LOCAL MARKETS
LOOKING BEYOND LOCAL MARKETS By Don Kottick, FRI, CRES
When it comes to real estate, it is now almost impossible to live in vacuum and protect oneself from global events or influences. Real estate sales professionals who want to ride the wave of the future must now look beyond local and embrace global. This is not to say that local is not important — it is, and it always will be — but now is the time to look globally for opportunities. Factors including the conservative Canadian banking system, universal healthcare, the solid international reputation, the abundance of water and resources, proximity to the United States, a stable political system, and the current weaker Canadian dollar, have positioned Canada as one of the safer havens for international buyers. The expanded marketplace might have resulted from the creation of international trade associations, shifting geopolitical barriers or even the advances of social media. 14
REIC Exchange, August 2015
REALTORS® have a number of ways to embrace the new global reality, one of which is through participation in localized international real estate trade associations such as AREAA (Asian Real Estate Association of America). Richard Silver was one of the early adopters when real estate started to expand globally. Silver recently became a director of AREAA’s Toronto Chapter “After more than 30 years working in one of the most diverse markets in the world, I decided to learn more to
attract international clients and also to help my existing clients in their investments offshore,” Silver says. “I went to their event in New York last year and was referred a $3.5 million condo that just sold.” The International Real Estate Federation known as FIABCI (based in Paris, France) is one of the longest-standing international organizations. FIABCI-Canada’s secretarygeneral, Jerry England, in a recent conversation said: “Let’s face it, the real estate industry has become increasingly international in its
