoco is proud to partner with ERA to deliver robust digital signing and document management solutions to its team of seasoned real estate professionals. Through our enterprise blockchain technology, we are committed to ensuring minimal physical contact between all signatories while ensuring that data security and compliance are protected with the highest possible standards,” says Daphne Ng, Executive Director of Dedoco.
About Dedoco
Dedoco, an enterprise blockchain platform, is the leading decentralized, digital signing, and document solution in Singapore. Built with the aim of improving efficiency and compliance, Dedoco is designed to automate and tamper-proof digital signatures, ultimately creating extremely secure end-to-end digital workflows that are immune to disruptions.
Our peer-to-peer encryption process further ensures document security and enhanced privacy. Dedoco aims to empower enterprises to digitize and sign documents with an easy-to-use Software-as-a-Service model that can be adopted across all industries on a global scale. For more information, visit us at https://www.dedoco.com.
Yahoo: https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/era-adopts-digital-signing-property-084423226.html
ERA Research & Consultancy department released a report on the Executive Condominium (EC) market in Singapore. The report provides an introduction to this hybrid housing type and analysed the median price trend, sales volume and effect of the 2018 cooling measures on the EC market.
The main findings of the report are as follow:
- Based on median transacted prices of EC in the primary market, the growth of EC prices started in the fourth quarter of 2006, driven by factors stable economic growth, rising household income and increased eligibility income ceiling. EC prices also weathered the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 as median prices grew 4.0% year-on-year in the last quarter of 2020.
- Two EC projects, namely Parc Canberra and Ola, with a total of 1,044 units were launched for sale last year. From preliminary figures, real estate developers sold 955 uncompleted EC units in 2020, more than the new EC sales volume in 2018 and 2019. However, the total number of new EC transacted in 2020 was lower than the 5-year annual average sales from 2015 to 2019, partly due to the declining stock of EC available for sale.
- The new round of market cooling measures introduced by the government in July 2018 slowed down the demand for EC. EC projects launched before the 2018 cooling measures enjoyed faster rate of sales than those projects launched after July 2018.
- The report concludes with an outlook on the EC market, especially on how the land prices of EC projects under development and economic impact of the pandemic would affect the future prices of EC.
For more information, please click here.
Nicholas Mak is the head of research & consultancy at ERA Realty Network Realty
The agency optimises end-to-end real estate experiences with leading technologies; from 3D dollhouse virtual viewing to digital document and signature solutions and AI chatbots.
Group photo of Kevin Lim (ERA Chief Agency Director), Doris Ong (ERA COO), Eugene Lim (ERA Key Executive Office), Mr Desmond Lee (Minister for National Development), Jack Chua (ERA CEO), Tan Choon Hong (APAC Realty Board Independent Director), Marcus Chu (ERA COO) and Gary Lau (ERA Chief Agency Director) at the recent virtual Q4 Career Advancement Day
SINGAPORE, 23 November 2020 –ERA Singapore (ERA) has recently marked the transformation of ERA APAC Centre with Minister of National Development Desmond Lee that will see the new-look Asia Pacific HQ taking shape in 2021.
The building, the only one that is owned by a real estate agency in Singapore, is set to become a real estate icon in the region, with digitalisation taking centre stage across every touch-point. Once its transformation is complete, its network of trusted advisors will enjoy access to cutting-edge facilities powered by technology.
There will be a media room equipped with cameras, lighting and audio systems for them to produce videos or conduct virtual training sessions and meetings. Several interactive LED display screens showcasing virtual property galleries will also be installed. Additionally, a co-working space, will allow trusted advisors to brainstorm ideas and seek consultation with their fellow teammates, via offline and online platforms.
Best-in-class digital initiatives that offer competitive advantage
Virtual is the new reality. As more property transactions are completed remotely, ERA has introduced a slew of digital initiatives that will enhance the end-to-end real estate experience for both customers and trusted advisors.
Presently, property buyers and sellers, especially those based overseas, have to undergo the search and screening processes on their own. They are unable to fully imagine the space of a unit or explore it thoroughly via existing images or videos.
There is also a lack of information on appointed trusted advisors to help facilitate overseas transactions and ensure official documents are safely and securely handled. This is where ERA seeks to fill the gap with the following digital initiatives:
- Global Referral Network, a global initiative by its master franchisor ERA Real Estate to automate and track cross-border property buying and selling processes within its global network.
- Digital Signature, in partnership with Dedoco to integrate encrypted blockchain technology that will save everyone time with Sign with SingPass service. ERA is the first private company to integrate this new government initiative in its processes.
- Robo Chatbot, in partnership with YooZoo Games to provide instant query-response service, powered by AI Technology that increases productivity of trusted advisors.
- Asia Virtual Property Expo, in partnership with PropertyGuru to provide a seamless virtual platform to promote cross-border buying and selling of properties.
- 3D Virtual Viewing & Capture Services, in partnership with Matterport to enable trusted advisors an easy and low-cost access to 3D capabilities and AI technology in marketing their properties virtually.
“These digital initiatives are examples of how ERA is embracing Proptech into our business so that our trusted advisors have a competitive edge. In an increasingly digitalised world, we are constantly thinking of breakthroughs to bridge physical limitations and enable seamless processes for buyers, sellers, and trusted advisors alike. Our aim is to provide personalised services along every step of the real estate experience, no matter where they are located,” said Jack Chua, Chief Executive Officer of ERA.
“Technology can really open up new opportunities for trusted advisors; but unfortunately, smaller agencies don’t have this kind of tech support like this partnership,” says Division Director Yap Chin Chuan, who recently joined ERA as he had no means to go digital due to the lack of Proptech resources in his previous agency.
Online Portal to enable cross-border real estate transactions across 34 countries
ERA trusted advisors can now enlist its entire global network of more than 40,000 affiliated trusted advisors in 2,300 offices throughout 34 countries to market their properties or hunt properties overseas.
Dubbed the Global Referral Network, an e-commerce online referral platform powered by global real estate tech firm Immobel, this online portal helps to meet cross border property demands and country-to-country referrals instantly. Previously, trusted advisors have to call or email the respective ERA headquarters to indicate their interest to make a global referral transaction.
This new intuitive platform offers a real-time “food delivery-style” dashboard – in the form of a Referral Lifecycle Bar – that shows the status of all active referral business, both incoming and outgoing.
It also allows affiliated trusted advisors to refer and transact between countries seamlessly, automatically translating its referrals using their language, currency and measurement unit of choice for each of the country around the world.
Other key features include:
Post property listings: Trusted advisors can post the properties which are available for purchase, rent or sale, and decide on the referral fee that they can extend.
Instant notifications: Trusted advisors will receive timely notifications for invitations to apply for referrals and new referral postings in their regions.
Directory of professionals: Trusted advisors can now browse the profiles of trusted advisors across the network, with detailed information on the trusted advisors’ biographies, language proficiencies, strengths and more.
Analytics: A repository of trusted advisors’ past transactions for easy reference.
ERA piloted digital signatures adoption in real estate
For higher efficiency, cost-saving, and secure transactions, ERA has adopted the digital document and signature solution powered by Dedoco.
An encrypted digital signing application provider, Dedoco’s software is integrated with GovTech’s recently launched Sign with SingPass feature under the Smart Nation Initiative.
This new solution will reduce logistics costs as well as time spent on delivering documents for customer’s signing. It is also more time-efficient for property owners, especially those who are based overseas, and minimise contact and exposure risk when servicing their customers.
Ensuring the strictest compliance to data privacy and security, Dedoco’s blockchain-enabled application will further help ERA to register a decentralised audit trail of the signing evidence, thus providing real-time validation of documents and transactions.
“With COVID-19 affecting business transactions tremendously, Dedoco is proud to partner with ERA to deliver robust digital signing and document management solutions to its team of seasoned real estate professionals. Through our enterprise blockchain technology, we are committed to ensuring minimal physical contact between all signatories while ensuring that data security and compliance are protected with the highest possible standards,” says Daphne Ng, Executive Director of Dedoco.
Next generation conversational AI to improve productivity and provide instant support
ERA also unveiled the 24/7 Robo Chatbot, AI-powered conversational software that is developed in by the Shanghai-listed entertainment company YOOZOO Games.
With this WhatsApp chatbot embedded into its mobile app (iERA) and intranet (myERA), trusted advisors can access project information instantaneously, enhancing its work efficiency and productivity of the trusted advisors.
Regional virtual expo offering access to over 300 properties
ERA had partnered with PropertyGuru, Singapore’s number one property marketplace with 75% market share to launch Asia Virtual Property Expo, the first multi-market virtual property expo that showcases over 300 properties and 40 webinars across ten countries — Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Philippines, Australia and the United Kingdom (Market share Source: SimilarWeb data).
Virtual booths are set-up from 11 November 2020 to 12 December 2020 for trusted advisors to meet and greet their customers, as well as for participating developers across the region to showcase their properties.
Customers can immerse themselves in a 3D virtual viewing experience for both local and regional properties or register for real estate webinars conducted by leading experts from across the region.
For actual experience, please visit: AVPE.PropertyGuru.com
Experience an immersive home viewing with 3D Dollhouse, accurate measurements and realistic floor plan with Matterport
Leveraging on Matterport’s 3D and AI technology, trusted advisors are able to conduct a detailed walkthrough of properties for their customers from anywhere, anytime. Customers will feel as though they are entering an actual physical space with its realistic 3D environment.
Customers can easily measure objects like furniture and household items virtually! What’s more, Matterport, which is also mobile ready, allowing trusted advisors to capture any space and turn photos into an immersive digital twin simply by using their iPhone camera.
Besides, trusted advisors can also add descriptive multimedia meta tags, create highlight reels that provide home buyers with a guided tour of the property, and share auto-generated photos and videos on social media.
According to a recent Matterport survey , which polled 1,000 property buyers and 1,000 property sellers, consumers are no longer satisfied with static photos and would overwhelmingly opt for a more immersive experience. Nearly 80 percent of all respondents would switch to a trusted advisor offering immersive 3D tours of listed properties.
“We’re excited to be partnering with ERA as a key part of their virtual strategy. Matterport technology will open up new levels of engagement for customers anywhere in the world at any time. The current situation globally has shown how important and impactful 3D capture technology is, and with forward thinking real estate companies like ERA leading the charge, digital twins are quickly becoming a standard in real estate,” says Bruce Wells, Managing Director of Matterport APAC. (Source: https://matterport.com/blog/property-buyers-and-sellers-want-listings-3d-tours)
For actual experience, please visit: https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=15vBnSfkJzz
Find out how ERA is impacting the region:
AsiaOne: https://bit.ly/39ixqFA
Yahoo SG: https://bit.ly/3q2UkXq
Vulcan Post: https://bit.ly/3fChI9g
HR Asia Media: https://bit.ly/3o265LT
Weekender: https://bit.ly/3nYB2Ao
Nanyang Post: https://bit.ly/3fCzaKB
SME Asia: https://bit.ly/36brX1n
Shenton Wire: https://bit.ly/39iwzES
Asian Journeys: https://bit.ly/2V0QQpN
Hpility SG: https://bit.ly/3696mXj
Yahoo Finance Indonesia: https://bit.ly/3fCgZ82
Yahoo News Malaysia: https://bit.ly/2Jd78K7
Yahoo Finance UK: https://yhoo.it/39l19NV
Yahoo Finance Australia: https://yhoo.it/364QWmD
Yahoo Finance New Zealand: https://yhoo.it/376eSpi
Yahoo Finance India: https://bit.ly/3l7lNDx
Yahoo News Taiwan: https://bit.ly/3fCyQLT
Yahoo News Philippines: https://bit.ly/39fyZnB
Yahoo Finance Hong Kong: https://bit.ly/3nYiekK
Global Banking & Finance Review: https://bit.ly/364mx8e
ET Net: https://bit.ly/2J7H6HL
Taiwan News: https://bit.ly/3nQXCLg
Malay Mail: https://bit.ly/39mVQ0F
Sina.com: https://bit.ly/3q1l8an
Vulcan Post Malaysia: https://bit.ly/2J906pG
Viet Nam News: https://bit.ly/366zQ84
Viet Nam Biz Hub: https://bit.ly/366SXPu
Thailand Business News: https://bit.ly/368NFTE
IT News Africa: https://bit.ly/364QfK3
The Hans India: https://bit.ly/3mbmJbh
PropertyGuru SG: https://www.propertyguru.com.sg/property-management-news/2020/11/194923/era-singapore-harmonises-digital-solutions-for-customers-trusted-advisors
About PropertyGuru Group
PropertyGuru Group is Southeast Asia’s leading property technology company and the preferred destination for 24.5 million property seekers to find their dream home, every month. PropertyGuru and its group companies empower property seekers with the widest option of more than 2.7 million homes, in-depth insights and solutions that enable them to make confident property decision across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.
PropertyGuru.com.sg was launched in 2007 and revolutionised the Singapore property market by taking it online and made property search transparent for the property seeker. Over the decade, the group has grown from a regional property media powerhouse to a high-growth technology company with a robust portfolio of No.1 property portals across its core markets; award-winning mobile apps; best-in-class developer sales enablement platform, FastKey; mortgage marketplace PropertyGuru Finance; and a host of industry-leading property offerings including Awards, events and publications across Asia.
About Dedoco
An enterprise blockchain service, Dedoco is a decentralized, digital signing, and document solution. Built with the aim of improving efficiency and compliance, Dedoco was designed to automate and tamper-proof digital signatures, ultimately resulting in end-to-end digital workflows that are immune to disruptions. Its peer-to-peer encryption further ensures document security and enhanced privacy. Dedoco aims to empower enterprises to digitize and sign documents with an easy-to-use Software-as-a-Service model that can be adopted across all industries on a global scale.
About YOOZOO Games
YOOZOO Games (hereinafter “YOOZOO”) is a global entertainment company specializing in game development and publishing. Since its founding in 2009, YOOZOO has forged a strong global distribution network and launched a multitude of highly successful products. Whilst YOOZOO is best known for its work in global development and publishing, in recent years it has built upon its expertise in games to develop the company’s AI business development, which has become a strategic focus for YOOZOO in response to the technological advances of the industry. In 2018, YOOZOO has established a global AI hub in Singapore. YOOZOO AI Innovation Lab is set to grow to around 60 AI researchers and engineers within the next five years.
About Matterport
Matterport is the industry leader in 3D capture and spatial data with a mission to digitize and index the built world, and advance the way people interact with the places they inhabit and explore. Matterport’s all-in-one 3D data platform enables anyone to turn a physical space into an immersive digital twin and share it with others to connect and collaborate in 3D. In less than a decade, customers such as Redfin, HH Angus, Sotheby’s, Arup and Marriott, have captured billions of square feet of space in over 80 countries.
The organisation utilises best-in-class initiatives and cutting-edge technologies, from digital document and signature solution to AI chatbots, to optimize real estate processes
SINGAPORE, 11 November 2020 – ERA Singapore (ERA) announced a line-up of comprehensive, end-to-end digitalisation initiatives that will lead to a faster, more efficient and fulfilling experience for agents and customers during its Q4 Career Advancement Day today. The event was graced by Mr. Desmond Lee, Minister for National Development, who delivered a keynote speech on the digital transformation of the real estate industry.
From the newly launched one-stop property search and listing features to enquiry via an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, as well as the adoption of encrypted digital document and signature solution to regional outreach expansion, ERA’s roadmap for transformation through technology should serve as a blueprint for the real estate industry.
“ERA is in full support of the government’s initiative to build a trusted digital ecosystem as we move towards an increasingly efficient and convenient Smart Nation. 2020 has been a year of driven changes with industries pivoting to the digital sphere to streamline work processes which in turn has transformed lifestyle patterns,” says Jack Chua, Chief Executive Officer of ERA Singapore. “As a leading proptech agency, we aim to innovate or be early adopters so that our agents get the best and most up-to-date technologies to assist in their work. This enables them to provide the best services to their clients, whenever and wherever.”
ERA to pilot digital signatures adoption in real estate for higher efficiency, cost-saving and secure transactions
In the past few months, Singapore’s property sales have been steadily on the upswing. To streamline the transaction process, ERA will be adopting the digital document and signature solution powered by Dedoco. A trusted digital signing application provider, Dedoco’s software is integrated with GovTech’s recently launched Sign with SingPass feature under the Smart Nation Initiative.
This new solution will reduce logistics costs as well as time spent on delivering documents for client’s signing. It is also more time-efficient for property owners, especially those who are based overseas. Not only that, the solution will allow ERA’s agents to minimise contact and exposure risk when servicing their clients. Ensuring the strictest compliance to data privacy and security, Dedoco’s blockchain-enabled application will further help ERA to register a decentralised audit trail of the signing evidence, thus providing real-time validation of documents and transactions.
“With COVID-19 affecting business transactions tremendously, Dedoco is proud to partner with ERA to deliver robust digital signing and document management solutions to its team of seasoned real estate professionals. Through our enterprise blockchain technology, we are committed to ensuring minimal physical contact between all signatories while ensuring that data security and compliance are protected with the highest possible standards. Going digital is inevitable given the current global situation and Dedoco aims to make property transactions as seamless as possible for ERA and its valued clients,” says Daphne Ng, Executive Director of Dedoco.
Next generation conversational AI to improve productivity and provide instant support
ERA also unveiled the 24/7 Robo Chatbot, an AI-powered conversational software that is developed in tandem with YOOZOO AI Innovation Lab, which was set up by global entertainment company YOOZOO. Agents can access project information almost instantaneously and easily, anytime, anywhere, simply by making enquiries with the WhatsApp chatbot. Granting instant support, this chatbot is a handy tool that will ramp up work efficiency and productivity of the agents.
Future-proofing ERA’s headquarter through digital revamp
The ERA APAC Centre is set to undergo a major facelift that will usher in the new age of real estate brokerage. Once its transformation is complete, agents will get to enjoy access to a suite of facilities. There will be a media room equipped with cameras, lighting and audio systems for them to produce videos or conduct virtual training sessions and meetings. Several interactive LED display screens that will showcase virtual property galleries will also be installed so clients can view and enquire about different projects at once. A co-working space, modelled after globally successful shared spaces, will allow agents to brainstorm ideas and seek consultation with their fellow colleagues.
Regional partnerships offer ERA agents access to over 100 million clients
Following the successful collaboration with Fang.com launched in September 2020, ERA also announces a partnership with Anjuke, a leading real estate portal in China with the highest mobile traffic of over 100 million monthly users.
In addition to its plan to expand the regional outreach, ERA also partners with PropertyGuru to launch Asia Virtual Property Expo, the first multi-market virtual property expo which will showcase over 300 properties and 40 webinars across five countries — Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia — from 11 November 2020 to 12 December 2020.
Harnessing innovative technologies, the organisers will set up virtual booths for property agents to meet and greet their clients. The expo will see participation from award-winning developers in Asia Pacific, all eager to showcase their properties. Clients will get to immerse themselves in a 3D virtual property hunting experience and browse both local and regional projects.
Agent-review platform to be upgraded with new property listing feature
ERA is one of the first industry leaders to align its agent-review platform, FindPropertyAgent.sg, with the Council for Estate Agencies’ newly launched Guide on Best Practices for Consumer Ratings of Property Agents. In addition, this one-stop property search platform will be upgraded with the new “Post Property” feature, which allows homeowners and landlords to list their properties, reaching out directly to over 7,400 agents in Singapore.
New electronic guidebooks to elevate culture and conduct standards for real estate industry
Since its inception in 1982, ERA has been redefining industry standards for real estate concepts, technology, initiatives, and products. In an effort to further expand its agents’ expertise and gain a competitive edge, ERA will produce a series of e-books as digital empowerment tools. It will publish one volume per month, for a total of 12 volumes in a year.
#Q420CAD Media responses are really positive to our new digital initiatives rolled out during our ERA Q4’20 Career Advancement Day!
Huge shout-out to our media partners, Singapore Press Holdings – Engaging Minds, Enriching Lives, The Straits Times, Shin Min Daily News 新明日报, Lianhe Zaobao 联合早报 and EdgeProp Singapore, for their generous support!
And not forgetting our friends at the Ministry of National Development as well; have you checked out the social media postings from Minister Desmond Lee? Sincere appreciation for his social media mention and kindest support! Let’s march towards the real estate digital transformation as OneERA!
Check out the following online links on all the wonderful news of our quarterly conference, as well as the full Minister’s speech:
Minister’s speech: https://www.mnd.gov.sg/newsroom/speeches/view/speech-by-minister-desmond-lee-at-the-era-q4’20-career-advancement-day
ST online: https://www.straitstimes.com/tech/era-homes-in-on-digital-signatures-for-tenancy-deals
Lianhe Zaobao Online: https://www.zaobao.com.sg/news/singapore/story20201112-1100233
Edgeprop covers the news too: https://www.edgeprop.sg/property-news/era-realty-unveils-new-digital-initiatives-agents-and-clients
Minister’s IG post: https://www.instagram.com/p/CHeeDgrg_re/?igshid=plyeycnigw38
Minister’s FB post: https://www.facebook.com/1279122248765381/posts/5012561162088119/?d=n
ST Telegram: https://t.me/StraitsTimes/147618
About Dedoco
An enterprise blockchain service, Dedoco is a decentralized, digital signing, and document solution. Built with the aim of improving efficiency and compliance, Dedoco was designed to automate and tamper-proof digital signatures, ultimately resulting in end-to-end digital workflows that are immune to disruptions. Its peer-to-peer encryption further ensures document security and enhanced privacy. Dedoco aims to empower enterprises to digitize and sign documents with an easy-to-use Software-as-a-Service model that can be adopted across all industries on a global scale. For more information, visit us at https://www.dedoco.com.
About YOOZOO GamesYOOZOO Games (hereinafter “YOOZOO”) is a global entertainment company specializing in game development and publishing. Since its founding in 2009, YOOZOO has forged a strong global distribution network and launched a multitude of highly successful products. Whilst YOOZOO is best known for its work in global development and publishing, in recent years it has built upon its expertise in games to develop the company’s AI business development, which has become a strategic focus for YOOZOO in response to the technological advances of the industry. In 2018, YOOZOO has established a global AI hub in Singapore. YOOZOO AI Innovation Lab is set to grow to around 60 AI researchers and engineers within the next five years.
Saving his best speech for us, we are over the moon to have Minister for National Development, Desmond Lee, gracing our event as the Guest-of-Honour at our quarterly conference!
No more beat-around-the-bush Q&As, he’s here to deliver the most anticipated REAL ESTATE MESSAGE OF THE YEAR and to position us for the new norm property market.
What’s more, from now until our grandest event of the year, you’ll be hearing NON-STOP GAME-CHANGING announcements that will set your pulse racing. Here’s something you can look forward to as you line your sail behind ERA for the best upwind performance!
- MINISTER’S MAIDEN SPEECH with a real estate agency
- GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS that will give ERA the unfair advantage
- SUPER BIG ANNOUNCEMENTS by ERA and several Real Estate Giants
- GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY that will shake the entire industry
- EXCITING UPGRADES on iERA7 & FindPropertyAgent.sg to accelerate your growth trajectory
- ICONIC NEW SALES KIT, TRAINING, NEW PROJECT OPPORTUNITIES & more!!!
Hurry! Register for the virtual conference now: bit.ly/ERAQ4CAD
There’s really no better HOME TO BE; SWITCH TO ERA now. Register with us now at http://WeAreERA.com.sg
Together, let’s sail through the storm as OneERA!
SINGAPORE, 2 August 2018 – ERA Realty Network (ERA) celebrates the great results achieved by the company thus far, and shows recognition for the success of top-performing agents at its quarterly Q3 Career Advancement Day.
Based on the latest audited financial statement among listed real estate agencies in Singapore, APAC Realty — the Group that ERA operates under — posted a higher total revenue against its nearest competitor amongst listed agencies. It delivered a total of $391,226,102 from its brokerage income from the resale and rental of properties, as well as new home sales.
In addition, its agents — all 6,243 of them (as of 31 December 2017) — posted a higher average income of $62,666 each. These achievements are a strong testament to the competency of ERA agents, who are performing better than their peers among listed real estate agencies.
The success was made possible by the dedication, teamwork and expertise practiced by the agents, as the company strongly believes in constantly providing tools for its agents to upgrade and develop their potential to excel in the ever-changing real estate market.
All ERA training programmes have been reviewed and improved by its senior management team, who are real estate veterans with an average of over 18 years of experience. The programmes have been re-launched this year under Ultimate Agent Training, comprising a series of a skill-based mastery programme, three market-focused seminars and two specialised sales and leadership empowerment camps. It aims to aid the agents in their industry skills and personal development.
ERA was also the first agency to promptly update its property investment calculator— a proprietary i-ERA mobile app — with the new ABSD and LTV formula, within 24 hours of the sudden announcement of the cooling measures in July. This helped their agents to stay at the forefront in the dynamic property market.
During the Career Advancement Day, ERA also unveils brand-new features on findpropertyagent.sg (FPA), which enhances productivity and efficiency for agents, and provides greater convenience for homebuyers, homeowners and investors. These new features enable consumers to find and contact property agents in real time, significantly increasing exposure for its agents.
For utmost user convenience, the new features on FPA allow consumers to: locate all the property agents who are currently on-site at a specific project, and experience a faster and more streamlined viewing appointment process.
Agents can also get great benefits from the new features as well, as they allow agents to: get increased exposure for new launches and TOP projects; update their location and “check in” at their nearest project automatically through the i-ERA mobile app for easy contact by clients; and to redirect clients to on-site peers (taggers) who can help serve clients at the showflat immediately on behalf of agents who are unable to be onsite personally.
“In line with the government’s vision for the Real Estate Industry Transformation Map (ITM), we’re committed to constantly upgrading the FindPropertyAgent.sg website. We want to make property transactions more transparent, and the process more streamlined for the end-users. With the improved FPA, consumers can search for trustworthy information and connect with the best agent for their needs. At the same time, it allows agents to keep in close contact with their clients for a faster, better and more convenient service experience,” says Jack Chua, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ERA.
These new features help to enhance the overall efficiency of property buying and selling process, with smart algorithms to connect consumers to the right property agents quickly and accurately, providing users with rich knowledge of property agent statistics as well as property information for a hassle-free, time-saving and effective user experience.
SINGAPORE, 2 August 2018 – ERA Realty Network (ERA) announces its partnership with The Business Times Budding Artists Fund (BT BAF) to show support for underprivileged children in Singapore during its quarterly Q3 Career Advancement Day. The company has pledged support for Children for Children (CFC), a fundraiser for The Business Times Budding Artists Fund (BT BAF) and a community outreach event.
The annual community event will see 1,000 underprivileged children enjoy a day out at S.E.A. Aquarium and Maritime Experiential Museum in Resorts World Sentosa on Oct 4, 2018.
The initiative has been shared with over 6,000 agents, and ERA management will also match a dollar for every dollar raised between 30 July – 31 August 2018. To date, the company has raised S$35,960.
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This initiative is part of ERA’s ongoing corporate social responsibility initiative titled ‘ERA Loves’, which focuses on championing the causes of stray animals and the environment, and empowering underprivileged individuals to play a positive role in their communities. ERA’s corporate social responsibility is in line with BT BAF’s mission in transforming lives through the art, where the team has been nurturing young talents to develop their artistic skills, social and emotional competencies.
“ERA has always strongly believed in empowering our agents through various upgrading programs that equip them with relevant skills to be the best in their field. In the same spirit, we are in strong support of initiatives focused on social empowerment for the underprivileged, nurturing their talents and enabling beneficiaries to contribute meaningfully to our community,” said Jack Chua, Chief Executive Officer of ERA.
Over the years, ERA has spread the love by working with not-for-profit organisations such as Community Chest, SOSD and Canossaville Children and Community Services. The company has been awarded the ‘Ruby I-L-Y (I Love You) Award’ and named ‘Ambassador for the Deaf’ since 2010 by The Singapore Association for The Deaf. Most recently, ERA has also received the ‘Asia Responsible Enterprise Awards 2018’, under the social empowerment category, from Enterprise Asia.
Singapore, 14 May 2018 – ERA Realty Network (ERA) has launched the phase two of its FindPropertyAgent.sg (FPA), a website that allows customers to find property agents based on the latter’s reviews and past transactions.With the rollout, the FPA now comes with an industry-first feature that allows users to match with their preferred property agents in under a minute. This works similar to a ride-hailing platform. Users can search on the service they require, be it buy, sell or rent, and they will be prompted with a database of agents who are online. Thereafter, they can choose the agents they feel can best address their needs, and connect with them in real time.
ERA Chief Operating Officer, Marcus Chu says: “The phase two of FPA will heighten convenience for consumers as they search for property agents. Not only that, in the event that they have an urgent matter that requires immediate attention, they can find a suitable property agent who is available to help them in real time. For agents, this feature helps them to acquire more leads and encourage them to respond to consumers’ enquiries in a timelier fashion. We hope to aid our agents in embracing digital technology with solutions specifically developed to increase agent’s productivity though our mobile applications (i-ERA, ERA SG Projects), website (ERA.com.sg), customer relationship management system (24/7 PropWatch) and an internal portal (myERA).”
About FPA
FPA is a dedicated website for consumers to customise their search experiences for the right property agent. Smart algorithms enable consumers to find the most suitable property agents who can cater to their needs. FPA encompasses the most complete property agents’ profile pages with past transactions statistics, customer reviews, awards achieved, and trainings completed, to increase transparency and build better trust with consumers.
Soon to be launched too, artificial intelligence will be used to help agents serve consumers more efficiently by answering common queries and predict preferences. This time-saving feature, another industry-first, will enhance overall effectiveness.