Special Feature
Helping families land their dream homes
By Julia Goh
Julia Goh of PropNex Realty receiving the Top Transactor Award for Landed Property from Shermie Tee, EdgeProp Singapore vice president, agency sales and training (Picture: Albert Chua/The Edge Singapore)
Before she delved into real estate, Julia Goh had spent some time in the banking industry. Her first step into the real estate industry was a happy coincidence, at the showflat of a condominium in District 11. Goh helped to secure sales for several units and the developers were impressed with her performance. Colliers International (under whom the sales were transacted) later asked her to join them full-time. Goh joined them as an associate and around a year later in July 2008, PropNex invited her to join them. She has been with them ever since.
Goh took some time to consider the career switch from banking and decided to take a leap of faith. Today, 15 years later, she’s an industry leader, securing one of the highest number of transactions last year for landed properties in Singapore. “It’s not possible to juggle between working in financial planning and real estate. And to be honest, at the time, there were no push factors that made me want to leave the financial sector,” she adds.
Goh: Knowing that I’ve helped clients land an ideal property where they can create wonderful memories as a family, is my ultimate reward
But there is something about real estate that she enjoys thoroughly: the dynamics of the industry. Goh says: “People are always happy to talk about the latest property trends, the value of their property, and they are interested in my views and experience in the industry.”
Even after all these years, the prospect of helping her clients find their ideal property still thrills Goh thoroughly. She points out that “apart from helping my clients achieve a record sale or finding their dream home, there’s also a deep joy that I have in seeing beautiful properties on the market”.
Goh notes that buying trends have evolved during the pandemic, particularly among buyers looking for properties to live in, rather than for investment.
“The first rule of real estate is still location, location, location. But it takes on a different meaning now. During the pandemic, a lot of buyers realised that having a generous home space is important, for obvious reasons,” she explains.
She adds: “But where investment-grade property buyers look for resale demand, location and yields, buying a property to stay in means you might consider other different factors as well.” For some, it might be proximity to good schools, she says. For others, it might be access to green spaces, and so on.
When meeting potential clients for the first time, instead of rushing in to close a deal, Goh prefers to spend time getting to know them first.
“I try to understand their motivations for purchasing a property, because sometimes a buyer may have certain criteria that can place limits on what they are willing to consider. But if we understand their underlying desires, we can open up their minds to other potential real estate prospects,” she says.
Goh cites a recent transaction she made for a buyer as an example. One couple had been working with another agent to look for a suitable property for two years. They had made offers for houses in the One Tree Hill area, without any success. The wife had pretty much given up on finding a landed property when a friend referred her to Goh.
Goh spoke to the client to find out what it was about the One Tree Hill area that attracted her. Goh then managed to find an alternative location with similar qualities to what the client desired, and convinced her to take a look. The client fell in love with the property. Within 48 hours, Goh successfully negotiated and closed the deal.
Goh: Apart from helping my clients achieve a record sale or finding their dream home, there’s also a deep joy that I have in seeing beautiful properties on the market (Picture: PropNex)
When Goh represents a seller, she takes the time to understand their motivation for wanting to put the property on the market. She listens to her clients and keep their best interests in sharp focus. She would also give her clients insightful ideas and suggestions on how to update their homes to make them look amazing.
Goh says she prefers to find out why the owners want to sell, then perform in-depth analysis of the market to help her clients determine the ideal selling price range. More often than not, she would surpass her clients’ expectations. Goh comes across as a realtor who truly loves what she does and enjoys all there is about landed homes.
One of the first few landed properties Goh sold was a bungalow off Kheam Hock Road that had been on the market for over two years. “It had been marketed by many big property agencies without any success,” she says.
When the owner told Goh that he wanted her to help with the sale, “I presented him with a detailed marketing plan and listed the property without any delay. Within the next three days, I had presented the property to a buyer who was even willing to pay a premium for the property,” she says. The co-broking agent who represented the buyer was impressed with Goh’s professional attitude and knowledge, and it was a happy match for her buyer.
When it comes to landed properties, demand is generally higher than supply, given Singapore’s limited land restrictions. Taken as a whole, landed properties make up only about 5% of the entire housing stock in Singapore, thus making them a valuable and highly sought-after class when it comes to housing. In Goh’s opinion, potential buyers and sellers should focus on the value of the land itself that they are transacting, rather than property specifics such as basement or attic space.
She highlights: “Owners definitely need to pay attention to essentials like where the pipes are or the usable land area for construction and development, naturally. For many owners, they aren’t buying a property to keep the building; they will tear it down and rebuild, which eventually translates to a higher cost per square foot.”
Goh thoroughly enjoys the dynamics of the real estate industry (Picture: PropNex)
Goh has noticed that these days, owners with existing properties and new buyers alike look for spacious garages and sufficient outdoor space for added facilities like pools, as well as convenient access to public transport.
“Many of the buyers today own multiple cars, so they need a place to house their automobiles. And many of them have busy schedules, so families with young children want to ensure that their helpers can travel around easily to pick up the kids from school or just to run errands,” she concludes.
“Garden spaces are also increasingly popular,” she notes.
On winning EdgeProp Singapore’s Top 6 Transactor Award for landed properties, Goh views it as an acknowledgement of her achievements in the industry; but her clients’ happiness is her greatest reward. “Knowing that I’ve helped them land an ideal property where they can create wonderful memories as a family, is my ultimate reward,” she says.
For more information:
Contact Julia Goh l 97451311
PROPNEX REALTY PTE LTD
CEA No.: R016837A
Top Transactor is a Sponsored Series in recognition of Real Estate Salespersons who have achieved the highest number of transactions, based on information from CEA’s Public Register and data.gov.sg between July 2021 and June 2022 that was extracted on 10 August 2022.
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