PropertyLimBrothers leaves PropNex to go independent; launching new initiatives

PROPERTYLIMBROTHERS’ (PLB) first presenter-style home tour video was filmed in December 2016 with a GoPro camera and a desire to “reverse engineer” the property sale process by looking at it from the buyer’s viewpoint.

That pioneering attempt to disrupt the passive property marketing scene with media content-driven sales has become so successful that the agents behind it last month parted ways with Singapore Exchange-listed PropNex after 11 years to become the newly-independent PLB Realty.

“When we started the PLB brand in 2017, we had a vision to one day be independent,” Melvin Lim, PLB’s chief executive officer and co-founder told The Business Times.

His co-founder and head of sales is Adrian Lim, who, despite the PLB name, is not his brother. “We had a very good discussion with the PropNex management. They were very encouraging and gave us their blessing.”

Well-known in the market for carving out a niche via snazzy home tour videos presented by chatty hosts with lots of useful property-related information and analysis, PLB is now Singapore’s first media and technology-driven real estate brokerage, with a slew of new services in its pipeline.

Apart from focusing on property sales, real estate education and advisory services, PLB has expanded its value-added services to include branding and research and analytics on its all-in-one website.

It will introduce 2 new initiatives from next year – InsightsbyPLB and PLB Assembly.

The former comprises easily digestible research material covering investment insights, market analysis and discussions on pertinent property issues from its 10-strong in-house research, data analytics and editorial teams that aims to democratise property knowledge for all.

PLB Assembly meanwhile, is akin to an academy targeted at property agents and will offer skills training in areas such as presentation, social media marketing, lead generation, research, videography and motion graphics.

Finally, PLB is working on a mobile application powered by artificial intelligence to enhance on-the-go access to property valuation, listings, industry news and related tools to help buyers and sellers make better decisions.

PLB has created over 1,500 home tour videos and educational property content, with 62,000 subscribers to its YouTube channel garnering a total of 35.9 million views.

Revenue grew 150 per cent from 2020 to 2021, with some S$674 million worth of property transacted last year. PLB has sold over 500 homes since 2020.

In contrast to what he deems a “hasty” method of marketing property by just listing it on portals with photos and then waiting for potential buyers to call, Lim’s approach is to use content marketing to position each home differently, showcasing individual strengths.

The videos are also upfront about the property’s shortcomings and try to offer possible solutions.

There is a lot of work – from research, decluttering and staging the home to storyboarding, filming, editing and adding motion graphics to the video – and everything is done in-house except home staging, so PLB can control quality, innovate at will and have implementation speed.

“This has been the bedrock of why we can innovate at a much faster pace,” says Lim, adding that it takes 14 to 21 days to craft a home tour video.

Today, the videos are between 10 and 25 minutes long, with half the content showcasing the home and the other half being analysis – of price, location, financing and future potential.

These features, combined with a good understanding of local market nuances and savvy digital marketing, tend to attract genuine buyers to on-site viewings – a win-win for both buyer and seller.

“We sell 8 out of 10 homes within 3 months,” says Lim at PLB’s 2 new premises at Oxley Bizhub 2, 1 of which is fitted out to operate more like a media production studio than a real estate firm.

Each homeowner is taken care of by a team of 7, including those from sales, strategy, digital marketing and client support.

Of PLB’s 105-strong full-time team, 55 are licensed estate agents and 50 are from its media production team.

It charges a sales commission of 2 to 2.5 per cent for landed homes and 2 to 3 per cent for non-landed ones, compared to the 1 to 2 per cent typical in the industry.

“We are quite a unique bunch and don’t like to rest on our laurels,” says Lim. “In fact, we’re always asking what’s the next thing we can do for the homeowner, the next thing we can do for our channel and we just love to innovate on a daily basis.”