Ong: Around the world, there’s a growing number of experienced people who’ve left international firms to start their own boutique practices like what we’ve done
In a tour of property consultancy Edmund Tie & Co’s (ET&Co) new office at UIC Building, Ong Choon Fah, the firm’s CEO, shows off her workspace: a standard 1.5m worktop like the rest of her colleagues in the open-plan space. “There’s no corner room office for the heads,” she says. “Now, everyone has a 1.5m long desk regardless of who we are.”
The only luxury is that her desk is ergonomic, and can be lowered or raised by the press of a button, giving Ong the option to sit or stand while working. “It’s great, especially after lunch,” she says. Some of the other desks come with the option too — for those who want it, she adds.
The office has an unobstructed view of the sea. “At dusk, we can see the sun set and the ships coming in,” says Ong. “We feel everyone should enjoy the view, not just the top management.”
The company has also opted to go paperless, with all the documents scanned and stored in the cloud. It has also done away with personal wastepaper baskets. There are only common recycling bins as well as paper shredders in designated areas in the office.
Those who want privacy can take their phone calls in a corner room called “the phone booth”. There is also a room designated for nursing mothers. Each staff has a locker and there are shoe lockers as well. “We found out that each of us has an average of 11 pairs of shoes,” she says. “And there was almost a riot over storage space for shoes.”
Meanwhile, tables in the meeting rooms and pantry area are wired for hot desking in preparation for the company’s future expansion. Staff can work from anywhere. “By incorporating new ways of working, health and wellness, we are able to use space more efficiently,” says Ong.
ET&Co’s open-plan office at the new UIC Building
Fresh start
ET&Co had occupied 10,000 sq ft at Shaw Tower on Beach Road, where it had been for more than 21 years since the company was founded. “Back then, it was the only office building to have floor plates of 10,000 sq ft,” relates Ong.
In moving to UIC Building, which is a new office tower, ET&Co occupies only half a floor plate of about 6,500 sq ft. The office move marked a new beginning: “We felt that it was timely for us to move to a new office to change mindsets,” says Ong. “We’re now Edmund Tie & Co 2.0.”
The move to UIC Building in July was exactly a year after the company reverted to Edmund Tie & Co on July 4, 2016. This was after the management of DTZ Debenham Tie Leung (SEA) bought out the majority stake of more than 60% held by Cushman & Wakefield and relaunched itself as ET&Co. The sale also concluded a 17-year relationship between DTZ and ET&Co, which began in 1999.
Following the split, Cushman & Wakefield has continued its Singapore operations under its managing director Stephen Saul, while ET&Co is charting its own course as an independent real estate advisory firm, with Edmund Tie as chairman and Ong as CEO.
New partnerships
Initially, some of the staff were concerned because of the loss of an international brand. “But we don’t really find that we’re lacking,” says Ong.
Instead of looking for a tie-up with another international firm, ET&Co has affiliations with companies in China, Malaysia, Indochina and Thailand. “The market has changed over the years,” says Ong. “Around the world, there’s a growing number of experienced people who’ve left international firms to start their own boutique practices like what we’ve done. Quite often, they are like-minded people, and we form alliances with them.”
At end-August, ET&Co and OrangeTee announced a joint venture to establish OrangeTee & Tie. The JV company will see a merger of their agency businesses, with a combined sales force of more than 4,000, making it Singapore’s third-largest after PropNex and ERA.
“I think this middle part of the agency business — the associates — will be heavily disrupted by automation,” says Ong. “Technology is moving so fast. It’s something you can’t ignore, as your competition can come from anywhere. To stay relevant, you have to add value and keep the organisation agile.”
Ong’s focus is on grooming the firm’s next generation of leaders at ET&Co. “This office is for them and is designed to attract new talent,” she adds.
Riding the collective-sale wave
The property market has improved since late last year. The outlook for the residential market has brightened as new launches this year have seen relatively strong sales. ET&Co has been appointed marketing agency for several projects: Frasers Centrepoint’s 841-unit Seaside Residences; and City Developments’ upcoming 124-unit New Futura.
In early September, ET&Co was the marketing agency for the collective sale of Changi Garden, which has a price tag of $196 million. “We feel there’s a window for collective sales,” says Ong.
Whether the collective sale fever will be short-lived remains to be seen. On Sept 1, the government announced a hike in development charge rates for landed and non-landed homes. The increase was the highest for non-landed homes, with a 13.8% hike on average. However, the Tampines Road, Hougang, Punggol and Sengkang area saw a 29% rise in its DC rate.
Some of the collective sale sites were affected by the recent DC rate hike, as the developers that purchased the sites in the area had not anticipated such a steep increase.
‘Feast or famine’
Based on collective sales done so far this year, Ong estimates that 1,522 residential units have been affected. The result, however, is that there will be a new supply of 9,600 units in the pipeline when the new projects on these en-bloc sites are launched for sale next year.
Given its heft, OrangeTee & Tie can now pitch for more project marketing jobs, alongside the likes of PropNex, ERA and Huttons.
“When the market is quiet, the phones don’t ring,” says Ong. “But now that the market is hot, the phones keep ringing, and people are working on weekends. So, it’s really feast or famine in the brokerage business.”
As a balance, ET&Co has always operated as a full-service consultancy firm, with advisory, valuation and property management services. “These businesses tend to be less cyclical in nature,” says Ong. “They are the plain-vanilla cake. The transaction-related businesses are the icing on the cake. That’s why it’s important to work as a team.”
This article, written by Cecilia Chow, appeared in EdgeProp Pullout, Issue 799 (Oct 2, 2017)