Real Estate Prespectives for 2012 – interview with Ileana Preda, Real Estate Agent
Q: How has 2012 started for the real estate sector?
I.Preda: For people in Bucharest, the implementation of the new system of the Cadastral and Real Estate Advertising Office caused some delays in the real estate field, but after the 16th of January everyone was able to smile again, when real estate transactions were, once again, on track.
At the start of the New Year, I notice that the real estate segment is split in two categories: for some optimism is generally high while others are bracing themselves for the worst in 2012. After the next 12 months, both will have been right! As a real estate agent, all I can do is keep on doing what I know best, which is to serve my clients and constantly look for new ways of having a positive impact on the lives and minds of those around me or I can “come to grips” with the crisis and hope that it will pass – it’s all a matter of perception.
Personally, in the first 2 weeks of the year, I planned, organized and created strategies that will help me focus on results throughout the year. I’ve called my collaborators, active clients and former clients and wished them “A Happy New Year”, which is the same I wish to you!
Q:. 2011 started with a high level of interest but few transactions. How did the market evolve last year?
I.Preda: I remember an online article published in January 2011 that showed an increase in housing prices, based on the properties for sale featured on a real estate portal. The statistics were indeed real and the portal clearly specified that this analysis reflected the owner’s asking price, but everyone took from it what they wanted…
As a real estate agent (or real estate agency) I haven’t reached the level of covering a significant market quota in the area where I work, so my answer as an individual or company does not reflect the market.
I could answer using many colorful graphics that reflect the evolution or involution of asking prices but I’d rather let real estate portals, analysts, real estate specialists and clairvoyants make such estimations.
Another option would be to consult the data collected by Public Notaries, refined by BNR and the National Statistics Institute, data that reflects the selling prices and other important details regarding real estate transactions. Here is where we find the answers concerning the current state of the market, with a small margin for error caused by the parties involved that, on occasion, choose to distort the offered information.
As you can see I have a big problem with predictions, statistics and analysis regarding the Romania real estate market and I will most certainly not be able to give you the answer you are looking for.
Q: What area do you cover and how does it compare to the rest of the city?
I.Preda: My office is located in the Unirii area and my portfolio includes also properties in other areas of Bucharest because my business is mainly built around recommendations and not so much on the “cold” market. One of my objectives for 2012 is to become a local specialist in the Unirii area and to entrust the recommendations for other areas to collaborators that specialize in them or in sub-segments that I do not deal with.
I can’t make a comparison to the rest of the city but I could say that the Unirii area is sought after, where transactions are completed when the offer meets the demand. For an apartment listed by us around Unirii Square in the last trimester of the year a pre-contract was signed 4 days after listing it on the market and the property was sold at full price, 30 days later. The right positioning on the market can sell a property in any area
Q: Opinions regarding the advantages and disadvantages of affiliation to a francize are mixed. What is your opinion?
I.Preda: In any filed, the affiliation to a francize is a business decision. Personally, I think that those who take this step, are actively choosing to follow a tried and tested recipe. The success of a francize business depends very much on the manner in which the recipe is implemented.
At McDonald’s you expect the same type of services and taste anywhere in the world. When McDonald’s came to Romania I assume that they invested resources in choosing the right people who were capable of implementing a business strategy and to identify other people that share the same vision. Once they did that, they invested in the image, trainings and, especially, in educating the consumer! All menus have the same taste, in every country where I ate at McDonald’s, the recipe is implemented exactly the same and, although, I don’t follow the value of their stocks, those who chose this francize have a successful business. What would have happened if McDonalds’s had come to Romania and had adapted to the local market, putting their golden M above a trailer and had started selling McMici?!? Probably nothing.