Room with a view

The property shopping experience of today’s Covid-19 era is fast-changing with technology leading the way

Peh Yi Wen

Staying home with circuit breaker measures in place has nudged us into experiencing different pieces of reality, such as visiting the museum, virtually.

In the same vein, realtors have been exploring virtual platforms to market properties they represent, since large-scale property launch events and showflat viewings have been suspended till further notice.

Chief executive officer and founder of virtual tour builder platform Panopedia, Mr Randy Png, shared that his website received a threefold increase in new user registrations in April and May this year, from February and March.

The property shopping experience has also been digitised further. Transactions have been adapted accordingly for booking fees to be made, and contracts to be signed without buyers and agents meeting in person.

Electronic payments such as Fast and Secure Transfer, MAS Electronic Payment System and General Interbank Recurring Order were authorised, in addition to the existing modes of cheques, cashier’s orders or telegraphic transfers. And where wet ink signatures were still required for legal purposes,
couriers had to be used.

What technology can’t replace

But while virtual showrooms are a good stopgap measure for now, physical visits to showflats remain the best way to see if such a big-ticket item as a new home meets your needs on every level.

Technology cannot replicate the feeling of stepping into a showflat for a sense of its space and surroundings, or mimic the firm handshake exchanged with your property agent after the Option to Purchase paperwork is inked.

However, technological advancements could pave the way for more personalised experiences in the near future. “Virtual tours might soon be able to have a 3D-modeled ‘salesperson’, who would be able to guide viewers through various aspects of the showflat, and maybe even interact with the viewer through chat,” says Mr Png.