Speech by MOS Faishal Ibrahim at the Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers (SISV) Real Estate Conference 2024

Sep 24, 2024

Dr Lim Lan Yuan, President (Valuation and General Practice), SISV

Ladies and Gentlemen

Introduction

A very good afternoon to all of you. Thank you for inviting me to your conference today.

The theme of today’s conference, on achieving the next milestone in our real estate transformation journey through digitalisation, is very apt. Technology has disrupted business models and transformed professions in many industries, including the real estate sector. These trends, together with evolving consumer needs and an increasingly well-informed clientele, require real estate professionals like yourselves to adapt and transform. 

Need for industry transformation

Our real estate professionals need to continue to upskill and tap on digital tools to match up to their clients’ expectations and add value to clients’ decision-making to stay relevant and competitive. The Government is committed to supporting you and your companies to strengthen digital capabilities and raise productivity.

To improve work processes, businesses can tap on technological tools such as the Application Programming Interface, or APIs, provided by Government agencies to enhance and automate checks, or easily access property-related information. This in turn, raises the productivity of their professionals.

There are also initiatives such as the SMEs Go Digital programme, to support small and medium enterprises in this digital leap. The programme provides up to 50% funding support to adopt pre-approved digital solutions in areas such as customer relationship management, document management, digital marketing and accounting management. 

On this note, I would like to applaud SISV’s efforts in supporting its members in their digitalisation journey. As a member of the Digitalised Property Transactions Workgroup (or DPTWG), SISV initiated and collaborated with industry partners to develop a new platform, the Integrated Valuation Management System, or i-VMS in short, to digitalise the work of the valuation industry.

The i-VMS will enable banks and valuers to better manage their business processes, and produce accurate, timely and comprehensive valuations for their clients in an efficient manner. I am happy to launch the i-VMS today and I look forward to learning more about the platform later.

Digital tools like the i-VMS, cut down on time-consuming and repetitive tasks.

The recently launched HDB resale flat listing service (or RFL in short) is another such tool. Information on HDB flats listed for sale on the RFL are integrated with existing information, such as financial calculators and HDB Flat Eligibility letter, on the HDB Flat Portal. With the one-stop platform, flat sellers and buyers, and their property agents alike can enjoy a more convenient and seamless transaction. I highly encourage all property agents facilitating HDB resale transactions to integrate the use of the platform into their work processes.

To prepare the real estate industry for the future and support property agents in this shift, we announced the enhancements to the Continuing Professional Development ecosystem last year. The enhancements incorporated recommendations from the industry stakeholders, and we committed to introduce relevant training and courses and progressively raise training hours from Oct 2025. 

SISV has been a key partner in our efforts to develop relevant competencies amongst our real estate professionals. I am pleased to hear that SISV plans to introduce courses in key areas such as real estate negotiation, marketing, and research.

In addition, the Government has also significantly enhanced support under SkillsFuture, to support Singaporeans in their skills upgrading journey.  

I hope that our professionals can adopt a continuous learning mindset, and leverage technological tools to offer a seamless, efficient, and client-centric experience, thereby positioning themselves as forward-thinking leaders in the real estate industry.

I urge you to continuously improve, adapt and innovate, to see how we can navigate this together. It is not an easy journey, but it is necessary.

Institutions, the Government, and key stakeholders must work together in these efforts to transform the real estate industry and open up new opportunities for our members and our profession.  

Role of professionals in an evolving landscape 

I would also like to speak on a different topic – the importance of upholding professional and ethical conduct. I have been speaking to many real estate professionals on this topic as they are an important part of the ecosystem, and this involves the interests of our country.

We are fortunate that our economy has thrived and remained competitive for many years. We are a destination of choice for the best companies and top investors in the world and the region, who bring with them a wealth of knowledge and skills that contribute to our economic growth and prosperity. This in turn benefits our property market, attracting investments and capital flows.

On the other hand, we have also seen how these have also attracted bad actors.

Last year, a group of foreign nationals sought to abuse our financial and property markets to launder their funds. They took advantage of our business-friendly banking systems and hid under complex corporate structures to avoid detection.

Since then, the Government, led by the Inter-Ministerial Committee (in short, IMC), has worked closely with various sectors and industry players to review our national anti-money laundering strategies. We obtained valuable feedback and suggestions from the real estate agency industry, including representatives from SISV. The IMC will announce the recommendations later this year.

Our work against money laundering is never complete. Criminal typologies will continue to evolve, and criminals will find new ways to take advantage of technological innovations to evade detection.

We need to regularly update our suite of levers, and leverage advanced technologies to help us better detect and prevent illicit activities. This is another reason why digitalisation and technology adoption are particularly important for the real estate sector.

The Government cannot do this alone. SISV and its partners are critical parts of our first line of defence, as you may come across suspicious activities in the course of your work, and must be cognisant of how to spot them. I ask for your continued support on this front, to ensure that that the benefits of technological evolution for the real estate industry are not overshadowed by syndicates or crimes, and that Singapore continues to be a trusted financial centre for businesses and property transactions.

While we continue to move forward, innovate and embrace technological developments, it is also important for us to protect our system from abuse.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the real estate industry is undergoing an exciting digital transformation, reshaping the way we work, connect and innovate. I am confident that with your support and collaboration, all our partners here will embrace these changes to stay ahead and continue to uphold the integrity and trust that are the hallmarks of Singapore's real estate sector.

Thank you, and I hope you have an insightful and enjoyable conference.