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A UNIFIED VOICE AND A UNIFIED VISION IS A WIN-WIN FOR ALL, SAYS RE/MAX CAPE TOWN (February 24) - South Africa’ real estate industry can greatly improve it's quality of service delivery through greater unification and a meaningful willingness to work together, according to Jeanne van Jaarsveldt. Van Jaarsveldt, marketing and finance director of RE/MAX of Southern Africa and one of the industry’s top marketers, was reacting to this week’s announcement of the National Association of Realtors (NAREA) merging with the Institute of Estate Agents. The 16-month-old NAREA, which was “formed to tackle issues of national importance”, has now opted to merge forces with the Institute in an effort to increase that body’s “voice of the industry” effectiveness. RE/MAX SA had been one of the prime movers in coercing the merging of the two bodies following its breaking away from NAREA in April last year. Van Jaarsveldt, who is a director of the Institute, has saluted the move “towards greater industry unity,” which he sees as vital in the current climate of rising marketing and surging overall increases in estate agency running costs. “The increased power given the merger will also boost Institute muscle in challenging the unrealistic timing of the new professional education standards being steam-rollered onto the industry, regardless of any attempt to gain the spirit of co-operation of all industry stakeholders.” Also ranking high on the list of the re-enforced Institute’s more urgent tasks is that of taking the Estate Agency Affairs Board to task for their high handedness in not giving the industry an opportunity for dialogue and transparency in industry issue. “Their non-compliance in the issuing of Fidelity Fund Certificates to agents in 2007 and 2008 is of great concern and in my view due their lack of understanding that their key focus is to serve the industry.” In an interview this week, Van Jaarsveldt admitted he was “somewhat troubled” at the low levels of cooperation among estate agencies and particularly the lack of support among the large real estate groupings for the Institute. Industry support for the 70-year-old body, in spite of a recent upsurge in membership, had waned most emphatically among the larger real estate groups in recent years, mainly as a result of the high levels of competition for business encouraging a “go-it-alone” strategy. That competitiveness, in his view, had also discouraged a co-operative spirit among competitors to put their clients interests first and to work together. Such single-mindedness often disadvantaged clients. In the case of sellers, by reducing the exposure of their homes to would be buyers and in the case of buyers by not being fully exposed to the whole range of properties for sale. Particularly galling was that agents, rather than share a sales commission with a competitor, held back on giving full market information to clients or in some cases deliberately misleading them by giving incorrect information. He was aware of numerous examples of blatant self-interest by agents not prepared to share commission while aware that their competitors could fulfil their clients’ needs. Greater commitment toward multiple listing of properties among estate agencies, in his view, could improve the buying and selling of property within the real estate local environment. An obligation to that ethos had underpinned RE/MAX’s rise to the number one market spot in the highly competitive US real estate market. The concept ensured homes listed on the market for sale, usually within hours of listing, were shared with fellow competitors, thus opening up the sellers’ interests to the widest possible net of buyers. A further positive feature of the multiple listing concept was that it nurtured agents to be more service driven and professionally competitive while at the same time profiling their professionalism and client dedication. “Lack of sharing listings allows the maverick agent to deliberately dupe sellers into unrealistic expectations of the true market value of their homes. If these agents had to justify their valuations with colleagues they would be drummed out of the industry or at best boycotted by the professional.” Overpricing, much of it deliberate, in Van Jaarsveldt’s view, is currently the industry’s biggest stumbling block in property sales. While acknowledging that multiple listing was widely and successfully used within the South African industry Van Jaarsveldt believed it could be substantially improved. However, this was unlikely in the current market where listings were jealously guarded. The initiative had to come from sellers insisting their homes be listed with the possible widest exposure. |