ERA Realty Network Pte Ltd bags SBR Listed Companies Awards for Real Estate

The real estate firm uses smart tools to benefit both users and salespersons.

ERA Realty Network Pte Ltd is the only listed real estate agency in Singapore, aiming to continuously innovate and strive to attain the highest customer satisfaction across generations. It does this by initiating smart experiences and tools not only to aid customers but also support salespersons productivity. ERA's connectivity tools, including its 24/7 PropWatch andFindPropertyAgent.sg (FPA) website, have won the Singapore Business Review Listed Companies Award for the Real Estate category.

ERA, with its high market share and more than 6,100 salespersons, continues to embrace changes and innovate. In August 2016, the company was the first real estate agency to launch 24/7 PropWatch which offers the public free access to real-time property-related information. The 24/7 PropWatch is a one-stop feature that allows users to receive notifications on recent industry-wide neighborhood property transactions, homes for sale or rent in their neighbourhood, and potential buyers or tenants for their property. They may also submit specific searches and receive matches of different properties. Consumers can utilise Property Calculators (for TDSR, MSR and ABSD) to work out credit limits and request for a formal valuation report for their properties issued by a private-licensed valuer. The tool has attracted more than 2,000 consumers within two months.

ERA also places strong emphasis on “intrapreneurship” by creating new ideas to help salespersons increase productivity. An example of this is the introduction of ERA's revamped FPA in February 2018. FPA is an IT innovation that is aligned with the Real Estate Industry Transformation Map (ITM) announced by the Singaporean government in February 2018.

Three months after its initial launch, FPA's new smart algorithm helps users find the right salespersons based on relevancy to their property search requirements. The revamped site, which has also been integrated with 24/7 PropWatch, offers a chart displaying the agent’s specialisation that will be updated through real-time data. Ratings and reviews from clients are published on the salespersons’ profile pages in FPA, which also includes the salespersons' contact information, transactions statistics, awards attained and trainings attended. ERA salespersons, meanwhile, benefit from building a strong reputation through word-of-mouth recommendations, as well.

These industry-first features empower consumers looking to engage real estate salespersons to make more informed decisions. With FPA, ERA has made property transactions more transparent, and the search process more streamlined for end-users. FPA is not only a time-saving feature but also enhances salespersons' effectiveness. Within a month, FPA has received more than 500 searches per day.

Real-time communication features are in the pipeline which will encourage agents to respond to their leads in a timelier fashion. Artificial intelligence will also be used to help salespersons serve consumers more efficiently by answering common queries and predict preferences.

The SBR Listed Companies Awards was held on May 17, 2018 at the Conrad Centennial Singapore.

This year's nominations were judged by a panel consisting of Ng Jiak See, executive director and head of corporate finance advisory at Deloitte Singapore & Southeast Asia; Choo Eng Chuan, ASEAN markets leader and partner, international and corporate tax services at Ernst & Young Solutions LLP; Toh Kim Teck, assurance partner at Foo Kon Tan LLP; and Henry Tan, managing director at NEXIA TS.

If you would like to join the 2019 awards and be awarded as one of the most outstanding listed companies in Singapore, please email [email protected].