Ohmyhome, Singapore’s first one-stop property platform, will soon launch its operations in the Philippines, intent on bringing housing transactions up to speed, figuratively, and literally. Buoyed by its exceptional success in Singapore and Malaysia’s property markets, Ohmyhome is utilizing proptech once more to help Filipino homeowners save time, effort, and money as they list their properties for sale or lease.
Proptech collectively describes technological innovations meant to speed up the way business is done in the real estate industry. For Ohmyhome, it’s the winning combo of a free and easy-to-use DIY platform and seamless end-to-end services. This is what worked in Singapore and Malaysia which have, to date, generated 175,000 active users for the proptech start-up.
Ohmyhome takes care of the entire transaction process—from search and deal closing all the way through to legal services, housing loans from partner banks, conveyancing and mortgage advisory. To do this, Ohmyhome leverages its Do-It-Yourself platform and offers the expertise of its competent full-time professional agents
Through Ohmyhome’s DIY platform, listings have an average days-on-market duration of 60 days and the shortest time it has taken to find a buyer or tenant is one day. On the other hand, Ohmyhome’s agents can find a buyer or tenant at twice the speed of the industry average.
Indeed, before Ohmyhome’s launch in Singapore in September 2016, property deals took an average of three to seven months to wrap up, a stressful transaction journey for most homeowners. It was also costly.
Ohmyhome couldn’t come to the Philippines at a more auspicious time. With the country’s newly rebooted economy leaving the local property market in a fluid state, Filipino property owners and seekers could use the speed, stability, and value-for-money services that Ohmyhome brings.
No one is more confident about this than Ohmyhome’s dynamic founders, sisters Rhonda and Race Wong, who are both excited to replicate the proptech start-up’s achievements in their third incursion into the region.
Here, get to know the alpha women behind Ohmyhome who prove that intelligence, experience, and dedication are keys to success.
Rhonda Wong: Passion, grit, and heart
As the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Ohmyhome, Rhonda Wong, age 35, is responsible for the overall management of the company and driving its growth. “We started Ohmyhome with the vision to help property dwellers simplify their home transaction process and enjoy savings,” she says. “We want to empower our clients to take control of their own homes, starting with the buying, selling, and renting processes.”
Rhonda started consulting for developers in 2013. Before that, she was a salesperson in Savills, where she was promoted to sales director within a year and was recognized as ‘best newcomer.’ Rhonda’s journey into Savills was spurred by her personal real estate investments.
At 29, Rhonda established Anthill Realtors, a real estate agency, in 2014. Headquartered in Singapore, Anthill Realtors specialized in sourcing investment grade properties from within and abroad, with a one-of-a-kind concierge service.
A serial entrepreneur at heart, Rhonda has also worked on several businesses including retail in Singapore, import and export of equipment from the USA, and acted as a consultant for children’s education in Suzhou, China.
In setting up Ohmyhome with her sister Race Wong, Rhonda discloses that they simply harnessed their vast experiences in the real estate industry to help consumers save time, effort, and money in their housing transactions.
Today, Rhonda is a sought-after mentor at entrepreneurial and proptech events and is often invited to speak at schools and business leadership seminars. She also chooses to give back to the community through volunteering across the world—from Detroit and Chicago to the Dominican Republic, Singapore, and Myanmar.
Because of her outstanding work, Rhonda Wong earned prestigious recognition 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 Wong: From CPop star to stellar CPO
Race Wong is Co-Founder of Ohmyhome and its Chief Product Officer. As CPO, she is responsible for managing the day-to-day activities of the company, including customer relations, product-related activities, and technology development.
Race began conceptualizing Ohmyhome in 2015 when she came across some of the challenges that consumers encounter when buying, selling, and renting a home. This prompted Race to develop smart solutions that simplify housing services. “We wanted to make property transactions faster, convenient, and more efficient,” she explains.
As a seasoned player in the real estate sector, Race initially harnessed her vast experience from her work at Anthill Corporation, which she 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 the Marketing Manager at Maybank Kim Eng Hong Kong. Here, she helped integrate the bank’s online and offline trading experience. She co-hosted events in Kuala Lumpur, including the opening of Maybank Kim Eng Hong Kong’s first retail shop, the launch of Kim Eng online trading platform, and IPO roadshows.
For her efforts in conceptualizing Singapore’s First One-Stop Property Solution, Race was bestowed the Glamour Award for Outstanding Woman in the Entrepreneur Category in 2019. Not just a businesswoman, 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.
Finally, Race Wong is a social influencer, with more than 300,000 followers on Facebook and around 27,000 followers on Instagram.
With Race and Rhonda Wong’s courage, business expertise, and impressive roster of accomplishments, Ohmyhome is poised to overcome all challenges as it further expands into the Philippines and other parts of Southeast Asia.
