To date, Joyce Sim has transacted about $300 million in Good Class Bungalows and landed homes (Picture: Albert Chua/The Edge Singapore)
Joyce Sim has been an entrepreneur since young. She has run businesses since she was just 20 years old.She started out helping her father run his company before striking out on her own. For the last few decades, she has built several enterprises covering various sectors such as service apartments, student accommodation (3,000 beds) childcare and manufacturing and management.
Given the nature of her business, property has always been of keen interest to Sim. “It’s always been close to my heart,” she says. That interest eventually led to Sim getting her estate agent licence in April 2021.
Her decision to join the real estate industry was encouraged by her sister, a property agent, and her business partner Karen. It was also driven by her relationship with Lester Chen — associate executive district director at Singapore Realtors Inc (SRI) and co-founder of the SRI Finest division. Chen, who has worked with Sim as her realtor, brought her on board the SRI Finest team, where her career took off.
While Sim has just passed her two-year mark as a realtor, her list of achievements is akin to those attained by veterans in the industry. Within her first year, Sim racked up over $1 million in commissions, which often takes a rookie agent years to achieve. That same year, she was the seventh Top Producer across the whole of SRI while also being the runner-up for Top Sales Achiever in the landed category and Top Rookie.
In 2022, despite the high bar set the previous year, Sim scaled new heights. She was crowned the first-place Top Producer, outperforming all other SRI agents. She also repeated her feat as a Millionaire Realtor while earning some new titles — the third Top Sales Achiever for commercial properties and the first-place Top Leasing Achiever for residential properties.
Sim earned over $1 million in commissions within six months of starting her career as a realtor
Sim acknowledges that her career has been a very promising start. “I was very blessed to be able to step into the luxury, highend segment, focusing on GCBs [Good Class Bungalows] and landed properties,” she says. The first property she sold was a GCB on Coronation Road West. She subsequently sold four more GCBs that year.
Since then, Sim has continued specialising predominantly in the luxury landed segment in prime districts. She has transacted some $300 million worth of landed properties to date.
An area Sim has come into her own in the past year has been the high-end leasing market, particularly rentals of GCBs and detached properties. She has secured a steady stream of leasing deals, with several transacted at record-breaking rents surpassing $170,000 monthly.
That consistency has afforded Sim recognition at the company level. She was crowned a top residential leasing achiever at SRI a whopping six times in 2022 and has also achieved the title for the entire first quarter of this year.
In addition to her residential portfolio, Sim is active in the commercial space, brokering deals in the shophouse and strata office segments.
Sim believes her affinity for the landed market stems from her being a landed property owner. “I have a good understanding of what owners, buyers and tenants are looking for when they seek a landed property.”
Her business experience also eased her natural transition into the real estate market. “Because I’ve built up businesses in adjacent sectors like property management and student accommodation, I know my way around issues such as finding housing and maintenance contractors and the ins and outs of renting or managing a property, ” she reflects. As such, Sim is an invaluable resource for her clients. “They know that if they have any issues, they can call me or ask me to refer them to someone who can help.”
Sim’s general business acumen and resourcefulness also comes in handy when it comes to helping clients beyond their property decision-making. Her clients — a mix of locals and foreigners — often tap on her knowledge for everything from her views on the economy to finding a lawyer for their business expansion or even sourcing domestic help.
Although dealing with clientele in the high-end segment can be challenging, Sim sees a client’s issue or request as a problem waiting to be fixed. “I love a challenge, and running my businesses has taught me to tackle problems and find solutions effectively.” At the end of the day, Sim says that her work aims to understand her client’s needs and persistently work to achieve them. “It’s about listening, understanding what they want and delivering the results.”
That simple philosophy has worked well for Sim, who has expanded her network of clients through several referrals while also garnering repeat clients who trust her to transact and lease their portfolio of properties.
Given her track record, Sim has already carved out a property career that is enviable to most. But she has no plans to slow down. “I’m constantly seeking out new opportunities,” she says.
Her enthusiasm to continue growing is, in large part, attributable to a supportive family. “My family has been wonderfully understanding and continuously encourages me to pursue my goals.” Sim especially credits her husband, whom she views as her mentor.
She is also grateful for her peers. “I’ve learned so much working with Lester [Chen], the SRI Finest team, and SRI management,” she shares. What sets SRI apart, Sim adds, is how helpful everyone at the agency is. “I appreciate how SRI has a culture of sharing information. It’s a very supportive environment to be in.
For more information,
Contact Joyce Sim | 81017777
Associate Division Director (R063524G)
SRI Pte. Ltd.