House-hunting in Singapore is a time-consuming, stressful affair, period.
Buyers search multiple portals, sift through classified ads, and do their due diligence to deal with unverified data. After shortlisting properties, they must manually call or message seller agents — often multiple — to arrange viewing schedules.
On top of that, there nuances associated with the various property types with different commission structures, adding another layer to an already complicated process if you aren’t familiar with how the industry works.
Imagine going through all that, only to get ghosted by an unresponsive agent who represents the property you really want.
Say hello to smarter searching, easier scheduling
But now there’s a solution: Enter MAIA — short for MOGUL.sg Artificial Intelligence Agent — Singapore’s first AI-powered property agent, courtesy of homegrown real estate platform MOGUL.sg. Say goodbye to cluttering your computer screen with multiple property portals, switching between windows to compare prices, and then compiling the details and agent information to follow up on.
MAIA pulls listings from over 100,000 concurrent property postings across major Singaporean real estate platforms like PropertyGuru.com.sg and 99.co, along with MOGUL.sg’s results. Designed specifically for smartphones (you can only use this on mobile phones), MAIA makes it easy to view and shortlist properties — even on the move — with its ‘Tinder-like’ interface.
MAIA makes it easy to view prospects on your phone.
Once you have the time to sit down and take stock of your selections, you can use tools like MOGUL.sg’s DataSuite and Automated Valuation Model (M-Value), or other means of your choice, to see if the numbers make sense and align with your expectations.
When you are ready, request a property viewing on the app. MAIA’s agentic AI chatbot, working in the background, powered by Google Gemini tech (via the Vertex AI platform), reaches out to the sellers or their agents to provide viewing dates for you. Once the seller responds, you are given options, which you can accept or request alternatives. Once the date and time are finalised, you get a confirmation and an option to add this appointment to your Google Calendar.
For buyers, this saves hours of tedious searching and compiling and minimises the tedium of juggling multiple (often back-and-forth) chats to arrange viewing appointments. For sellers, it keeps requests simple and on topic — and because it engages with natural language, agents can respond quickly in Singlish or emojis (like a thumbs-up or OK sign to say yes) and minimise time spent on small talk and focus on more pressing matters.
A screenshot of the chatbot AI in action (offline demo)
Who wins? Both buyers and sellers, actually
Aside from the time-saving features, MAIA addresses a long-standing conundrum in transacting private properties.
The norm is to have the seller pay the 2% commission, and the buyer pays none, which results in co-broking. The buyer agent and seller agent negotiate a deal and split the commission, with typically 0.5-1% going to the buyer agent and the seller agent taking the rest.
The downside of this now-longstanding practice is that seller agents may stonewall buyer agents to avoid sharing their cut. A local industry group, the Singapore Estate Agents Association (SEAA), attempted to diminish this conflict of interest recently by introducing a new industry practice of having buyers pay their agent instead — but the pickup was understandably poor.
With MAIA, buyers maintain the status quo of not paying anything. Meanwhile, sellers and seller agents pay a referral fee of just 0.2% upon a successful sale — far lower than the typical co-broking fee they’d otherwise pay. Buyers can avoid being stymied by underlying co-broking dynamics beyond their control, and agents get direct leads without additional listing fees.
Its qualities appear to have been acknowledged PropertyLimBrothers, one of Singapore’s leading real estate agencies. They have partnered with MOGUL.sg to integrate MAIA into its workflow, and CEO Melvin Lim sees it as a game-changer: “MAIA creates a stress-free journey for buyers and a more efficient process for sellers. It also lets our listing agents build direct relationships with buyers, adding more value to their home-buying journey.”
Who is it really for?
The simplified process only takes seconds for every interaction.
MAIA does not replace the role of the buyer agent if the buyer is unwilling or does not have the time to do background research — those who prefer personalised guidance or negotiation assistance are likely better off working with a human agent. But for the savvy homebuyer, MAIA is an empowering alternative.
MOGUL.sg CEO and Co-Founder Gerald Sim sees this as a parallel to the transformation of the travel industry: “We’re on the cusp of a property-buying revolution, much like how online travel aggregators replaced traditional travel agents. MOGUL.sg aims to be the ultimate home-buying aggregator, putting Singapore at the forefront of this shift.”
MAIA is available now at MOGUL.sg’s website.
