Enforcement of property flyer distribution could drive up costs for agents who do it

Like him, Mr Terence Tee, 45, key executive officer of Iconic Realty, has used flyers as one of his marketing prospecting methods for the past 19 years.

“Flyers offer a more tangible presence in the community. It actually allows agents to target specific neighbourhoods,” he said.

Mr Tee has engaged SingPost for his distribution services despite it costing more than other distributors. As an independent realtor, he is not beholden to SIEA’s guidelines.

“I welcome this initiative by the five major agencies to promote a cleaner environment, and also enhance the real estate industry image,” he said, adding that it should be extended to the whole industry.

Currently, the enforcement measures only apply to agents under the five major real estate companies.

Still, boutique agencies told CNA they are unlikely to ramp up flyer distribution simply because they are not bound by the guidelines. 

For one, most have more targeted marketing approaches and operate within specific niches, several agents from boutique agencies told CNA. As such, they do not rely on flyer distribution.

LandPLUS’ Mr Wang noted that most flyers are distributed by the five major agencies, as they have the largest number of salespersons in the industry.

“Hopefully we don’t see any (flyers at doors) going forward, but we strongly believe that there will be a significant drop,” he said.

“Agents are agile – they will adapt to other means of advertisement fast.”