HDB's new resale flat listing service earns praise for 'consumer-centric' nature but sellers suggest tweaks

SINGAPORE: The Housing and Development Board's (HDB) new resale flat listing service is fast and easy to use but it lags behind other property portals when it comes to aspects such as communications and range of offerings, according to both sellers and buyers.

The service was officially launched on May 30, but sellers or their agents were able to start listing from a soft launch on May 13.

More than 800 listings of resale flats were available as of Tuesday (Jun 4), up from over 600 last week. 

While established portals like PropertyGuru and 99.co allow only property agents to list, HDB's lets sellers handle their flats on their own.

Some are attracted to the regulated nature of HDB's platform, said property agent Naveen Jonathan, who has helped list three resale flats on behalf of clients.

While anyone can view resale flats on HDB's portal, buyers need valid eligibility letters to contact sellers or schedule viewing appointments. 

Likewise, only those who have registered an intent to sell can put up listings. 

"They feel very safe and they know that everybody who uses this portal has a higher intent to buy. So their belief is that they will be able to sell (their flat) faster," said Mr Naveen, a division director at Huttons Asia. 

ERA Realty Network realtor Dominic Choa, who listed a resale flat in late May, said the portal helps reduce the number of "window shoppers" and protects his clients' time.

AUTOMATED ADVANTAGE

Property agents pointed out to CNA that unlike other portals, HDB's service automatically provides certain details like storey range and ethnic eligibility.

Some of the details required in HDB's listings are not always available in other portals, such as whether a seller requires an extension of stay, said OrangeTee and Tie's associate group director Rayburn Cheong.

Floor plans, which agents typically have to purchase from HDB, are also displayed.

Mr Naveen described HDB's service as simple and "consumer-centric".

"It's not like the other portals that agents use which are more complicated; there are more things to fill up," he said. "Because it's HDB units that are being sold in this portal, all the information about the particular unit are automatically input. 

"This makes it much faster and streamlines the process, so as the agent, when I put up the listing for the seller it took me half the time to do it compared to the mainstream portal(s)."

MORE NO-SHOWS?

HDB's service, however, does not allow uploads of videos or 3D tours. These are helpful for buyers to visualise a flat before asking more questions, said ERA's Mr Choa.

A seller seeking to get in touch with a potential buyer may also find the process harder, as the latter is only required to provide an email address and not a mobile number, property agents noted.

Huttons' Mr Naveen said this could prove troublesome when arranging a viewing, for instance in the event of delays or last-minute no-shows.

"When it comes to email address, when you want to chase somebody (or) check whether they are coming down, it's going to take some time," he added, while acknowledging that one could email to request the buyer's phone number.

With other portals, buyers can text or call property agents through listings.

As a workaround, Mr Naveen suggested that HDB create an in-app chat function for parties to get in touch without the need for personal contact details.

AIMING FOR CRITICAL MASS

It is still early days and prospective buyers may find the 800 or so listings on HDB's service to be scant offerings.

"The key for the HDB resale (flat listing service) is to grow to hit critical mass as buyers want to go to a platform to see majority of the listings and not have to hop around many different platforms during their search," said Mr Choa. 

Finance executive Sankeri Balakrishnan, who's looking for a place in Hougang or Sengkang, told CNA that only two listings on HDB's portal have interested her so far.

"PropertyGuru ... there are so many houses over there, whereas on HDB it's still very limited," said the 27-year-old.

Still, it has helped her cast a wider net in her hunt. 

Realtors similarly described the portal as an additional avenue of exposure and advertising for their clients' properties, alongside other platforms. 

Ms Sankeri, who started looking at resale flats after unsuccessfully balloting for a Build-to-Order flat a few times, particularly appreciates HDB's calendar function, which lets buyers choose a viewing slot.

With more choices, and perhaps the ability to subscribe to listing alerts based on her preferences and budget, she's hopeful the new service will help her finally find her dream home.