Home Base SG

For the past few years, there has been an increasing trend of DIY property transactions, home sales organized solely by the homeowner without the assistance of a real estate agent. 

This is especially relevant in light of the recent restrictions caused by COVID-19, as more people have taken to shopping online. The property market has likewise shifted and adapted to this by introducing new mediums through which prospective buyers can view listings, providing FSBO (For Sale By Owner) sellers new ways to market their homes.

It is definitely possible for homeowners to DIY their property sale, however, we’ll say it first: it’s really difficult. The avenues through which FSBO sellers can market their property are limited, especially for first-time sellers without resources, connections, and know-how.

However, there is one powerful resource that is available to any person—the internet. 

As the single, most cost-effective way for sellers with no networks to reach out to prospective buyers, we’ll be focusing on and comparing the various online channels available to both an FSBO seller and agent:

The first platform that buyers search on in Singapore are large property portals like PropertyGuru, 99.co, and SRX.com. Being the biggest source of property listings, many transactions have been concluded solely through listing on a portal.

Unfortunately, FSBO sellers are not allowed to list on them, due to the threat of scam listings being used to cheat buyers of deposits. To secure their sites, most major portals have decided to allow only registered and verified Real Estate Salespersons (RES) to list on their platform. This is to ensure that every account is verifiable through the RES’s unique CEA number, which they are required to input when creating an account.

Thankfully, there are still a number of platforms for FSBO sellers to list on, like Carousell, Gumtree, DirectHome, and OhMyHome.

You can’t talk about internet marketing without mentioning social media marketing now! In the real estate market, social media has proven itself as one of the most effective ways to reach out to ready buyers. However, the average FSBO seller will face many challenges in their use of media ad buying. 

For one: Facebook personal pages are not allowed to boost posts or create ads. Only by having a business page can promote your listing. Due to security reasons, your page is required to undergo a series of checks before it will be approved. This means you would be creating a brand new Facebook page for the sole purpose of selling your property, which leads to the next problem.

For two: Viewership and trust are essential components to a successful business page. It takes time to amass a following for your page, more so one that is brand new and intended for a one-time transaction. Not only is it counterintuitive for viewers to follow a page that would soon be ‘dead’, but it is also extremely rare for them to search for property listing pages on social media. This means that most, if not all, of your traffic would stem from your ads.

For three: An effective ad is supported by a trustworthy business page, if not a website. Amassing a following is a challenge for many businesses, more so a single-use page. Agents take years to build up viewership on their respective social media platforms and learn how to create attractive posts and ads that are shown to relevant prospects like direct buyers or buyer agents. This is even more important given how ads on social media have become more and more competitive.

However, that does not mean that FSBO sellers are completely unable to market their listings on social media. One alternative for FSBO sellers who do not want to set up a business page and manage ads is the Facebook Marketplace, where they can list their house for the public’s perusal. Do note that competition is stiff and you will not be able to boost its visibility and will have no control over who views your Marketplace listing. If you’re creating a Facebook ad for your listing, be sure to check out and adhere to Facebook’s advertising policies and restrictions!

To attract buyers, having clear, well-angled photos is a must! Phone cameras have progressed greatly from the relics of old, being able to snap high definition shots with ease and minimal tweaking. You can even add filters to improve the final image now!

That said, nothing beats real camera quality. Hiring a professional photographer has become much simpler from before, with freelancing platforms available at the click of your mouse.

What an agent brings to the picture (pardon the pun) though, is their knowledge and experience of how to take marketable interior shots. We know the best angles, the strange but important home fixtures or fittings that buyers will want to see (like the toilet bowl), and the ugly spots to avoid (also typically the toilet bowl). Listing photos, unlike photoshoots, often require a mix of aesthetics and practicality that not every photographer is aware of.

Around 2017, the use of home tour videos was popularised as a way to showcase the interior of a house through a more engaging and in-depth medium. Since the 2020 Circuit Breaker though, the number and variety of home tour videos shot through the roof. Instead of being an add-on service, these videos were now an essential tool for property marketing.

However, this is not a method the average FSBO homeowner can use.

Although you can certainly plan, host, and shoot your very own home tour video, you will once again find yourself restricted by the channels you can post it on. Previously, we mentioned the difficulty of using social media as a channel to market, but video marketing is most effective on an active YouTube channel, cross-posted on other social media and listing platforms and embedded on landing pages or websites, resources that most FSBO sellers do not have access to.

This is in stark contrast to agents, most of whom would have invested substantial time, effort and money into building up popular social media business pages, websites (like this one!), and even a WhatsApp business account.

Over the years, Home Base has nurtured a ready audience of interested homeowners-to-be for our marketing efforts.

If you do have an online channel you can market your home tour video through though, do note that the average cost of hiring a skilled videographer is between $480 – $600 for about two hours of filming (which may or may not include in-house editing). You’ll also need to plan out the script and find a host to present.

Check out our other home tour videos here for ideas on what to cover!

Firstly, if your main concern is saving costs, this may not be the method for you. One of the priciest marketing techniques that we use is home staging, which is outsourcing the styling and decorating of your home to a professional interior designing team.

A home staging company will plan a theme and style to showcase the beauty of your property. You may be advised to do some small maintenance work like repainting and will definitely need to move all your existing furniture into storage to make room for theirs.

The result you’ll get for paying upwards of $1,000 is a show flat-esque home that will definitely wow viewers (remember to snap photos!). Despite being quite pricey, home staging has proven to be an effective way to get higher offers and sell faster.

However, beware of the cumulative costs! All staging furniture has to be rented from the company on a per month basis and you will be responsible for any damage. This means that your cost will increase the longer the property remains on the market.

Important note: Home staging is not always necessary. At Home Base, we only recommend solutions when needed. Sometimes you’d be surprised at what a new paint job and some determined decluttering can do!

It may seem like there are no added advantages to hiring an agent besides circumventing platform restrictions, however, our biggest asset lies in our resources, experience, and network.

Compared to an agent who has spent years nurturing connections with industry partners (like home staging companies, property photographers, home tour video producers, conveyancing lawyers, and banks) and potential clients, homeowners who are just starting out often find themselves lost. 

Despite putting the same amount of time and effort into marketing their home, it is very possible that they will fall short of a full-time agent whose job is to do those very things.

Of course, how much value an agent can provide you is dependent on their skill, resources, and professionalism. That’s why we’ve made a list of what added value a good agent can provide to a seller.

It goes without saying that market knowledge is essential in any industry. For sellers, an agent should be able to provide a clear Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) backed by plenty of historical data. 

How a good agent produces such a report is based on agent-only listing portal data  (PropertyGuru, 99.co, etc), independent data platforms, and in-house tools provided by their agency.

With their training in data analytics and experience of market trends, they will be able to plan out a marketing strategy for your unit and identify the best target audience, entry price, online and offline channels, and timeline for the sale.

One of the hallmarks of an effective agent is his or her network. After years of marketing properties, they should have built a strong list of not only prospective buyers, but industry partners through both on-the-ground efforts and online.

Some indications of this network could be an online following on their social media account or a long list of referrals. These connections will all be available for you to tap on when you engage an agent.

There’s no doubting the hours and work that go into planning and managing the sale of any property. One of the most touted benefits of having an agent is having a professional to take on that stress and responsibility from you at no upfront cost.

You’re probably aware that an agent only gets paid once a sale has been confirmed. All marketing efforts up to the actual closing of the sale are usually not paid for in advance by the owner. What this means is that you can avoid the headache of fielding impromptu inquiries at odd hours or filter through viewings that get canceled on a whim, with little to no risk to your investment.

Negotiation is often regarded as an art. 

This doesn’t mean that an FSBO seller is unable to negotiate—far from it. Instead, the problem lies in how emotionally attached a seller can get when leaving a home they have stayed in for many years. Occasionally, negotiations fail simply because there is a disagreement in the perceived value of the property.

A skilled third-party negotiator could remove this situation altogether, allowing an objective discussion to take place, while still achieving a good price for the property. Additionally, you may have other terms you wish to negotiate, including the Temporary Extension of Stay and the apportionment of property taxes. These are private agreements that also have to be taken care of separately and will need to be negotiated with the buyer or buyer’s agent.

The first part of Home Base’s signature BASE Strategy is ‘balancing your budget’. This involves a complete affordability and risk assessment to determine if selling is a viable choice for you in the first place, preventing pitfalls like negative sales. Good property planning should start with a thorough grasp of your finances and risk.

We strongly recommend all sellers, FSBO or otherwise, get an agent to conduct the relevant financial calculations and assessments. This counts doubly for sellers who are relying on sale proceeds to fund their next home.

Speaking of purchasing your next home, an agent would also be responsible for updating you on any restrictions regarding obtaining a home loan, CPF monies or other necessary fees.

Click here to arrange a consultation with us and take your affordability assessment today.