Singapore proptech forays in PH, targets 10k property listings

Singapore’s first one-stop-shop property technology (proptech) Ohmyhome is targeting a maximum of 10,000 property listings from the Philippines leading in the next two months and potential multi-billion peso transaction value.

Ohmyhome, co-founded by siblings Rhona Wong, who serves as company CEO and co-founder, and Race Wong, who also serves Chief Product Officer, launched its operations via a virtual press conference, making the Philippines its third country location for the proptech startup.

According to Race, they expect 5,000 to 10,000 listings in the next two months saying, “Our ambition is P20 million from multi billion transaction value.” She further noted that their optimism has been buoyed by the huge number of overseas Filipino workers returning home after they lost jobs due to the pandemic who may be looking, buying or leasing properties.

Ariel Valiante, Ohmyhome Philippine sales director, also said that they are partnering with all property developers from high, medium and low-end segments.  The company is also close to finalizing deals and contracts, and are just completing some paper works.

In choosing the Philippines as its third country outside of Singapore and Malaysia, Race said they first looked into the country’s internet penetration, which is good enough at over 90 percent.

  In addition, they also considered the and found out the country’s huge population of 120 million, which is roughly 21 times of Singapore’s. Also they considered the English language medium and tech usage capability of Filipinos.

With these, the company decided that the Philippines is ready for an end to end property shopping platform, which was launched only in Singapore four years ago.

“Philippines is ripe for innovation in terms of technology,” said Ohmyhome lead designer Julian Sison.

For her part, Rhonda explained that what makes them different from other property listing platforms operating in the country is that they handhold their sellers and buyers and provide a well-researched real time information.

As a property technology, Rhonda said “We match this person to the property owner and that is one feature. We also collect a lot of data like valuation of property so we have a 20-page report of the property and comparative prices of properties near you, including transportation access. So, it is a real data not just salesmanship.”

Ohmyhome takes care of the entire transaction process—from search and deal closing all the way through to legal services, housing loans from partner banks, conveyancing and mortgage advisory. To do this, Ohmyhome leverages its Do-It-Yourself platform and offers the expertise of its competent full-time professional agents.

“We want our customers to be very well informed, we want them to sell at best prices, one stop shop, record breaking sales speed, and high service standard and very efficient team,” said Rhonda adding that half of their staff are Filipinos.

Its expansion to the Philippines was also buoyed by its exceptional success in Singapore and Malaysia’s property markets.

To date, its Singapore and Malaysia business has generated 175,000 active users for the proptech startup.

Through Ohmyhome’s DIY platform, listings have an average days-on-market duration of 60 days and the shortest time it has taken to find a buyer or tenant is one day. On the other hand, Ohmyhome’s agents can find a buyer or tenant at twice the speed of the industry average.

Before Ohmyhome’s launch in Singapore in September 2016, property deals took an average of three to seven months to wrap up, a stressful transaction journey for most homeowners. It was also costly.

The Wong sisters, though they have not visited the Philippines yet, were both excited to replicate the proptech start-up’s achievements in their third incursion into the region.

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Article and Photo originally posted by Manila Bulletin last October 1, 2020 4:19pm and written by Bernie Cahiles-Magkilat.

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