The business moves from public to private, but the founders keep running it
A Singapore property startup that once promised to disrupt real estate has quietly sold the very business that defined it, exchanging its founding mission for a dollar and a pivot toward digital marketing. Ohmyhome, listed on the Nasdaq since 2023, divested its brokerage subsidiary — burdened by S$14.77 million in negative net assets — to a private vehicle controlled by its own co-founders, forgiving S$19 million in debt along the way. The move is less a failure than a reckoning: the public markets demanded a story the real estate business could no longer tell, and so the company has chosen to tell a different one entirely.
- A company built on the promise of disrupting property ownership has sold that promise for a single US dollar, its core subsidiary carrying more liabilities than assets.
- The Nasdaq listing, once a milestone, became a source of pressure — a collapsed share price forced a reverse stock split in early 2025 just to avoid being delisted from the exchange.
- Rather than retrench staff or wind down operations, the co-founders absorbed the property business into private hands, keeping the app, agents, and deals running without public market accountability.
- Ohmyhome the listed entity now pivots to digital marketing — strategy, content, advertising — a business with no obvious connection to the one that raised US$15.1 million from investors three years ago.
- The S$19 million debt forgiveness and symbolic sale price signal that the board saw no recoverable value in the real estate unit, only the cost of continuing to carry it.
Ohmyhome, the Singapore property startup that went public on the Nasdaq in 2023, has sold the real estate business at its core — offloading its main subsidiary, which held its brokerage, property management, and renovation operations across Singapore and Malaysia, to a corporate vehicle called Sterling Oat for one US dollar. The price was not arbitrary: as of March 31, the subsidiary's liabilities exceeded its assets by S$14.77 million. Before the sale closed, Ohmyhome forgave S$19 million in debt the unit owed it, a concession the board framed as necessary to stabilize the subsidiary's finances.
The divestment marks a sharp reversal for a company that launched in 2016 with an explicit mission to disrupt real estate. Co-founders Rhonda and Race Wong had built a platform spanning brokerage, property management, renovations, mortgage referrals, and legal services, and took it public in March 2023, raising US$15.1 million at US$4 per share with ambitions to expand across Southeast Asia. What followed was a deterioration in revenue and mounting operating losses that the board ultimately chose to stop absorbing.
The property business itself does not vanish. Rhonda and Race Wong continue leading it under private ownership — the app, website, agent network, and property management division carry on as before, with no staff layoffs planned. The operations simply exit the public markets, severing the listed parent from its struggling original unit.
What remains listed on the Nasdaq is now a digital marketing company — offering strategy, content creation, online advertising, and performance tracking. The listing itself has been under strain: the stock collapsed after the IPO, forcing a reverse stock split in March 2025 that consolidated every ten shares into one just to meet the exchange's minimum bid price requirement. Rhonda Wong has emphasized that the property side continues normally, but the broader question — what the long-term relationship between the private operations and the public entity will look like — remains unanswered. What is clear is that Ohmyhome is no longer wagering its future on real estate.
Ohmyhome, the Singapore-founded property startup that went public on the Nasdaq in 2023, has sold off the real estate business that gave it its name. The company offloaded its main subsidiary—the holding company for its brokerage, property management, and renovation operations across Singapore and Malaysia—to a corporate vehicle called Sterling Oat for one dollar. The symbolic price reflects the hard truth underneath: as of March 31, the subsidiary's liabilities exceeded its assets by S$14.77 million.
The sale, disclosed in Securities and Exchange Commission filings on June 18, represents a dramatic reversal for a company that launched as an online property agency in 2016 with the explicit mission of disrupting real estate. Co-founders Rhonda and Race Wong built Ohmyhome into a platform offering brokerage services, property management, renovations, mortgage referrals, and legal services. When they took the company public in March 2023, they raised US$15.1 million at US$4 per share, with plans to expand into Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
But the business deteriorated. Revenue declined. Operating losses mounted. Rather than continue bleeding money on its core operations, Ohmyhome's board decided to cut loose. Before the sale closed, the company unconditionally forgave S$19 million in debt that the subsidiary owed it—a move the board justified as necessary to strengthen the unit's financial position and serve the company's broader interests. The subsidiary's negative net asset position meant there was little else to extract.
What happens next is unusual. The property business itself does not disappear. Rhonda and Race Wong continue to lead it under private ownership, operating the Ohmyhome app, website, agent network, and property management division as before. No staff layoffs are planned. Customers can still use the platform and close deals. The operations simply move out of the public markets and into private hands, severing the connection between the struggling real estate unit and the listed parent company.
Ohmyhome's pivot is now toward digital marketing services—strategy, content creation, online advertising, and performance tracking. It is a stark departure from the business the founders built, but it reflects a company searching for a sustainable path forward. The Nasdaq listing itself has become a liability. The stock price collapsed after the IPO, forcing the company to execute a reverse stock split in March 2025, consolidating every ten shares into one in an effort to meet the exchange's minimum US$1 bid price requirement and avoid delisting. That maneuver reduced outstanding shares from 24 million to 2.4 million.
When asked about the restructuring, Rhonda Wong emphasized continuity. The property business operates as usual, she said. The app works. Agents are still closing deals. No one is losing their job. The co-founders remain in charge. What she did not address was whether customers had been adequately informed of the shift, or what the long-term relationship between the private property operations and the publicly listed digital marketing company would look like. The sale itself answers one question: Ohmyhome is no longer betting its future on real estate.
Citações Notáveis
The property business continues to operate as usual under a private business structure, and the Ohmyhome app, website, property agents, and renovation and property management business are still operating and clinching new deals.— Rhonda Wong, CEO of Ohmyhome
There will be no retrenchments.— Rhonda Wong
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why would a company sell its core business for a dollar?
When the business is losing money and has negative net assets, the dollar is almost ceremonial. The real story is that they forgave S$19 million in debt to make the sale possible at all. They were trying to stop the bleeding.
But the property operations continue. So what actually changed?
The structure changed. The business moves from public to private ownership. The founders keep running it, but it's no longer dragging down a Nasdaq-listed company's financials. It's a separation.
Is this a rescue or a retreat?
Both. The founders get to keep the business they built and continue serving customers. But Ohmyhome the public company is admitting that real estate wasn't working. They're pivoting to digital marketing instead.
Digital marketing seems like a completely different business.
It is. But at this point, the company needed to find something—anything—that could survive on the public markets. Real estate wasn't it.
What about the shareholders who bought in at the IPO?
They bought into a property company at US$4 per share in 2023. Now they own a stake in a digital marketing company, and the stock has been reverse-split to avoid delisting. That's a difficult position.
Will the private property business actually thrive without the public company's resources?
That's the open question. The founders have the operations, the customer base, and the app. But they no longer have access to public capital markets. They'll have to fund growth differently.