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Too fast, too much: Property agents unhappy over PropertyGuru hiking prices

SINGAPORE — Two years after a backlash over price hikes by PropertyGuru, property agents are up in arms again as the property portal is increasing the price agents have to pay for listing on its platform.

A number of property agents are unhappy over the extent and frequency of price hikes imposed by property portal PropertyGuru.

A number of property agents are unhappy over the extent and frequency of price hikes imposed by property portal PropertyGuru.

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SINGAPORE — Two years after a backlash over price hikes by PropertyGuru, property agents are up in arms again as the property portal is increasing the price agents have to pay for listing on its platform.

The changes, which will take effect from Sept 1, will see price increases ranging from 11.3 per cent to 26.6 per cent across four different packages.

Some agents said that the increases are too much and too frequent, seeming as if PropertyGuru bumps them up every year.

Yet, they also felt resigned and helpless, given PropertyGuru’s dominance in the market.

PropertyGuru has stated that it accounts for 70 per cent of the market share, with more than 5.5 million property hunters in Singapore using their site every month.

MORE THAN 20 PER CENT JUMP IN PRICES

Among the four packages offered by PropertyGuru — all of which last for 12 months — the percentage increase for its “Advance” package is the highest at 26.6 per cent.

Agents on that package will have to pay S$2,380 for 12 months from Sept 1 — S$500 more than the price now.

This allows agents to post 25 listings concurrently and contains 3,000 advertisement credits, which agents may use to place their listings higher up in online search results.

The price of the “Premier” package, which allows for 60 concurrent listings and 9,000 ad credits, will go up by 25.1 per cent to S$3,980.

The most expensive “Business” package offers 1,000 concurrent listings and 35,000 ad credits. Its price will increase by 21.3 per cent to S$11,980.

The price of extra ad credits, beyond what is offered in the packages, has also gone up by 15 cents for each ad credit.

The price of the “Standard” package, which is the cheapest, will increase by 11.3 per cent to S$980. However, the number of listings will be reduced from 10 to five, while the ad credits will also go down from 550 to 500.

'NOT FAIR' TO AGENTS

While the property agents interviewed by TODAY did not mind a price increase, they said that the extent of the jump is not justified.

One of them, who wanted to be known only as Ms Chong because she is worried that her comments may upset the online platform, said that the increase is “not fair” to agents.

“If we get a lot of referrals, this (increase) is not a (big) issue… But for the average agent, this increase is too much. Too fast, too much,” she added.

The last time PropertyGuru increased its prices was in 2017, which led to more than 1,000 agents banding together and making plans to boycott the portal. Before that, there was an increase in 2014.

Another agent, Ms Kat Lam from Kat's Realty, who signed up for the Advance package, said that a price increase of between 5 and 10 per cent would be acceptable.

“The latest increase is over 25 per cent. Has inflation gone up by 25 per cent?” she asked.

Ms Chong, who is on the Premier package, said that the ad credits provided in the package is insufficient and she had to buy extra ad credit a few times last year, each time forking out more than S$1,000.

“When I use the ad credits to boost my listing, sometimes it’s not enough. For example, I boost on a Monday, but maybe the next day, my listing has dropped in the search results, because other agents also made a boost. 

“I know it's business... (and) they want to get money, but (they) must have a conscience. (An) increase is okay, but more than 20 per cent is too much."

'IT’S A MONOPOLY'

Despite their unhappiness, property agents acknowledged that there is nothing much they can do due to the dominance of PropertyGuru.

Another property agent, who wants to be known only as William because he is not authorised to speak to the media, said that close to 90 per cent of his business leads come from PropertyGuru.

“PropertyGuru has dominated the market, monopolising it. There is no alternative for us,” the agent from property firm ERA, who is on the Advance package, said.

Some agents did say that the increase in fees will not impact their bottom line too much.

“That’s why we just pay. At the end of the day, we know that we will cover the cost by closing a deal… At the moment, unless another (portal) becomes really powerful, I think we have no choice. That’s why they dare to (increase by that) percentage," Ms Lam said.

Efforts to use other portals have also come to naught, because PropertyGuru still provides more leads compared with others such as 99.co and EdgeProp.

“Boycott, also no point… You have nowhere to go. They can jump by two times, we still cannot do anything,” William said.

Responding to TODAY’s queries, the country manager of PropertyGuru, Dr Tan Tee Khoon, said: “We regularly review our pricing to ensure we’re in the best position to deliver superior value and returns for our agent partners, as well as continue to evolve our platform to meet ever-changing consumer demands and expectations.

“Since the 2018 cooling measures kicked in, PropertyGuru has delivered on average a 15 per cent increase in leads to our agents.” 

He also said that the platform added new features this year, such as allowing agents to get real-time performance insights.

“As a result of our superior value delivery to agents, PropertyGuru’s agent renewal rates are at more than 80 per cent.”

Existing agents whose packages are due for renewal in August or September this year can lock in the current pricing if they renew their packages by Aug 31.

Those whose packages are due for renewal from Oct 1 can lock in the existing pricing if they upgrade their subscription by Aug 31.

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