Pursuits
That Uber Driver Might Try to Sell You a Home in Singapore
- Agents turn to Uber driving amid prolonged property slump
- Cars for hire increased 51 percent in first half of 2015
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When Billy Loh started in 2008 as a property agent, his profession was seen as a route to wealth in Singapore. Now, he has to know his way around the city to pay the bills.
Loh, 50, is driving for Uber Technologies Inc. in the city-state, where government curbs to cool the market have mired property prices in the longest losing streak in 17 years and transaction volumes have plunged by as much as two-thirds since 2012. After going half a year without doing any deals, Loh switched to driving and is earning on average S$3,000 ($2,115) a month, one-tenth of the up to S$30,000 commission he could get from a single home sale during the market’s heyday.