Old habits die hard, but sometimes a little sacrifice can go a long way. From avoiding buying a cup of coffee to embracing digitalization, seasoned brokers share how foregoing old habits can lead to new opportunities at the Lamudi Link, in partnership with Tonik, at Work Folk co-working space on H.V. Dela Costa Street, Makati City.
Sol Nolasco, president, and chief executive officer of SN HomeFinders Management and Development Corp., who has been in the industry for 36 years, shared how her team conducted a study a decade ago on the younger generation market of real estate. According to their findings, these individuals spend the equivalent amount of money per month to own a place near their workplace on transportation, toll, and coffee.
“If they forgo one Starbucks coffee a day, that is already a saving equivalent to one month of amortization,” Nolasco said.
With the rising inflation rate in the country, property seekers must save as much money without compromising good value when purchasing a new investment, and brokers must always assist clients throughout their buying journey.
For Cindy Medina of G.I.M. Realty and a member of the Parañaque Las Piñas Alabang Real Estate Board, Inc., the rapid advancement of technology still takes some getting used to.
“Brokers have to take it upon themselves to upload listings, which is a problem because I’m used to the traditional. So right now, I still have difficulties updating listings,” she added.
Traditional marketing tools are reinvented to remain relevant in the digital world. In the past, brokers approached property seekers to generate leads. Nowadays, the property itself goes to the seekers with the help of various online tools.
Building trust in digital world
Trust in any transaction is essential because it builds a long-lasting relationship between a customer and a client.
Tonik’s head of Growth and Business Lead for Big Loan, Kate Ladyzhenska, who has extensive experience with digitally secured loans, shared how the digital bank values trust.
“The rates, reviews, and the processes evaluated by our customers create that trust and word of mouth,” Ladyzhenska said. “We, as a bank, invest a lot in our security and data protection, and the other thing is our customers’ reviews.”
On the other hand, Medina regards transparency as necessary in her career as a broker. I become transparent and honest to our clients even at the risk of losing an account — to that extent,” she added.
Nolasco is a prime example of gaining a client’s trust by having the same common ground. “I am a Cebuana from Davao and an Ilongga from Bacolod, so when I notice that my client has an accent, I usually ask, ‘Are you from the province?’” she said.
Building trusting relationships in the new normal can go a long way, especially in a highly competitive industry like real estate. Both brokers and clients must shoulder the responsibility to cultivate that trust to last.
Speed and low interest
Various types of banks offer different benefits to Filipino home buyers. Neobanks promote speed, while traditional banks encourage lower interest rates. From Medina’s experience, the latter is more preferred by her clients than a speedy transaction.
“Filipinos are known to be patient, so we would instead save a lot of money than prefer a faster transaction time,” Medina said.
“In my experience with the buyers and sellers, especially the sellers, they would want a faster loan take out,” she said.
“In terms of digital banking,” Ladyzhenska shared, “all the research has shown that people starting to use digital banking are already aiming for fast transactions. For them, the speed would mean much more than the interest rate for the important decision they need to take.”
Making the most of digitalization
The new normal calls for new ways to become a more effective broker, and it has been possible thanks to digitalization.
“Digitalization’s impact for me is convenience. The first years I’ve been doing advertisements, we have to go to the newspaper offices to put up the ads,” Medina shared.
As a tenured broker since 1986, Nolasco has experienced all changes in the real estate industry, so the online advancements have made her profession easier. “It was fun back then, but it was a lot of work, and you can only do one call a day. So now, I sit at]my table and stay in my office. So I can’t live without Lamudi anymore,” she added.
With the nature of neobanks, which solely exist online, Ladyzhenska said they “aim to grow their generation of customers that will be loyal to them using the convenience of the service, speed, and reliability.”
The future is going digital with technological advancements, especially regarding the real estate industry. Brokers and clients can save time and money with every online transaction.