How the shortlist works

The shortlist uses only public data, and the same rules apply to every firm. No firm can pay to appear or to rank higher.

It answers one question: which firms are worth asking for a quote? It doesn't measure service quality. Only proposals, interviews and references can tell you that.

The signals

Each signal scores 0 to 1 and is weighted. When a signal can't be measured, it is left out and the other weights are scaled up. For example, size isn't used if we don't know how many units your development has. The match score is the result out of 100. Your current agent is left out unless you choose to include it.

Only firms that manage at least 3 developments are suggested. Many names that appear for just one or two developments are developers, owners or individuals running their own building. Every firm is still listed under Agents, and you can invite any of them from their page.

Where the data comes from

• Who manages what: BCA's Management Corporation Strata Title dataset on data.gov.sg. It lists every MCST with its address, number of strata lots and managing agent. We refresh it every month and keep a dated record of which agent manages each MCST. That record is how we see switches.
• Locations: each postal code is placed on the map with OneMap from the Singapore Land Authority.
• Accreditation: the list of Accredited Managing Agents (Registered) published by SISV under the scheme it runs with APFM, which BCA recognises.

Limits to keep in mind

• BCA's list is only as up to date as BCA's records. A recent change of agent may take time to appear.
• BCA's list leaves the managing agent blank for some developments, including a few large ones. Those show "none listed", and their agent's portfolio here is smaller than it really is.
• Where BCA's list names a person, or just "MCST", as the managing agent, we treat that development as self-managed and don't show the name.
• Firm names appear in BCA's list in different spellings. We merge obvious variants, and keep a list of fixes for the rest. If two firms look merged or one firm looks split, please tell us.
• Leaving an agent isn't always the agent's fault. Councils change for price, for a fresh start, or after a dispute. Treat switches as a prompt to ask questions, not a verdict.
• Big firms score well on portfolio size, but a smaller firm close by may suit a small development better. You can choose a size preference on the shortlist.

Spotted a mistake? See corrections.