Pandemic uncertainty spurs property ownership enquiries and the need for expert guidance

    - PropertyGuru’s popular online property Q&A forum, ‘AskGuru’, saw an 80% increase in monthly average enquiries around home ownership, signalling demand for professional advice on home buying amid the pandemic. Housing affordability and the process of property transactions are among top focus areas.

- PropertyGuru’s latest ‘#FindFinanceOwn’ brand campaign spotlights real-life stories of homeowners to showcase how PropertyGuru’s tools and resources can help home seekers make confident decisions to achieve their property dreams

Singapore, 17 June 2021 – PropertyGuru, Singapore’s No.1 property marketplace with more than 8 million monthly visits* and 83% market share**, today revealed a surge in enquiries on its online property Q&A forum, ‘AskGuru’. AskGuru has become the first port-of-call for home seekers to get expert advice on all their enquiries, from housing eligibility to property inheritance to home financing and more. AskGuru data showed an overwhelming 80% increase in monthly average enquiries this year. Monthly average traffic to the forum has also increased twofold between May 2020 and May 2021, with more searching for answers to housing-related questions.

Despite uncertainty from the COVID-19 pandemic, property prices and transactions in Singapore have continued to rise. More than ever, Singaporeans have been searching for objective expert advice to help them during their property search and AskGuru has become the destination for that need. On AskGuru, more home seekers express interest in purchasing or right-sizing to a specific property type and location, the cost structure in buying a new property, and possible implications for home financing. In addition, many Singaporeans also enquired about ensuring a smooth home selling journey and how they can prudently plan to use their funds to purchase another property.

“The upswing in housing-related enquiries can also be attributed to an emerging preference among Singaporeans for more spacious homes amid remote work and the opportunity to enter the property market as interest rates are low. We recognize that everyone is on their unique home journey, and it is important for home seekers to receive solutions tailored to their specific needs and aspirations,” said Bjorn Sprengers, Chief Marketing Officer & Head of FinTech at PropertyGuru Group. “As part of our commitment to helping Singaporeans seek personalized solutions in their home journey, we continue to strengthen our set of capabilities and tools on AskGuru. This is complemented by an easy-to-use, clean and functional design to make information easily accessible to everyone who needs it in real-time.”

PropertyGuru is also inspiring home seekers in Singapore to achieve their property dreams with the launch of its ‘#FindFinanceOwn’ brand campaign (https://www.propertyguru.com.sg/yourjourney). Through real-life stories of homeowners who have overcome their unique challenges with the help of PropertyGuru’s online tools and resources, the “#FindFinanceOwn” campaign aims to cheer on Singaporean home seekers and empower them with the right resources and guidance to make confident decisions – from finding a home to refinancing one and everything in between, no matter how challenging the circumstances.

The campaign unveils a hero video featuring three Singaporean families' heart-warming journeys overcoming different obstacles faced in search of their dream home. The stories capture the mixed emotions of excitement and uncertainty when one embarks on their homeownership journey and reinforces that “no two homes are ever exactly the same, and neither are the journeys we take to seek this basic desire in life.” With this, PropertyGuru hopes to encourage home seekers to reflect on the progress of their home search and inspire them to chase the home of their dreams.

- Salmy Malik struggled to secure a BTO flat with her two daughters despite multiple attempts after a divorce in 2003. She finally found her ideal home in the open market with the help of agents she connected with on PropertyGuru. More on her story here.

- Yeri Tiete and Shan Wong managed to save some money after making a timely decision to refinance their home loan and reducing their mortgage interest rate from 2.6% to 1.35% through PropertyGuru Finance. More on their story here.

- Angelia Rowe and her family had lived in a jumbo flat in Tampines for 22 years. But after her husband had passed away from cancer, familial circumstances and financial pressures left her with little choice but to sell their home. Through PropertyGuru, she found a "hidden gem" of a home in Punggol and is making new memories with her loved ones. More on her story here.

Bjorn Sprengers added, “At PropertyGuru, we believe that everyone deserves a place to call home. By spotlighting real stories of home seekers in Singapore, we want the broader community of home seekers to understand that they are not alone in their journey of finding their dream home and shine a light on the resources they can turn to reach that goal.”

Why find a home with PropertyGuru?

Every day across the region, over one million property seekers start their home ownership journey with PropertyGuru. PropertyGuru is committed to making the search for an ideal home a straightforward and transparent process for everyone involved with several features on its platforms, including Property Guides, Property Resources, Project Reviews, Virtual Tours, Home Loans, and AskGuru, offering customers an all-in-one trusted platform for finding and financing a home.

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About PropertyGuru Singapore

Launched in 2007, PropertyGuru.com.sg continues to be the No.1 property marketplace in Singapore. With currently more than 8 million monthly visits* and 83%** market share, PropertyGuru is the preferred destination for property seekers to find, finance and own their dream home.

PropertyGuru.com.sg transformed the way Singaporeans find homes by taking property online and has since been helping them make confident property decisions. In 2020, PropertyGuru launched mortgage marketplace PropertyGuru Finance offering the best loans and home advisory services to Singaporeans.

For more information about PropertyGuru, please visit PropertyGuru.com.sg and PropertyGuruGroup.com, or our social media pages on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn. 

About PropertyGuru Group

PropertyGuru Group is Southeast Asia’s leading property technology company and the preferred destination for 35 million property seekers to find their dream home, every month. PropertyGuru and its group companies empower property seekers with the widest option of more than 2.8 million homes, in-depth insights, and solutions that enable them to make confident property decisions across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

PropertyGuru.com.sg was launched in 2007 and revolutionised the Singapore property market by taking it online and made property search transparent for the property seeker. Over the decade, the Group has grown from a regional property media powerhouse to a high-growth technology company with a robust portfolio of No.1 property portals across its core markets; award-winning mobile apps; best-in-class developer sales enablement platform, FastKey; mortgage marketplace PropertyGuru Finance; and a host of industry-leading property offerings including Awards, events and publications across Asia.  

For more information, please visit www.PropertyGuruGroup.com; https://www.linkedin.com/company/propertyguru

*Source – Google Analytics data, Jan - April 2021

**Source – SimilarWeb - Relative Engagement Market Share, average of Nov 2020 - Apr 2021

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