New resale flat listing service by HDB aims to provide convenience and be a 'trusted' marketplace
To create a “more reliable and trusted marketplace” for property listings, the new service by HDB will have features such as prompts for sellers who have listing prices that exceed recent transaction prices in the area by 10 per cent or more.
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SINGAPORE: Flat buyers and sellers will soon be able to access a new resale flat listing service on the Housing and Development Board’s (HDB) online portal – a move that the authority hopes to make buying and selling a place more convenient and transparent.
The new initiative aims to become “a trusted listing marketplace” by allowing only buyers with valid eligibility letters or genuine sellers to have full access to its services.
Other features to ensure transparency include alerting sellers who have asking prices that exceed the highest recent resale transaction for the same flat type in the area by 10 per cent or more, HDB announced on Sunday (May 12).
The new resale flat listing service will be made available on the HDB Flat Portal in two phases, with a soft launch on Monday.
CONVENIENCE
HDB said its new listing service will be integrated with existing services on its online portal.
Users can get information on new Build-to-Order (BTO) flats, loans, financial calculators to estimate housing budget and sales proceeds, documents like the HDB flat eligibility (HFE) letter, as well as submit their resale applications on a single platform.
These will help buyers to consider new and resale flat options “holistically and make more informed decisions”.
Similarly, sellers, or their appointed real estate agents, can tap an additional platform for their marketing efforts. They will also be able to enjoy the convenience of listing their flats and carrying out resale transactions on the same platform, HDB said.
TRANSPARENCY
To improve user experience and ensure transparency, the new listing service and all its features will only be available to buyers with a valid HFE letter.
While any prospective buyer can browse through the HDB’s listing service, only those with a valid HFE letter can obtain contact details of the sellers and schedule viewing appointments.
Likewise, sellers will require a valid Intent to Sell to create a listing for their flats. Each seller can only post once to prevent duplicative listings of the same flat, HDB said, adding that listings are verified.
These measures help to ensure that only those who are qualified to be eligible to purchase or sell an HDB flat are using its listing services, it noted.
Both would-be buyers and sellers will be provided with information, such as a chart showing the monthly transaction volume and average price for transactions of the same flat type nearby in the past six months.
There will also be an “automatic built-in feature” where sellers will receive an advisory prompt if their listing price is at least 10 per cent more than the highest transacted price for nearby units of the same flat type sold in the past six months.
Conversely, if the listing price is “abnormally low”, a prompt will also be sent.
“In both cases, the prompt will enable (sellers or their appointed agents) to review and refine their listing price before they list the flat,” HDB told CNA.
On May 8, authorities said they were investigating the resale listings for two HDB flats for being “misleading” and “unrealistic” in their asking prices of S$2 million.
Asked if its new listing service can help to deter such incidents, HDB said: “The government will not condone behaviour, whether by sellers or their property agents, that seek to disrupt the market or fan consumer sentiment.”
It added that it “reserves the right to remove listings which have unrealistic pricing or contain misleading information” from its portal. It may also seek clarifications from sellers or their property agents as necessary.
If professional misconduct is suspected by property agents, HDB will work closely with the Council of Estate Agencies to investigate and take necessary enforcement action, a spokesperson told CNA.
Noting that HDB resale flat transactions are conducted on a “willing buyer-willing seller” basis, the authority said: “The resale flat listing service aims to further improve transparency and create a more reliable and trusted marketplace for listing, that will also contribute to a stable and more sustainable property market in the long run.”
LISTING SERVICE FREE FOR NOW
The soft launch of HDB’s resale listing service on May 13 will begin with eligible flat sellers and their appointed agents.
HDB said it will progressively send email invitations to those with a valid Intent to Sell.
This early access is meant for sellers and their property agents to be familiar with the new listing service. No transactions will be carried out during the soft launch period.
The official launch will be held “later this month, on a date to be announced”, HDB said.
After the official launch, would-be home buyers and their appointed property agents will be able to access the listings on the HDB Flat Portal. Buyers with a valid HFE letter will receive an email invitation.
The resale listing service, which is its latest enhancement to the HDB Flat Portal first launched in 2021, “will be free of charge for the time being”, HDB said.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
For sellers:
To access the HDB’s resale listing service, sellers will first need to have registered an Intent to Sell – which provides an assessment of whether a flat owner is eligible to sell his or her flat – with HDB.
Sellers can either create a listing themselves or appoint a real estate agent to do so for them.
HDB said the process of creating a flat listing is “simple and streamlined” as essential details – such as the address, flat type and floor area – will be automatically filled in based on its data.
Sellers will only have to upload photos and write a description of their flats for marketing purposes.
When the listing is posted, they will be able to create viewing appointments for interested buyers to book.
HDB told CNA that a resale flat listing will remain listed on its portal, as long as the seller has a valid Intent to Sell.
Sellers and their appointed agents can choose to deactivate their listing when they grant an Option to Purchase (OTP) to an interested buyer, and reactivate the listing if the OTP is not exercised.
Otherwise, the listing will be automatically deactivated under two scenarios: When a buyer submits a valuation request for the flat after obtaining an OTP, or the complete resale application is received through the HDB Flat Portal.
These features will ensure that listings on its portal are kept up to date, HDB said.
For buyers:
All would-be flat buyers will be able to browse through the listings, which will include current and upcoming new flat launches, as well as resale flats available on the HDB Flat Portal.
They can filter their search results according to location, flat type or remaining lease.
Buyers can also choose to customise a search profile and be alerted via email when there are new and resale flat listings that match their preferences.
Each flat listing will contain various information, ranging from attributes of the flat, floor plan and photos, recent transacted prices of nearby flats of the same flat type, to amenities in the area.
However, only buyers with a valid HFE letter can proceed to book a viewing appointment through the HDB Flat Portal.
Those with the eligibility letter will also be able to view personalised payment plans based on their approved housing grant and HDB loan amount if eligible. This will help buyers to “more accurately assess if the shortlisted flats are within their budget”, HDB said.
For property agents
Property agents will have access to a personalised dashboard that gives them an overview of their clients using HDB’s resale listing service.
The authority said this can serve as an additional tool to help agents provide their clients with value-added services, such as budgeting and advice on the next steps to take.
