Property Agents Embrace Tech

B2B marketplace was meant to create a more reliable B2B online system to close more cases through co-agencies.

Real estate agent association takes the lead by embracing technology in coming up with several apps to serve the market needs.

 



The Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA) has partnered with several proptech companies to develop a few mobile phone applications that can help practitioners enhance their services. Chief among them is a game-changing application that can give you details of property transactions within 2- 3 weeks of the transactions occurring. Currently, such information from the Valuation & Property Services Department (JPPH) takes about 3 – 4 months to come out.
The app, which is currently in beta mode, will include rental data too. It will capture property transaction data at the point of booking (earnest money collected) and followed through till the point of signing of the Sale & Purchase Agreement.
“To get more accurate transaction details, we would need agents to send us the details. To incentivise agents to submit details, the app will give points which they can accumulate to pay for the yearly subscription,” said Lim Boon Ping, President of MIEA during his speech at the opening of the two-day Malaysian Annual Real Estate Convention (MAREC) Summit 2020 in Kuala Lumpur recently.
“Of course, due to data protection laws, before sending the transaction details to us, the agent needs to get prior permission from both buyer and seller. MIEA then would still need to verify by phone the transaction with the agent,” Lim added.
The public can also access the information either through subscription or pay per use basis. “By paying RM2 for one property, for example, the transaction details for that property in the last 20 years will come up. It’s as simple as that,” said Lim.
Lim estimated that there are about 6,000 registered agents nationwide who will subscribe for the app in order to get the latest, up-to-date transaction details.
Bundled together in the app are other value-added services such as Proxy Price, which provides an automated estimate of a property’s current price; and Valuation Management System (VMS) for valuers.
Another very useful app for the practitioner is the MIEA Loan Check app which can easily assess the loan eligibility of their clients within 10 minutes. The app will be available at a minimal cost to practitioners, Lim said.


B2B Marketplace
For the B2B marketplace, MIEA has also developed in partnership with a proptech service provider, an app that serves as a multiple listing system (MLS) supported by cloud. This marketplace enables co-agency in a reliable marketplace that is devoid of fake listings which are so prevalent in other property portals, explained Lim. He estimated that almost half of the listings of some portals are either duplicates or even fake. “They are purposely put there to fish for potential buyers and to get their information,” Lim said.
The B2B app will only accept exclusive listings from registered agents, hence filtering out duplicate listings while ensuring the genuineness of the listings. “This will create the biggest and most reliable B2B marketplace for co-agency opportunities. As membership consists of the largest real estate community in Malaysia, the opportunities are many.”
The head of MIEA also explained that the B2B portal was not meant to compete with existing B2C property portals but was meant to create a more reliable B2B online system to close more cases through co-agencies.
“All these apps are a reflection of the paradigm shift from printed to digital media as we embrace technology instead of treating it as a threat to us. Proptech is no longer a disruption but a tool we can leverage on to improve our services,” said Lim.
To ensure more professionalism within the industry, MIEA is also introducing professional indemnity insurance for individual REA, PEA and REN. Howden will offer affordable rates exclusively for MIEA members i.e. RM60 a year for RM30,000 coverage. It provides a second level of protection to clients as aggrieved clients can claim against the agent or the firm (or both in the event the claim exceeds RM30,000). The insurance is not compulsory but is strongly recommended for members.


Public Awareness Campaign
MIEA will also be spending RM200,000 from its funds to run a 12-month Public Awareness Campaign to educate the public on using only the services of Registered Estate Agents and Real Estate Negotiators. Launched at the summit, the campaign will viral information through a website and social media channels on the importance of engaging registered agents or negotiators; and how to protect yourself from illegal brokers.
The website will include content on the legal aspects of buying, selling or renting property; as well as tips, checklists and what to look for when engaging a registered estate agent or negotiator.
Despite the political crisis engulfing the nation during the summit, about 400 participants, some from other countries, attended making it the summit with the biggest ever attendance in the history of MAREC. MIEA is currently conducting a market outlook survey with the participants.
As for the MIEA president’s view, Lim felt that it’s too early to say how the recent change of government will affect the property market but said the current policies that prioritise affordable housing and first home buyers should be maintained.
The 34th edition of MAREC Summit 2020 had talks and forums featuring 32 speakers on market trends, improving their soft skills and enhancing professionalism as well as leveraging technology to better serve the public.
 

All these apps are a reflection of the paradigm shift from printed to digital media as we embrace technology instead of treating it as a threat to us.

 
 



Lim Boon Ping, President of MIEA speaking at the opening of MAREC Summit 2020.
#MYREALAGENTS, public awareness campaign was launched by Lim Boon Ping, President of MIEA (second from left), accompanied by Sheldon Fernandez, Country Manager of PropertyGuru Malaysia (left), Selvem Durasamy, chairman of MAREC Summit 2020 (second from right) and Lo Tze Kean, Head of Sales Management, CIMB Bank Berhad (extreme right) at MAREC Summit 2020.

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