ERA steps up push for ‘eventual full digitalisation’

PROPERTY agency ERA Realty is making a deeper push into the digital realm, with more training programmes for agents and tech apps for listings and property transactions. 

This is in preparation for the “eventual full digitalisation” of real estate transaction documentations, which may happen within the next two years, said ERA chief executive officer Marcus Chu at the agency’s Asia-Pacific business conference on Wednesday (Mar 20). 

For instance, an app has been developed allowing home sellers, buyers, landlords and tenants to make their property transaction submissions online using digital signatures. 

All property agents will also receive training in at least one digital marketing skill, as part of the Real Estate Industry Transformation Map (ITM), said Chu. 

The ITM, which was launched in 2018, aims to transform the property industry to be future ready. This includes upskilling and strengthening the professionalism of the workforce, as well as facilitating more seamless, efficient and secure property transactions. 

ERA has also implemented a centralised listing platform, which is made solely accessible for the agency’s property agents, to facilitate the dissemination of listings to external portals. 

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He said these initiatives support the Council for Estate Agencies’ (CEA) Alliance for Action on Accurate Property Listings, which aims to eliminate the longstanding problem of dummy or duplicate property listings to better serve property consumers and raise the productivity of property agents.

It will also better enable ERA to combat such scams, said Chu.  

Speaking at the conference, Second Minister for Finance and National Development Indranee Rajah emphasised the need for agencies such as ERA to continue investing in and leveraging technology to boost productivity. This is especially as the world grows increasingly interconnected, with technology advancing faster than imagined, she said.

Indranee also noted the recent proliferation of scams involving property agents, which are growing “increasingly sophisticated”. For instance, there are scammers impersonating landlords to cheat unsuspecting tenants of their deposits, or those who impersonate CEA-registered property agents to pressurise victims into making deposits to secure or view a property, she said. 

Between July 2023 and January 2024 alone, there were at least 389 victims who fell prey to scams involving impersonations, said Indranee. Total losses from these cases amounted to at least S$2.4 million. 

Besides such scams, Indranee said there are also the “twin scourges of money-laundering and terrorism funding” that property agents can help counter. She noted, as the first line of defence, property agents play an important role in countering these threats and upholding Singapore’s reputation as a global financial centre. 

“It is crucial that property agencies put in place processes and systems to ensure that…due diligence is carried out,” she said. “CEA will (also) work with the industry to identify gaps and develop the necessary systems or capability to ensure compliance with our anti-money laundering and terrorism financing regulations.”