Measuring service delivery standards of the real estate industry

Abstract

For the sake of convenience to cope with their daily activities as well as to seek professional advice, most Singaporeans leave their buying and selling of their homes to the hands of housing agents. However, through the spread of mass media, issues pertaining to the existence of errant housing agents surfaced, leaving a poor impression on the professionalism and service quality of the real estate industry. Realising that the ability to provide superior customer service plays a significant role in maintaining a competitive advantage over others, there is a need to assess the performance of housing agents pertaining to service quality. In order to do so, survey questionnaires and interviews were deployed for the purpose of this study. Difficulties faced being housing agents were highlighted in the interviews conducted and probable areas for improvement they felt useful were identified, one of which was to standardize commission rates. A measurement tool proposed for the survey questionnaire measured (1) clients‟ expectations against their housing agents‟ performance based on their most recent experience; as well as (2) clients‟ expectations against housing agents‟ perceived service quality. The survey findings showed that while clients held high regard for housing agents to be accredited, housing agents themselves did not. A majority of the clients also felt that housing agents were dishonest, unprofessional and unreliable. Therefore, through the measurement tool, housing agents can assess their own performance, seek improvements in areas they did not fare well in and bring service delivery standards up another notch.