PROPER T Y
THE STATE OF REAL ESTATE The property market bounced back remarkably in the wake of easing lockdown restrictions, bringing more franchisees into the real estate business. By ANTHONY SHARPE
E
very economic sector suffered under the initial strain of the coronavirus pandemic and associated lockdown, and real estate was no exception. What was perhaps exceptional is the rebound in activity after lockdown restrictions were eased: according to FNB, buyer interest on property portals surpassed pre-COVID-19 levels, as did the concomitant new mortgage applications. “From 23 March to the end of April, the deeds office was shut, so we couldn’t get registrations and real estate agents couldn’t make any money,” says Dean Ferreria, president and CEO of PropertyGuys.com Southern Africa and several other real estate interests. However, Ferreria says, business picked up quickly when the deeds office reopened. “There’s been such good uptake from buyers and sellers alike, and the real estate industry has thrived; we’ve seen record numbers in the past few months in terms of year-on-year sales. We’ve also managed to buckle down on expenses as our industry can operate from anywhere.”
The Engel & Völkers academy offers franchisees and real estate agents in-house training.
GROWTH FACTORS Craig Hutchison, joint CEO Southern Africa at Engel & Völkers, shares this positive sentiment: “We’ve definitely seen an uptick coming out of lockdown for two reasons,” he says. “We’re in a record low interest rate environment – first-home buyers can now pay the same on a mortgage bond as they would on a rental. “People have been also looking at lifestyle changes through the lockdown period,” adds Hutchison. “With so many people working remotely, there’s a lot of semigration happening out of the main Dean metropoles. That’s driving Ferreira a lot of the market at the moment.” RealNet MD Gerhard Kotze says cheaper areas offering easy access to public transport are also popular. “At the higher end, the increase in remote working has boosted the popularity of live-work-play areas like Century City, Melrose Arch and Menlyn Main,” says Kotze. “Also in demand are family homes and retirement units in popular country and coastal areas where good internet connections facilitate working from home.”
ADAPTING TO THE NEW NORMAL Ferreira says that the PropertyGuys franchise, which originated in Canada and allows homeowners to sell their own homes using tools provided by the business, has seen great interest, even during the pandemic. “We managed to put three new franchisees into the market in November,” he says, “and we’re still onboarding new people – we’ve got five or six due to start early this year.” It was always the intention to align the business with the Franchising Association of South Africa (FASA), as that gives them great credibility, says Ferreira. “Association with FASA generates brand name recognition. I also wanted a franchise business that offered strong protection for franchisees, so that they didn’t question their decision to buy the business after the fact,” he explains. During a time when businesses are struggling everywhere, the franchise model can offer protection and assistance, says Hutchison. “During the initial lockdown, we met remotely once a week, motivating the network and sharing best practice.” The model has been so successful that 2020 was Engel & Völkers biggest growth year from a franchising perspective. “We grew our franchise network close to 20 per cent. I think that’s also down to people sitting in lockdown and reassessing what they want to do with their lives.” Chas Everitt CEO Berry Everitt says the group’s prior investments in online training and digitalisation helped manage the franchisorfranchisee relationship under the new normal. “We had been investing for several years before lockdown in the setup of our fully fledged online training academy, which has been not only highly popular with agents, but also a valuable resource for franchisees in the past few months,” says Everitt. “We also have very well-established remote working systems and a fully digitised transaction ecosystem, so our biggest adaptation was to switch from face-to-face meetings to regular Zoom meetings with our franchisees.”
FRANCHISING
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2021/01/28 1:53 PM
