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Local Real Estate Agency PropNex Celebrates 10 Successful Years

Latest Property Real Estate News - Published on 15/07/2010

15 July 2010 marks a major milestone for PropNex as it celebrates 10 successful years of unstinting professionalism and trusted customer service.
 
PropNex’s journey has been one of ups and downs. From some humble beginnings, its success has been the result of passion, hard work and dedication, as well as PropNex’s business strategy of leveraging on economies of scale. Another contributing factor was its conceptualization of the Dual Career Path for associates, which PropNex pioneered in 2000, providing experienced agents with a mentoring alternative to constantly brokering deals for a living. Many industry players doubted the practicality of such a scheme then, but they have since been proven wrong as the Dual Career Path is now an industry standard.
 
Pre-PropNex
PropNex CEO Mohamed Ismail and his wife, Nooraini Noordin, started Nooris Consultants, a small real estate agency that specialized in the niche Malay market. In the same year, PropNex Directors Joseph Lee and Alan Lim started real estate agency PruLink. In 2000, these two real estate companies merged with other real estate agencies under the umbrella name of PropNex. To achieve greater alignment of values and a more cohesive working environment, all the separate agencies merged to form one PropNex entity in 2004. The merger provided the cement for the other building blocks as PropNex strode ahead.
 
The unification resulted in one binding belief of doing business ethically and serving customers in reliable way. This later became the shared mission of PropNex—to enhance the quality of life by providing professional value-added services.
 
Self-Regulation Pioneers
The PropNex values of Honesty, Integrity and Ethics; Continuous Self-Improvement; Autonomy and Entrepreneurship; and Respect and Concern for individuals became the pillars of the company’s foundation. It is these values that have guided, and will continue to guide, the company in its decisions and directions.
 
In 2008, to reinforce these ideals, PropNex changed its tagline from “Singapore’s Largest Real Estate Company” to “Service You Trust”, an encompassing principle to guide its staff and associates with a more consumer-centric focus.
 
This change of direction was seen in action when the company terminated 2,800 of its inactive agents. This self-regulatory move clearly sent a message to the industry that PropNex valued quality above quantity, setting a higher bar for service standards in
the industry.
 
PropNex has, over the years, introduced other self-regulatory measures: it was the first local real estate agency to initiate, and later mandate, Professional Indemnity insurance for all its agents in a bit to safeguard consumers’ interests. It has also made it compulsory for all agents to fulfill 12 hours annually of Continual Professional Development. So even before the Ministry of National Development feted such initiatives, PropNex had already established and is already practicing such measures.
 
Intensive Training
PropNex has always prided itself on its deep commitment to training. This is one of the reasons why it has grown to its present stature. All of its agents have to undergo rigorous trainings from the day they join. With a training team of experienced managers and trainers at its helm, PropNex conducts comprehensive theory and practical lessons for potential agents. PropNex’s very own programme, the Complete Real Estate Success Training (CREST), imparts fundamental knowledge in various aspects of the property business. Training is not only limited to new agents; even experienced agents go through continuous guiding systems, tuition and motivational PowerTalks to further develop their working knowledge and skill sets. All in all, PropNex offers a whopping over 280 days of training for real estate agents.
 
Consistency is another important element that PropNex sets in its systems. Like a strict regime, PropNex conducts conventions on a quarterly basis that serve as a platform to present distinct recognition and accolades to top performing agents. Locally and internationally renowned speakers, Adam Khoo and Ron Kauffman to name a few, are invited on occasion to impart relevant information on motivation, business excellence and property trends. PropNex conventions also serve as an avenue for the management to share vital company updates and policies.
 
Associate Support
As one working entity, PropNex inculcates the same professional standards and values within its own ranks as evident in its strong backroom operations. Occupying the largest real estate mega office of more than 30,000ft2 at HDB Hub, it houses more than 80 permanent staff members, the largest real estate workforce in Singapore. Its operations provide 13 hours of daily support to customers and agents, 5½ days a week.
 
Service Excellence
Ultimately, the embodiment of PropNex’s vision is towards customer satisfaction through reliable service. Since its formation, the company’s practices and standards have centered
on creating value-added services for its customers. PropNex introduced initiatives such as the Home Repair Warranty Plan—a tie-up with renovation and interior design partner B&E Group where PropNex customers enjoy a $200 worth of repairs works absolutely free; the Certificate of Deposit Guarantee, exclusively for PropNex customers, which provides buyers a guaranteed return of the deposit they paid to the seller up to the maximum of the $5,000 if the seller is declared a bankrupt; and the Home Content Insurance, which protects home assets from unforeseen circumstances and provides a total coverage of $65,000 for both renovations and home contents. 
 
In addition, PropNex conducts free quarterly property seminars for the public. These seminars provide market updates, industry trends and the latest news to help customers make wise decisions on their property investments. For those who cannot always attend, there is the PropNex Privilege Membership programme, another pioneer project that invites the public to register for free via www.PropNex.com and receive whole host of real estate information; from timely updates on industry events to quarterly analyses of HDB and private housing market price trends.
 
Awards & Accomplishments
All of PropNex’s efforts and initiatives have been rewarding. PropNex is proud to have been ranked amongst the market leaders in the industry, capturing 30% and 35% market shares for the public and private housing resale markets respectively.
 
PropNex’s performance over the years is a success story of its own. 2001 saw a total of $2.15 billion in the value of properties transacted, 9852 resale transactions closed and $26.2 million in gross commission earned. For 2009, there was a total of $11.66 billion in the value of properties transacted, 32,009 resale transactions closed and $145.5 million in gross commission earned. With no signs of slowing down, the first half of 2010 has already remarkably recorded $6.94 billion in the value of properties transacted, 16,496 resale transactions closed and an impressive $85 million in gross commission earned.
 
In the span of just 10 years, PropNex accumulated a total of 281,391 resale transactions, transacted over $60 billion worth of properties and earned almost $800 million of gross commission. Not only has its performance paved the way for growth and development, but
it has also established PropNex as a brand that people trust.
 
In its colourful history, PropNex has achieved many industry firsts and won many awards along the way. PropNex is a proud recipient of some of the most distinguished awards in the industry. In 2003, it was the first real estate agency in Singapore to capture more than 70% of IEA’s (Institute of Estate Agents) top real estate achiever awards; it repeated this feat in 205 and 2007. It was also the first local real estate agency in winning the Superbrands award and being ranked in the SME 500, both in 2003.
Other major recognitions that PropNex received include the Spirit of Enterprise award in 2004, the Promising Brand Award at the Singapore Prestige Brand Awards in 2007, and Enterprise 50 award in both 2008 and 2009.
One of their most treasured awards is the Reader’s Digest Trusted Brand Gold award, which they won for three consecutive years since the real estate category was introduced in 2008. Based on the unprompted votes of thousands of independent consumers, this is a reliable validation of PropNex being a brand that consumers trust.
CEO Mohamed Ismail himself has also received accolades such as the SMCCI (Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce & Industry) Entrepreneur of the Year in 2004, SICCI’s (Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry) Overall Indian Entrepreneur of the Year awards in 2008, and Association of Small and Medium Enterprises’ Entrepreneur of the Year and Top Entrepreneur (eCommerce) awards, also in 2008.
Corporate Citizen
From fielding a marching contingent as one of the country’s two economic pillars at Singapore’s 41st National Day Parade in 2006 to sponsoring $20,000 to the ST Pocket Money Fund in 2005, PropNex has always looked beyond its achievements; to be a successful company as well as a responsible corporate citizen.
In 2009, for example, PropNex committed $30,000 over three years to the Singapore Children’s Society as a Leading Enterprise Sponsor. Under the theme of “Empowering Future Generations Through Education”, they also embarked on the funding of a school wing in Kampal Village, an impoverished village north of Phnom Penh. This year-long PropNex Cares programme saw the building of a school wing, toilet cubicles and a pumping well for some 250 students in the school.
In December 2009, a contingent of 35 PropNex staff and associates, including some family members, travelled to Cambodia for the opening ceremony. They painted murals on the new school wing and installed three water filtration systems to provide clean drinking water to the villagers. They also distributed biscuits, clothes, water bottles, bags, toiletries, books, toys and stationery to some 800 students.
In 2010, PropNex has embarked on another similar project in Trayong Pong village in Cambodia. Trayong Pong has no school at all and children currently have to travel eight kilometres to the next nearest school for their education, risking life and limb on Cambodia’s treacherous roads and dirt tracks. With this school for 250 students, PropNex hopes to educate minds and save lives as well.
 
PropNex Family
PropNex has come a long way. After establishing its holding company in 2003, P&N Holdings, it continues to strengthen its vision and mission alongside its sister subsidiaries, which provide services to complement those offered by PropNex.
Life Mastery Academy, a training institution for property associates and youth, offers many courses for the improvement of one’s life, education and career. A unique method they employ is the inculcation of good personal values as a springboard to success.
PropNex Property Management Consultants manages a range of services for projects that help to add value to the property. Working with various industry experts and partners, they provide comprehensive property and asset management services, building diagnostics, investment advice and marketing, systems and workflow establishment amongst others.
SingBuilders Pte Ltd is a real estate development arm that specialises in boutique residential development. It also has the capability to act as a property advisor on how to achieve the best returns from one’s property through strategic planning and implementation.
SingCapital is an MAS-licensed Financial Advisory Firm that was formed in 2007, providing financial advice, to individuals and corporations alike, on Life Insurance, Collective Investment Schemes and General Insurance as an exempt insurance broker. It has also been appointed by the Enterprise Development Centre of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (EDC@ASME) to be their consultant for financial advice.
PropNex International markets local and overseas projects to both local and foreign investors. Their Project Marketing department has marketed many of the condominium projects here in Singapore, such as Waterfront Gold, Trevista and Lincoln Suites.
 
To further compliment its suite of services, P&N Holdings also houses key departments such as Business Space, Investment, Corporate Leasing and Prime Landed; each led by en experienced director to cater to niche consumers in the market.
 
With KPMG as its auditing partner for accounts and processes, it is the aim of the company to go public sometime from 2H11. Besides further establishing its credibility as a major industrial player, the Board also sees such a move as a way to reward its loyal staff. 10 challenging years have passed and PropNex looks forward to soaring to greater heights in the years ahead.