Harcourts Blog

Branding is a key tool in the competitive world of real estate. It is how you stand out in the crowd. But what is most important to market – the agent or the brand? Most estate agents would say the agent, but what if you work for a corporate brand? Ted Frazer, Seeff national marketing manager, weighs in on this often contentious issue in the property industry worldwide.

Renting is the smart financial choice for many consumers, but a ‘difficult’ landlord can easily make it feel like the wrong choice, and cause tenants to leave as soon as they possibly can.

On the other hand, says Gerhard Kotzé, MD of the RealNet Properties, landlords who are able to establish a good working relationship with their tenants will have a much easier time when it comes to organizing any repairs necessary and retaining those tenants or showing the property to prospective new tenants.

Make sure your listing photos are eye-catching. Traditionally property sales start to pick in springtime, but if your online listing photos aren’t eye-catching then you might just lose out on a potential sale as homebuyers scroll by your posts. Here are top tips on how to have the best listing photos.

First impressions count. Most homebuyers today turn to the internet to search for their dream home and research shows you have only seconds to grab their attention, so make sure the first shot shows off the home at its best angle.  Make sure the view is not obstructed by cars or walls. The property should also appear well looked after – lawn or yard kept and tidy which means no toys lying around, weeds pulled, walls painted and in case there is one, swimming pool sparkling.

Rising municipal rates, fuel price hikes, high unemployment rates and uncertainty over high crime rates and corruption in state entities all make for a challenging sell for real estate agents. Yet, property sales and rental agents can be at the top of their game in securing client loyalty, leases and sales.

The transformation of the property sector is a journey that requires the commitment of all industry role players – also the new players included as property professionals in the new Property Professional Act says Dr Eugenia Kula-Ameyaw, executive chair of Black Women Organisation South Africa (BWOSA) and author of the new Act’s chapter on transformation.

One way is by making it mandatory for all property practitioners to have a BEE certificate – but what about single proprietors who are white? Robert Krautkramer, director with legal firm Miltons Matsemela, takes a look at what is meant by BEE compliance in the new Act.

There’s no such thing as a perfect property and buyers know that as well as you do, so when selling your home, you should never give in to the temptation to conceal or be untruthful about any defects or drawbacks that you know about.

Quite apart from the fact that this would be dishonest, it could easily result in a legal dispute that not only wipes out any profit on your sale, but actually leads to a loss, says Gerhard Kotzé, managing director of the RealNet estate agency group.

Renting is the smart financial choice for many consumers, but a ‘difficult’ landlord can easily make it feel like the wrong choice, and cause tenants to leave as soon as they possibly can.

On the other hand, says Gerhard Kotzé, MD of the RealNet Properties, landlords who are able to establish a good working relationship with their tenants will have a much easier time when it comes to organizing any repairs necessary and retaining those tenants or showing the property to prospective new tenants.

Digital disruption, coupled with the rapid, ongoing evolution of the real estate industry and property market, has meant that today’s real estate agents – particular those operating with the so-called traditional commission-based fee model – have to contend with a host of new competitive challenges. In order to be consistently successful, they need to step up to meet these challenges with a whole new set of skills and deliver a value proposition which meets the demands of modern consumers.

Gone are the days when property brokers were mostly stay at home moms knocking on doors to sell homes; but despite the industry now being far more sophisticated and bolstered by technology and full-time professionals, its image remains tainted and it has become cluttered with a barrage of tacky messaging.