reporter2
12-04-20, 15:01
Virtual showflats, marketing on the rise; but not all potential buyers sold on them
Fri, Apr 10, 2020
REAL ESTATE agents have been using virtual tours and videos in their marketing of properties for some time now but these tools have gained more prominence of late due to the tightened measures on physical interactions amid the Covid-19 outbreak.
As well, the Urban Redevelopment Authority has facilitated the use of electronic payment of the booking fees and progress payments by property buyers to developers.
A week ago, the authorities announced elevated measures over a four-week period from April 7 to May 4, as a "circuit-breaker" to minimise the further spread of the virus.
Following that, the Council for Estate Agencies advised all property agencies and their salespersons to suspend work requiring physical interactions during the affected period and to adopt digital or online tools for their estate agency work where possible.
With developers having to close their showflats and the ban on physical viewing of properties and face-to-face marketing activities during this period, ERA Realty Network said on Thursday that it has been supporting its agents with a portfolio of virtual and video tours for 59 private residential and executive condo projects here that it has produced by teaming up with developers.
The projects include Affinity at Serangoon, Haus on Handy, Meyer Mansion and Piermont Grand.
Taking into account 360-degree photo shots with special cameras at showflats of another nine projects, ERA said it has compiled virtual tours of a total of 68 projects.
ERA Realty Network CEO Jack Chua also highlighted that the firm's agents are equipped with an app which uses technologies such as Drone Interactive, 3D floor plan model and Advanced Google Map. "The ERA Pro app provides our agents with the latest information on which units in a project have been sold, which are still available and at what prices, along with details such as floor plans. Agents can share the information with buyers through email and WhatsApp," said Mr Chua.
Bruce Lye, cofounder and managing partner of SRI, said: "Our agents have been receiving a lot of appointments from potential buyers requesting agents to lead them through a virtual walk-through of developers' projects using Zoom."
However, there are gaps.
"The main challenge with virtual tours is that our local buyers are so used to feeling and touching the finishes at a showflat for instance; some of them have given us feedback that they would prefer to wait till after the circuit-breaker period is over and like to visit the showflat in person," said Mr Lye.
Besides virtual marketing, the nuts and bolts of documenting property purchases and payments during the circuit breaker period are also being smoothened.
In a circular on Thursday, the Urban Redevelopment Authority's Controller of Housing (COH) said that to facilitate electronic payment of the booking fees and progress payments by buyers to developers, it has pre-approved amendments to the standard option to purchase (OTP) and sale and purchase agreement (SP&A), to include payment by Fast and Secure Transfer (FAST), MAS Electronic Payment System (MEPS) or General Interbank Recurring Order (GIRO), in addition to the existing modes via cheques or cashier's orders or telegraphic transfer.
Developers have to provide intending buyers with detailed information of the housing project and the unit (what is termed "particulars, documents and information" or PDI) before issuing an OTP. In the past, the PDI was given as a physical document for the buyer to sign.
However, COH said on Thursday that developers can provide the PDI in digital form to the intending buyers provided they can authenticate the identity of the buyers and obtain their written acknowledgement of the PDI before accepting the booking fee.
Lawyers and agents say that under the current rules, the OTP and SP&A still require wet ink signatures, which means the physical document is still needed.
It may still be possible to comply with this requirement, despite social-distancing rules, by using couriers. So an authorised person at the property developer could, operating from home, print out the required two sets of the OTP, sign them, and have them delivered by a courier to the buyer.
In exchange, the buyer passes to the courier the cheque for the downpayment along with an acknowledged set of the OTP to be returned to the developer, and the courier heads back to the developer.
However, actual processes may vary among developers. The documentation of transactions as well as progress payments to the developer during the circuit breaker period may create administrative and other headaches for conveyancing lawyers.
"Law firms may still provide some conveyancing services where time is of the essence or with milestone deadlines which have been served prior to the start of the circuit breaker, but frankly how essential is it to process documents relating to property sales entered into from April 7?" said a senior conveyancing lawyer.
"If showflats have to be shut for one month, we should also be able to stop the processing of payments for property purchases for the same duration. Otherwise it defeats the purpose of having a circuit breaker, since some physical contact may take place."
Fri, Apr 10, 2020
REAL ESTATE agents have been using virtual tours and videos in their marketing of properties for some time now but these tools have gained more prominence of late due to the tightened measures on physical interactions amid the Covid-19 outbreak.
As well, the Urban Redevelopment Authority has facilitated the use of electronic payment of the booking fees and progress payments by property buyers to developers.
A week ago, the authorities announced elevated measures over a four-week period from April 7 to May 4, as a "circuit-breaker" to minimise the further spread of the virus.
Following that, the Council for Estate Agencies advised all property agencies and their salespersons to suspend work requiring physical interactions during the affected period and to adopt digital or online tools for their estate agency work where possible.
With developers having to close their showflats and the ban on physical viewing of properties and face-to-face marketing activities during this period, ERA Realty Network said on Thursday that it has been supporting its agents with a portfolio of virtual and video tours for 59 private residential and executive condo projects here that it has produced by teaming up with developers.
The projects include Affinity at Serangoon, Haus on Handy, Meyer Mansion and Piermont Grand.
Taking into account 360-degree photo shots with special cameras at showflats of another nine projects, ERA said it has compiled virtual tours of a total of 68 projects.
ERA Realty Network CEO Jack Chua also highlighted that the firm's agents are equipped with an app which uses technologies such as Drone Interactive, 3D floor plan model and Advanced Google Map. "The ERA Pro app provides our agents with the latest information on which units in a project have been sold, which are still available and at what prices, along with details such as floor plans. Agents can share the information with buyers through email and WhatsApp," said Mr Chua.
Bruce Lye, cofounder and managing partner of SRI, said: "Our agents have been receiving a lot of appointments from potential buyers requesting agents to lead them through a virtual walk-through of developers' projects using Zoom."
However, there are gaps.
"The main challenge with virtual tours is that our local buyers are so used to feeling and touching the finishes at a showflat for instance; some of them have given us feedback that they would prefer to wait till after the circuit-breaker period is over and like to visit the showflat in person," said Mr Lye.
Besides virtual marketing, the nuts and bolts of documenting property purchases and payments during the circuit breaker period are also being smoothened.
In a circular on Thursday, the Urban Redevelopment Authority's Controller of Housing (COH) said that to facilitate electronic payment of the booking fees and progress payments by buyers to developers, it has pre-approved amendments to the standard option to purchase (OTP) and sale and purchase agreement (SP&A), to include payment by Fast and Secure Transfer (FAST), MAS Electronic Payment System (MEPS) or General Interbank Recurring Order (GIRO), in addition to the existing modes via cheques or cashier's orders or telegraphic transfer.
Developers have to provide intending buyers with detailed information of the housing project and the unit (what is termed "particulars, documents and information" or PDI) before issuing an OTP. In the past, the PDI was given as a physical document for the buyer to sign.
However, COH said on Thursday that developers can provide the PDI in digital form to the intending buyers provided they can authenticate the identity of the buyers and obtain their written acknowledgement of the PDI before accepting the booking fee.
Lawyers and agents say that under the current rules, the OTP and SP&A still require wet ink signatures, which means the physical document is still needed.
It may still be possible to comply with this requirement, despite social-distancing rules, by using couriers. So an authorised person at the property developer could, operating from home, print out the required two sets of the OTP, sign them, and have them delivered by a courier to the buyer.
In exchange, the buyer passes to the courier the cheque for the downpayment along with an acknowledged set of the OTP to be returned to the developer, and the courier heads back to the developer.
However, actual processes may vary among developers. The documentation of transactions as well as progress payments to the developer during the circuit breaker period may create administrative and other headaches for conveyancing lawyers.
"Law firms may still provide some conveyancing services where time is of the essence or with milestone deadlines which have been served prior to the start of the circuit breaker, but frankly how essential is it to process documents relating to property sales entered into from April 7?" said a senior conveyancing lawyer.
"If showflats have to be shut for one month, we should also be able to stop the processing of payments for property purchases for the same duration. Otherwise it defeats the purpose of having a circuit breaker, since some physical contact may take place."