In line with the recovery now under way in the residential property market, estate agency group RealNet has ended its financial year with turnover 21% ahead of target and 19 new franchises on its books.
Speaking at the group’s recent national franchisee seminar in Swaziland, MD Jan Davel said this growth was largely the result of RealNet’s decision to focus intensely on its core business for the past two years, which have been among the most difficult on record for the real estate industry.
As part of this initiative, the group also intensified its training programme for both agents and agency principals, almost all of whom have already obtained the new NQF level 4 and 5 qualification for estate agents that will become compulsory from the end of this year.
“And as a result, we are going into the next 12 months with better prepared and more motivated agents as well as a bigger national footprint that I am confident will enable us to improve even further on this year’s achievements,” he says.
Key areas that RealNet has recently broken into include Bellville in the Western Cape, Bloemfontein, Middleburg, the thriving mining towns of Kathu in the Northern Cape and Burgersfort in Limpopo, as well as Linden in Johannesburg and Edenvale and Bedfordview on the East Rand.
“What is more, although we welcome and encourage entrepreneurs coming into the real estate industry,” says Davel, “most of our new franchisees at this time are experienced agents who have chosen to convert to RealNet. This is surely a vote of confidence in our proven business model and support structure.”
Meanwhile, further expansion is on the cards, and the group is currently seeking new franchisees particularly in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town.
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