In the period of 2nd – 5th November , 2018, in the US, Boston, took place the annual conference of real estate agents organized by NAR (National Association of REALTORS®). This event is considered a world-class event, where 150 speakers talked about different real estate topics.
The event was attended by Eugeniu Prisacari, the director of Acces Imobil, who will share his emotions and impressions about the conference
Eugeniu, whom is such a global event organized for?
The conference was attended by more than 20,000 real estate agents from the US and other countries. Specialists from the largest giants like RE/MAX or Zillow, as well as other notorious companies attended the event. Mark Wahlberg, world-renowned actor and entrepreneur, was the guest of honor at the conference.
What was the purpose of the conference?
The purpose of the conference is to gather professionals from around the world who can share their experience and who have the opportunity to get acquainted with the latest trends in real estate. Tendencies related to online sales, marketing strategies, IT technologies.
Also, an exhibition was organized within the conference which was attended by over 400 suppliers of products and services that can be used in real estate: CRM (Customer Relationship Management Systems), MLS (Multiple Listing System) etc.
What motivated you to participate in the conference?
First of all, the opportunity to bring the experience of developed countries which have the culture and the expertise in real estate for more than 100 years. Also, the possibility to acquire new knowledge and ideas that will help us to develop the real estate sector in Moldova.
Who else, from Moldova, has been present at the conference?
This year, it is the first time that Moldovan representatives have been invited to the event. There were 4 people: I, as representative of Acces Imobil Real Estate Company, Eugen Ţurcan (representative of Eldorado Terra) and two private agents.
At the conference, a cooperation agreement was signed between NAR and APAIM (Professional Association of Real Estate Agents in Moldova).
What impact will the signing of this collaboration agreement have?
It will have a positive impact, because after signing we will have access to various educational programs, we will be able to implement systems like MLS or FlexMLS, which will allow us to bring the local real estate market to the next level.
We will be able to increase the professionalism of real estate agents in Moldova by implementing the Ethical code of the real estate agents. We will also have an open door to the international real estate transactions.
What are the US realtors doing differently than us?
As I mentioned earlier, in the US, everything is much more technologically advanced, the real estate business is automated. The online tools they developed and widely used help them work at a more advanced level.
Although, I can tell you that the real estate service market in Moldova is already at a high level of professionalism. I say this because during my free time after the conference, I had the opportunity to see how a real REALTOR® works. I was present at the viewing of an apartment which was subsequently sold.
What changes need to be carried out in our real estate field?
In addition to technologies, there is a need for real estate regulation. Our model of action is the mediation contract, which was repelled long time agoin the US. They only work on the exclusive representation model (representation of a single party in the transaction). Adopting this model we can bring transparency to the real estate market in Moldova.
In America, 90% of transactions are performed with the help of a real estate specialist. Here we talk about the confidence that sellers or buyers of real estate have in the services of a REALTOR®. For Americans to use a real estate agent is just as good as calling a doctor or a lawyer. So, it is necessary to educate the market of Moldova.
Thanks
I want to thank all the friends from APAIR (Professional Association of Real Estate Agents in Romania) for their support, for the opportunity to participate in trainings organized by them, but also for the contribution they have made so that we could attend the annual conference organized by NAR.
I want to thank the Ambassador for Development of Romania and Moldova, Alina Aeby, a professional real estate agent of Romanian origin, who lives and works in San Francisco. She took care to make the whole connection during the conference.
I thank Artur Ohanesyan for his support, discussion and experience exchange that we hadduring these few days of the event.
Finally, I want to thank Joe Schneider (Director of Global Alliances at National Association of REALTORS®) for the support and the possibility of signing an agreement between NAR and APAIM.
I hope that next year we will be present at this wonderful event in San Francisco.
