Homebuyers searching for a house on Singapore property websites will soon no longer have to sift through fake or duplicate property listings.
Before each property is posted to an online portal, it can be assigned a unique serial number to prevent multiple listings from occurring.
This is a solution proposed by five of Singapore’s largest real estate agencies, property portals, and key industry stakeholders to simplify the property search experience for homebuyers.
On Friday (Nov 5), Minister of State for National Development Tan Kiat How announced the formation of an Alliance for Action (AfA) on Accurate Property Listings.
Its goal is to address the issue of dummy listings, which are advertisements on online property portals that do not feature an actual property for sale or rent. These fake listings may be used for phishing or, in other cases, turn into rental or home purchase scams.
Meanwhile, duplicate listings refer to multiple advertisements for the same property, often by different agents marketing the same property.
“This is a long-standing problem that consumers often encounter when searching for properties, and that property agents also face when searching for properties for their clients,” said Mr. Tan at the virtual Singapore Estate Agents Excellence Awards ceremony last Friday.
The Singapore Estate Agents Association (SEAA), and portals PropertyGuru and 99.co will co-lead the Singapore real estate Alliance for Action.
Participating members include real estate agencies PropNex, ERA, OrangeTee & Tie, Huttons Asia, and SRI, as well as property portal EdgeProp.
The initiative is supported by the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA), which regulates the real estate agency industry.
Alliances for Action (AfAs) are public-private partnerships created to address specific industry challenges and seize opportunities within six months.
The CEA said on Friday that the AfA has proposed creating a digital platform to verify the authenticity of Singapore real estate listings.
Before each property is published to a listing portal, it will be assigned a unique serial number.
A prototype of a digital platform is planned to be designed and developed by the AfA by the middle of next year.
SEAA president Adam Wang said that eliminating fake and duplicate ads will create a “positive user experience” for property seekers.
He said: “Buyers and tenants can be confident that the properties for sale are offered by authorized property agents. This will reduce instances of disappointment when buyers and tenants encounter non-genuine listings.”
Mr. Darius Cheung, CEO of 99.co, said that solving the problem of fake and duplicate listings is also a win for real estate agents and listing portals in terms of business.
“Fake listings are not only annoying and dangerous for consumers, but they are also a huge drain on the productivity of real estate agents and portals. However, none of us can solve this problem alone, which is why despite a clear win-win outcome, the issue has remained unresolved.”
“By pushing for 100% authenticated listings, we can significantly enhance the consumer experience, agent productivity, and the professionalism and trustworthiness of the real estate agency industry.”
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