Ohmyhome’s DIY platform will enable Filipinos to buy, sell and rent by themselves, free of charge, saving them time and money.
Growing up, sisters Rhonda and Race Wong knew all too well the difficulties and strain of having to move from one home to another.
From experience, they have seen how housing transactions can be stressful, how processes can be complicated and cumbersome, or worse, how some services may be unreliable at times. All these add to the pressure of finding the right home that could serve as a safe, well-deserved sanctuary, where families and loved ones will create lasting memories.
This has driven the sisters to put up Ohmyhome, Singapore’s first one-stop-shop online platform that harnesses technology and innovation to make buying, selling and renting homes more seamless and efficient. Since its inception in 2016, Ohmyhome has already expanded in the region, starting with Malaysia in 2019 and the Philippines this year.
“We started Ohmyhome with the vision to help property dwellers simplify their home transaction process and enjoy savings. We want to empower our clients to take control of their own homes, starting with the buying, selling and renting processes,” said Rhonda, chief executive officer and co-founder of Ohmyhome.
“Buying or selling a house is a very big commitment. We want to help people do it right,” added Race, the chief product officer and co-founder of Ohmyhome.
Sisters Race and Rhonda Wong believe Ohmyhome will be an agent for change and innovation in the property sector.
Strong credentials, expertise
In setting up Ohmyhome, Race and Rhonda brought to the table their business expertise honed by years of extensive experience, as well as an impressive roster of accomplishments.
Rhonda, for instance, started consulting for developers in 2013. A year after, she established Anthill Realtors, a real estate agency at a young age of 29. Headquartered in Singapore, Anthill Realtors specialized in sourcing investment grade properties locally and abroad, with its one-of-a-kind concierge service. Beyond real estate, Rhonda has also worked on several businesses including retail in Singapore, import and export of equipment from the United States, and had acted as a consultant for children’s education in Suzhou, China.
Today, Rhonda is a sought-after mentor at entrepreneurial and proptech events, and often invited to speak at schools and business leadership seminars. Because of her outstanding work, Rhonda earned prestigious accolades including Women of the Future in SEA 2020 for Property, Infrastructure and Construction; Founder of the Year at the 2019 Singapore Rice Bowl Startup Awards; and Women Icon at the Inaugural Women Icons Summit and Awards in 2017.
Race meanwhile initially harnessed her vast experience during her stint at Anthill Corp., which she also co-founded with her sister Rhonda. She actively led the team in its marketing and communications activities and played a major role in expanding the business and sourcing commercial investments for corporations. Prior to this, Race was a marketing manager at Maybank Kim Eng Hong Kong, helping integrate the bank’s online and offline trading experience, while co-hosting events in Kuala Lumpur.
Race is also a multi-awarded Cantopop artist in Hong Kong, with several music albums, TV dramas and feature films to her name. She has represented international luxury brands Dior, Biotherm, Pantene, Baleno and Glashutte. Race is also an influencer, with more than 300,000 followers on Facebook and around 27,000 followers on Instagram.
Ohmyhome seeks to bring housing transactions up to speed—figuratively and literally.
Timely move
Buoyed by the exceptional success they have seen in Singapore and Malaysia’s property markets, Rhonda and Race have now brought their one-stop property platform to the Philippines. It is expected that Ohmyhome will similarly revolutionize property buying and selling in the Philippines, bringing housing transactions up to speed, figuratively, and literally.
Rhonda said their expansion here is a timely move as the Philippines is a growing market.
“In the last three years, Manila has seen an increase in condominium property prices of 11.9 percent each year on average. The number of transactions has also been steadily growing—reaching a record high of 54,000 condominium units sold in Metro Manila in 2018, surpassing 2017’s 53,000 units,” she explained.
Still, property transactions in the Philippines are marked by drawbacks such as a lack of transparency, untrustworthy agents, slow feedback and decentralized services.
“Our DIY platform will enable Filipinos to buy, sell and rent by themselves, free of charge, saving them time and money in the process. Meanwhile, for those who prefer an agent, our professional agents can personally assist clients in their transactions from start to finish. This process will occur seamlessly while our technology works hard behind the scenes, enabling our agents to fully focus on our customers,” Race explained.
“Today, Ohmyhome is an agent for change and innovation, but our methods and speed of transactions will be the norm in the future,” the sisters further said.