The future of real estate: internationalism and professionalism

23rd Sep 2024
The future of real estate: internationalism and professionalism
On Wednesday afternoon, 18 September, the REA 2024 SUMMIT - Powered by Pénzcentrum conference kicked off, giving participants a comprehensive overview of the current situation and future prospects of the real estate sector. During the presentations and round table discussions, key players in the sector shared their professional experience on market trends, including regional and global challenges. Participants learned about strategies to prepare for market changes and how to exploit new opportunities to gain a competitive advantage.

In the opening speech of REA 2024 SUMMIT - a joint conference of Pénzcentrum and Portfolio, the CEO of zenga.hu presented how to profit from new brands as a real estate broker. In the opening presentation, Zsuzsa Lipták, Managing Director of the OTP Home turned portal, introduced the new product to the industry, which will be launched as a new brand in these weeks, between September and November 2024, as part of a comprehensive campaign.

They hope the site will create real competition, something the domestic real estate market has not seen for 20 years, already the second largest player. The site is visited by 1 million visitors a month, even as OTP Home they have managed to double their numbers since launch, with the largest portfolio of new-build residential properties on the site.

Lipták Zsuzsa a zinga.hu portált ügyvezetője a  REA 2024 SUMMIT – Powered by Pénzcentrum konferencián

As for the choice of name, Zsuzsa Lipták said that they wanted to move away from the words home and property, but zenga has no specific meaning. They have used innovative, modern, bright colours and are already getting a lot of positive feedback.
The property marketer of the future - professionalism and internationalism

What is it that can make the real estate industry truly successful? - this was the question Dorottya Pápai, Business Development Director of RE/MAX Hungary, sought to answer in her presentation at the second REA 2024 SUMMIT -a joint conference of Pénzcentrum and Portfolio.

According to her, one of the most important things is the trust the client has in the expert. And the basis of trust is expertise, combined with other tools: personal brand, marketing and IT knowledge.

"We also believe very strongly in education, because a 3-month course based on a school-leaving certificate is simply not enough."

- explains Dorottya Pápai. That's why they put a lot of energy into training, as they wanted to give the network an extra that would reform their professional life. That is why they started working with RICS, the largest international professional association. The international knowledge thus acquired is then applied to the Hungarian market, as what works abroad may not work at home.

Pápai Dorottya, a RE/MAX Magyarország üzletfejlesztési igazgatója  REA 2024 SUMMIT – Powered by Pénzcentrum konferencián. Előadásának címe: A jövő ingatlanértékesítője – szakmai tudás és nemzetköziség
Dorottya Pápai, Business Development Director of RE/MAX Hungary at the REA 2024 SUMMIT - Powered by Pénzcentrum conference. Her presentation was entitled: The real estate salesperson of the future - professional knowledge and internationality

Another principle they believe in is cross-border sales in the wake of globalisation. Previously, only the top 10,000 had the opportunity to buy property abroad, but now more and more people are thinking about it. This new demand gives the office the opportunity to serve a wider range of clients. As an intermediary, it is difficult to establish these cross-border relationships, and internationalisation is the solution: 140,000 advisers in 120 countries provide a secure backdrop.

Real estate brokerage and property market leaders on the present and future of the profession

In a panel discussion following the presentations, market leaders shared their thoughts on the present and future of intermediaries, competition in the market and real estate agent fees. The current market sentiment was rated by the participants on a scale of 1 to 5. Zoltán Gadanecz, founding owner of GDN Real Estate Network, rated the current situation as a 3-4, as the market has started to grow and there is a clear growth, which was broadly agreed by all.

"There has been a big rally recently, the seller has set a price and the market has caught up. It doesn't take expertise. But now it will be different, now you need the knowledge behind it."

- he explained. At the same time, he believes that any strategy that the intermediary believes in will work, even paperfecnik. He believes that the real estate profession is not dying out because the right empathetic human attitude is irreplaceable and is needed by the seller, and the professional background can be learned.

Pápai Dorottya, a RE/MAX Magyarország üzletfejlesztési igazgatója, Máté Ferenc, a Duna House Cégcsoport vezérigazgató helyettese és Lipták Zsuzsa zenga.hu lett portált ügyvezetője a  REA 2024 SUMMIT – Powered by Pénzcentrum konferencia panelbeszélgetésén
Dorottya Pápai, Business Development Director of RE/MAX Hungary, Ferenc Máté, Deputy CEO of Duna House Group and Zsuzsa Lipták, Managing Director of zenga.hu portal at the panel discussion of REA 2024 SUMMIT - Powered by Pénzcentrum conference

Demand has now shifted, and Ferenc Máté, Deputy CEO of Duna House Group, says that we are enjoying a 2-3 year record in customer interest and is optimistic about the future. He thinks there will be sources in the market,

"Just look at the interest rates on government bonds and the mood and confidence among the population is better."

As for the launch of Zenga, he explained that Duna House also welcomes the erosion of the monopoly of ingatlan.com, despite the fact that they have their own portal. On commission, Ferenc Máté said that in his experience

"price levels are always decided by the market, but the curse of the profession is that the client does not perceive the essence of the service, the time and the price."

He disagreed with the suggestion that the perception of the profession is negative, saying that this conclusion is only drawn from social media comments, and that no official survey has been conducted on the subject.

Regarding the growth potential, Zsuzsa Lipták, managing director of Zenga.hu, said that they can follow the development in real time: in the first 8 months of this year, they have measured a 30-40% increase in the number of interested parties.

Regarding the dominance of ingatlan.com, he said that change is underway, but it is important that their growth is visible. As the competition intensifies, so will the package deals for agents.

As a search portal operator, he said there seems to be a demand to bypass estate agents, with 15-20 per cent of listings coming from individuals, but the proportions are different for transactions, roughly 50-50 per cent. Searchers are looking for private individuals, as are sellers. Half of the ads say they want to sell the property without the help of an intermediary.

"Sellers start the process with a huge amount of confidence, but this drops off at month 2 and they start to let the agent in. And if you get a good quality service here, which takes the burden off their shoulders, the mood curve increases immediately."

According to Dorottya Pápai, RE/MAX Hungary's Business Development Director, they have been postponing their purchases a lot in the last 2 years. But now they have realised that there is no better time than now. As for the mood, she said they expect a significant release of government bonds by the end of the year, which is expected to trickle down into the real estate market. Bids have also appeared in the market - a good indication of the dynamics. Asked whether the value added by intermediaries is priced in properly, Dorottya Pápai said absolutely yes.

"Many people may think they can sell their own property with a negative experience behind them, but often find they can't and seek expert help."

Source: Így keresheti rommá magát a jövő ingatlanosa: ehhez még diploma sem kell

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