The Importance of Franchising in Real Estate
Category Market News
The real estate industry has come a long way in the last 20 years or so. Gone are the days were the retired town councillor sold property on a part time basis to supplement his income, or the housewife got involved as she needed something to do while the kids were at school or even the local attorney who, through his office and infrastructure, sold property as a sideline business.
The market has evolved to such a degree that it is now very regulated and there are strict legal and qualification criteria needed to operate a real estate office. Also, consumers, whether they are buyers or sellers, have certain expectations and needs in how companies market properties, in service delivery and in being informed of their legal rights and the general procedures required to buy and sell property. On top of all this, consumers look towards the real estate companies to advise and ascertain the best possible financial lending structure when finance is required to purchase a property.
All the above requires a team of professional, well trained and dedicated agents that have the marketing, information technology and systems and procedures support from their real estate offices. As agents are commission earners they, and rightfully so, demand training and motivational courses, a respected and well exposed brand to associate with, rewards and recognition programmes, pleasant working environments but above all, they need to feel as if they are part of a brand that is passionate, has an appetite to be the best and has the financial resource to sustain itself no matter the state of the market. After all, the agents sacrifice their time and resources in order for a brand to succeed and they need to feel secure that the brand “has got legs” for them to be able to make their career secure and a long term one.
The financial events that have contributed to a downturn in sales over the last couple of years together with the increased general property knowledge of consumers who have become, and again rightfully so, more critical and demanding of real estate companies have highlighted the reasons why all real estate companies should be part of larger branded institutions who have the resources and capabilities. These reasons include:
National and International brand awareness and marketing for its agents
National and International networking and referral structures for its agents
The ability to recruit, train and retain top agents
The help in structured training and motivating of the company’s agents
The use of tools and methods that have been developed and proven over many years for its agents
Being part of “a bigger and larger company” adds comfort to agents that have a long term career prospect in mind.
Being part of a franchise organisation should not be a costly exercise when converting an existing office to a branded one and the royalty fees that are levied should be worth every cent paid. However, if the requirement is to open a new office from the onset, then branding it is critical and is imperative to ensure the best chance of success.
Century 21 is the world’s largest real estate brand that is represented by 8000 offices in 75 countries and has over 40 years experience in the real estate industry.
Interested parties are requested to email their contact details and preferred territories/areas to franchise@century21.co.za
Author: Century 21 South Africa
