Romania: A… “renovated restaurant”
Let us compare investing into Real Estate with eating at a "restaurant". After Romania left Communism behind, the venue was like an old, abandoned communistic "place to eat". Things improved, but really slowly. Only at the dawn of the new century the improvements started being noticeable, attracting more clients. So we could eat here, being sure that we will not be poisoned (lose our capital). While the country was moving forward, the connection to European Union boosted the interest of people (similar to say that the restaurant changed name, obtaining an international franchise brand). A new modern approach in several domains of economy and society was adopted (new equipment in the restaurant, better quality of ingredients).
While the rest of franchises around Europe were very expensive, the restaurant (Romania as investment destination) was a hot spot for 3 years,
a "must", offering excellent food (properties), correctly priced, good service, nice atmosphere and also a very positive potential for the future. Then things changed again. The restaurant became "extravagant", full of exaggerations. Most of the waiters became arrogant, interested only in tips, or how to collect more money with less work. You were lucky to find some serious ones, like in the past. The (overpriced) food was prepared badly, with awful quality of ingredients.
This mix would have caused major problems anyway, but the world economic crisis arrived and everyone found the perfect excuse! It was not the bad cook, but the crisis. Neither the bad waiter, nor the bad interior decoration, the poor variety and the very high prices. Just the crisis was the one to blame for the empty place. Clients left, people got fired, the surface shrinked, but the attitude of waiters just improved, slightly.
What do we need so as to move the market again and attract clients to this… restaurant, to the Romanian Real Estate market?
More honesty – less greed
More work – less promises
More professionalism – less amateurism
More respect to the client – less arrogance
All these and many more, accompanied with a painful decision that we should all undertake: Sorry, but we will not become rich soon, without working.
Romania did not stop being a country with great potential, quite healthy macroeconomic figures, strategic geographical position, occupied by some of the most talented and innovative people in the world (when they want to). This country has plenty of virtues, which we need to redefine and bring up to surface again, as the competitive advantages which will attract investments, progress and better standards of life for everyone.
2010 is a challenging year indeed. Not because it seals our entrance to a new decade. This is the year when Romanian economy (and most probably Real Estate prices too) will reach bottom. With the expected measures of the new Government during the first months of the year, we should reach the lowest point some months later. This stability will allow us to benefit from the expected (not 100%) rise in Western Europe and be ready for better days, during 2011.
We all did mistakes in the past and most of us paid for them. Now we have the chance to start over again and set the foundation for the success of the years to come. If you are careful and serious, this year you can find a new "restaurant", renovated, friendly, with nice atmosphere and service. Variety of properties, properly priced (when you avoid the ghosts of the past). I also propose to you to reject all the ones who tricked you (or obviously tried it) in the past and focus on quality.
2010 is an excellent year for investments, restructures, new ideas. Romania has plenty of surprises for the careful investors. And this time the surprises will be positive…
PS. By the way, did you notice how many restaurants closed down during 2009? Did you think why?
Nicoleta Feb 1, 2010
Romania, the land of opportunities.It might sound as a cliche, but after the communist period everybody got a boost of ‘democratic’ freedom( or, at least, this is what they thought it was: freedom).I, for one, see this as a major problem which led Romania to what do you see today.
We can’t compare Romania to other countries or , at least, not with the ones who are 50 years ahead of us ( think at the ones who promoted the private pensions at leas 20 or 30 years ago, think at the ones who didn’t pass through communism). As everybody knows, after a period when the state takes all the decisions, after a period when there;s just one man who makes the rules and you;re obliged to obey ; after this time, the state has to go through ‘perestroika’, in order to ‘heal the wounds’, in order for people, for the entire society to know how to move forward .
Romania didn’t take this step.We were all ‘born’again after December 89′ and since then the state thought us how to steel, how to be more rood than we used to be, how to play with the laws, how to, how to invent more stupid laws, how to…how to..
If you take a savage and suddenly give take him into a city, he will obviously get confused and, once the time passes, he will get used to the city’s benefits.The questions is : how will he act, not knowing the new rules? will he steel in order to eat? will he still act as a savage? would a communist act still as a communist, if he is not thought otherwise?
I am not trying to find Romanians excuses for what they are or what they became, i just hope someday Romania will get to that level of understanding, i just hope some miracle will make people change the attitude which today shows everybody how is the majority of Romanians : lazy , haughty, hypocrite , etc, etc.
Romanian Real Estate
My former boss used to tell when i was going at visits/viewings:’Take care, its a jungle out there!’..and that says it all:)
I won’t say too much concerning this matter,there are too many aspects needing to be analysed and just writing about them won’t help anybody.
The only thing that i feel obliged to say is that in our Real Estate not only the real estate agents need to be educated, but also the owners.Not all the people in Bucharest own a house of gold.Try to tell them this after they had a visit from the real estate amateurs:))
if you succeed in showing them the reality, congratulations, you have passed one step in being a real estate consultant and not an agent.If you haven;t , then…don’t worry, there are lots of Real Estate companies who are still hiring people for doing …nothing.:)
Long live the Romanian Real Estate!!!! it will always give us something to be angry about:))
Nikos Koropoulis Feb 11, 2010
I just want to add that Romania is Greece of ’80. So if you are a Greek all the economical scene here is well predicted!
As I remember when they have started to open cafeterias in Greece it was the hit of the market. Someone opens and after one month someone else would open next to him. In the end remained only the good ones with service, quality and respect to the clients.
So in Romania everybody became a real estate expert. The result was the same… Majority of the experts has moved to Avon as lipstick sellers (with all my respect to that company).
But as the Director of Avon said “it is hard for someone to gain the same benefits. She needs to sell at least 10.000 lipsticks!”