Even before the pandemic hit, proptech was believed to be a major industry disruptor and innovative force, relieving real estate industry players from towering stacks of paperwork. In itself, proptech is a tool that optimises the way people buy, sell, rent, research, market, or manage a property.
If you think it doesn’t apply to you, think about the last time you used Airbnb, or ran a search on a property listing platform such as Ohmyhome. Proptech is probably more ubiquitous than you realise.
#1: e-Signing
Brought about by the circuit breaker, followed by further lockdowns, e-signing became a new norm within the real estate industry as real estate agencies began to embrace the practice of electronically signing transaction documents.
Even the Council for Estate Agencies has jumped on the bandwagon with their “Sign with SingPass” feature that enables SingPass users to sign off electronically on contracts, agreements and other legal documents. Once it is certified by the National Certification Authority, signatures made using “Sign with SingPass” will be considered secure electronic signatures under the Electronic Transactions Act (ETA) for transactions covered by the ETA. This makes life easier and more secure (forge-proof) for agents, clients, and agencies alike.
#2: Singpass Verification for Property Listings
Speaking of making things more secure, proptech is one of the leading solutions to the onslaught of scams in the property market in recent months. The most common method of such scams involves a fake property listing on property portals with scammers posing as Property Agents or Landlords and asking their victims to place deposits — usually amounting to 1 month’s worth of rent — to secure a viewing appointment.
The most common method of such scams involves a fake property listing on such portals with scammers posing as Property Agents or Landlords and asking their victims to place deposits usually amounting to 1 months’ worth of rent to secure a viewing appointment. Without means to verify that property listings are genuine or that the person posting the listing actually owns the property, it is easy for scammers to misrepresent while looking authentic.
A family in desperate need of housing coupled with the hot rental market may then feel that the only chance they could secure a viewing would be to succumb and transfer the deposit immediately or have that property snapped up within the next few days.
One such property company decided to do something about it after finding out that users of their app were also victims of such scams. Wanting to ensure that all users have a safe experience while deciding on their property options, Ohmyhome launched a new security feature that tailors to both HDB and private property homeowners who wish to sell or lease their properties. They will automatically be prompted to verify their listings automatically via Singpass before they can post their property for sale or rent on the Ohmyhome app. That said, we still value the privacy of our HDB sellers and landlords and only collect the minimum set of data required from their unique data on MyInfo to verify their homes for sale and rent; all data sent between Ohmyhome and Singpass are encrypted. For private property listings, homeowners will be required to manually verify that they own the property they are listing by providing the relevant documents.
To see this in action, you can download the Ohmyhome app and search for the available listings. On a verified listing you will see a badge that states “Verified Owner by Singpass” and that will tell you that you’re working with a real person on the other side.
With Singpass-verified listings, there will be a safer and more secure environment for sellers and buyers to communicate, as well as landlords and tenants. You can read more about it here.
#3: Virtual Tours
At the height of the pandemic, with restrictions put in place limiting outdoor activity and in-person interactions, proptech companies offering virtual property tours and 3D modelling saw a surge in popularity. The convenience that virtual tours brought has made them an essential aspect of property solutions as they gained newfound appreciation in the new norm landscape.
Virtual tours allow buyers to browse and explore properties from the comfort and discretion of the armchair, allowing for remote, private viewings, as well as the luxury of comparing two properties side by side on the same screen.
At Ohmyhome, not only do we do virtual tours via Matterport for all our property listings, but we also film video tours of their homes as part of our marketing efforts to give them more exposure and reach more people. You can watch those on our YouTube channel here.
#4: Software-As-A-Service (SaaS)
Software-As-A-Service (SaaS) for searching, renting, buying and selling properties is here to stay. COVID accelerated the trend of DIY online property transactions, as proptech companies pushed out apps, platforms, and digital tools to aid online property transactions. Existing property platforms saw a surge in popularity. This has allowed for the continuation of property transactions even during the lockdown, reducing the impact on the property market.
In fact, both the Ohmyhome app and website are equipped to handle DIY property transactions, virtual home tours, virtual home viewings, and even help with financial planning. You can find out more here.
#5: IoT and Smart Homes
The Internet of Things (IoT) and smart homes are two of the biggest proptech game changers that affect our daily lives. Both have huge impacts on businesses and consumers alike. IoT is the network of devices that are embedded with sensors, software, and other technologies for the purpose of connecting and exchanging data with one another over the internet.
This means commonly used devices such as thermostats, light bulbs, washing machines, home security systems, and even cars can be monitored remotely or have their settings changed from afar. As more people take to convenience, IoT has been gaining huge popularity in the proptech market. Soon, smart homes may be fully automated or remotely controlled for greater sustainability and cost-efficiency. Imagine having appliances in your home that can be set to turn off by themselves after a period of inactivity. You will never have to worry about skyrocketing utility bills again!
#6: Data-matching technology
As mentioned above, proptech is a tool to optimise the way people buy, sell, rent, research, market, or manage a property. And helping buyers save time from scrolling through thousands of listings on multiple property portals is definitely one way to optimise the way they buy a home, and how sellers can transact theirs. That’s why at Ohmyhome, instead of making you manually search for listings, we send the listings to you. Plus, we make sure they accurately match the criteria you have. Anytime a new listing is recorded in our portal, MATCH already knows who exactly to send the listing to and how many matches will be created, showing home sellers as well the demand their listing is likely to receive from day 1, without a single dollar spent on advertising.
This cuts the search down to just 3 steps.
- We offer you a buyer preference form (here’s one for tenants) to fill up or intelligently determine your preference based on another listing you inquired on.
- We immediately and automatically send you relevant (and verified) listings that perfectly matches your criteria.
- We help set up viewing appointments for the home you’re interested in.
Even if the listing wasn’t perfect (which can happen as you should be choosing your property with much scrutiny), or your offer was declined or a different offer was considered, you wouldn’t have to restart your search. Your preferences are still kept within our database (which we do not sell or let anyone else have access to), and our MATCH Engine continues the search on your behalf for other ideal properties. Learn more about this here.
#7: ChatGPT
We couldn’t write about revolutionary technology without mentioning everyone’s favourite AI, ChatGPT. So here are some ways in which ChatGPT’s technology can be used to enhance proptech in Singapore, as told by ChatGPT itself:
- Natural Language Processing (NLP) for property searches: ChatGPT’s NLP capabilities can be harnessed to provide more accurate and relevant property search results for users. This can be achieved by understanding the context of the user’s query, their preferences, and other relevant factors.
- Chatbot for real estate inquiries: ChatGPT can be integrated into chatbots that can answer real estate inquiries, provide property details and even schedule viewings. This can save time and effort for real estate agents and make the process of property buying or renting more convenient for users.
- Predictive analytics for property valuations: ChatGPT’s machine learning capabilities can be used to build predictive models that can estimate property values based on various factors such as location, property features, and market trends.
- Sentiment analysis for property reviews: ChatGPT’s sentiment analysis capabilities can be used to analyze property reviews and identify areas where improvements can be made. This can help property developers and real estate agents to improve their offerings and services.
- Personalized property recommendations: ChatGPT can be used to provide personalized property recommendations to users based on their preferences, budget, and other relevant factors. This can help users find properties that meet their needs more efficiently and effectively.
Overall, ChatGPT’s NLP and machine learning capabilities can help enhance the user experience, improve efficiency, and provide more personalized and relevant services in the proptech industry in Singapore.
If you liked this article, we recommend The Best Kept Secret – Why Ohmyhome Is the Smarter Way to Sell Your Property.
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If you’re looking to buy, sell, rent or lease a property, visit Ohmyhome, Singapore’s one-stop shop property portal. Or reach any of our Super Agents via WhatsApp or book a call back by filling up this form.
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