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AWARDS: Huttons Asia — Helping agents thrive

By Bong Xin Ying

/ EdgeProp Singapore |

October 12, 2018 3:06 PM SGT

On the night of July 5, the eve of the implementation of the latest property cooling measures, real estate agency Huttons Asia was in the midst of the sales frenzy at the launches of three properties — Park Colonial, Stirling Residences and Riverfront Residences. “It was interesting to see how the company came together that night because it was quite sudden, [and] our mobilisation was really fast,” says Goh Kee Nguan, CEO of Huttons Asia.

More recently, Huttons was involved in the launches of Oxley Holdings’ Mayfair Gardens on Rifle Range Road, Qingjian Realty’s JadeScape on the site of the former Shunfu Ville and Tripartite Developers’ The Jovell on Flora Road. “Our focus is to make sure that we sell fast and we sell out,” says Goh.

Huttons’ efforts have won recognition. On Oct 3, it received the Marketing Agency Excellence award at the EdgeProp Singapore Excellence Awards 2018.

Goh: We really want to make sure the agents do well, [because] when they do well, the company will be well (Credit: Samuel Isaac Chua/ The Edge Singapore)

Established in 2002, Huttons has grown into a 3,400-strong team, making it the fourth-largest property agency in Singapore. Project marketing is Hutton’s core activity, but it has over time expanded into other areas as well, more specifically the resale segment, such as collective sales, retail leasing, HDB sales and private condominiums. The resale market makes up “quite a significant proportion” of Huttons’ business, says Goh. “In fact, just from the collective sales cycle, we successfully marketed six projects, including Tampines Court, Ampas Apartment, Kovan Lodge, Balmoral Gardens and Park West.”

Property agencies are in a competitive environment and consolidation is taking place as the property cooling measures take hold. Will Huttons Asia consider mergers and acquisitions as others have done? Goh says: “I can buy a company with 300 agents, but that does not mean that they will come [to my company]. They can go elsewhere.”

However, he is keeping an open mind on acquisitions. “We are open to like-minded people, people who are aligned to what we do, whether individual agents or agencies,” he says.

Goh, who joined Huttons in 2013, believes in providing a conducive, supportive and caring environment for his agents to thrive, as well as giving them ample opportunities. “Our main focus is people, so we have to make sure that they are not competing with each other,” he says.

Huttons carries out in-house research to keep agents updated on property trends, as well as provides market data and in-house research reports needed for them to do their work. “We really want to make sure the agents do well, [because] when they do well, the company will be well.”

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