CEO PropNex Realty, Mr Ismail Gafoor comments on impacts of newly announced HDB Resale portal for the industry

We welcome the newly announced HDB resale portal as it helps to streamline the processes of HDB resale transaction and make it more efficient for consumers to complete their HDB resale sales or purchase transactions. Salespersons will also be able to administer the processes for their clients seamlessly through the portal.

Qtn: How will the newly announced HDB portal affect salespersons and the industry?
“Yes, we foresee that there might be a percentage of consumers, namely those who are dealing with related buyers/sellers (family members) who will utilize the new portal available and might not need to engage the services of a real estate salesperson. Nevertheless, besides this group and those who are tech and legal savvy enough to handle their transactions, we believe that a bulk of consumers today will still need to be guided by a professional real estate salesperson who knows the intricacies of real estate transactions, including the changing property cycles, updated real estate policies, availability of housing grants and financial assessment that will help in a successful property transaction. For a salespersons’ fee of 1 or 2 per cent, consumers can avoid getting into unforeseen complications during the transaction or get buyers’ remorse in the future which might happen should they try to handle their transactions on their own.”

Qtn: Will the role of a real estate salesperson continue to be relevant?
“While new technologies and online tools will enhance the productivity and increase transparency amongst consumers, we believe that there is still place for technologically savvy real estate salespersons and those who constantly upgrade themselves, to remain relevant in the real estate industry. Property purchase is indeed a huge commitment and most consumers also buy and sell properties two or three times in their lifespan. It takes thorough understanding of the market and in-depth financial assessment to ensure that consumers get the best property deals based on their unique needs and wants. This is where the role of a professional salesperson is important, someone who understands the market and be able to utilize technological and online tools available to analyse and ascertain the right properties for their clients’ property purchase. Real estate salespersons who are merely ‘middleman’ and handles only the administrative parts of transactions may find their days numbered if they do not keep up with the evolving times.”

Qtn: Why portals / online D-I-Y websites will never be direct replacements for professional real estate salespersons?
“Even though portals and only D-I-Y websites can connect buyers and sellers, showing them the diverse range of properties available in the market, what it may not be able to do is handling the emotions of buyers and sellers in the market. It is common that a buyer would always want the cheapest price, while a seller would want to sell his property at the highest price possible. It takes a skilled salesperson to handle negotiations and human feelings to achieve a fair market price and win-win situation for both parties – and this cannot be resolved by using technology and online portals.”