Annual General Meeting at Swissôtel Le Plaza, Basel
Brokerage office in champagne mood
The Swiss Chamber of Real Estate Agents had every reason to celebrate at its 12th General Meeting in Basel. With the launch of its own object gallery, it set a milestone in its history. Herbert Stoop, SMK President, welcomed around 70 people to the Swissôtel Le Plaza in Basel on October 26.
Once again, the Swiss Chamber of Real Estate Agents can look back on a pleasing business year. The chamber has 70 members at 115 locations. It is represented in 19 cantons and expects a substantial increase in new members over the next twelve months – without compromising on quality. As part of quality assurance, the mandatory audits were again carried out this financial year. All audited members fully met the requirements. With these audits, the Chamber has gained an excellent reputation and is regarded as the credible, competent professional organization in the industry.
The statutory business could be handled by forwarding. The President’s report, the annual accounts and the budget were unanimously approved by the meeting. With a turnover of 271,885 francs, the accounts close with a profit of 10,805 francs. Under the agenda item “Elections”, the previous members of the Board were confirmed by acclamation.
In addition to growth, the Chamber of Real Estate Agents is pursuing four further objectives in the new financial year. Thus the Bekanntheitsgrad of the chamber and its members is to be further developed. Secondly, great attention will be paid to the quality of its members. Only the most professional real estate specialists in Switzerland may be united in the Chamber. In addition, it should be worthwhile for every member – besides the award – to be part of the Chamber. In this sense, the services will be further expanded. Finally, the Chamber is looking for a new president. Herbert Stoop will step down from his office at the end of fiscal year 2017/18.
After the Annual General Meeting, two speeches and a milestone were announced. First, Claude Ginesta (CREA Vice President) presented a lead generator which was developed in cooperation with Wüest & Partner especially for the Chamber of Real Estate Agents. This generator will be available to every member at a preferential price. Ginesta pointed out that the industry has been confronted with so-called “lead generators” for three years now. These offer the owner willing to sell the “right” broker. It is not the quality of the brokered service that is decisive, but rather the willingness of the brokers to deliver a considerable portion of the commission (up to 30%) to the “lead generator”. This development fills Ginesta with concern. It certainly does not contribute to promoting the reputation of the industry. On the contrary: business models with the guiding principle of “earning a lot of money as quickly as possible and without effort” are harmful to all serious professionals. Claude Ginesta called on those present to examine the offer of the CREA Lead Generator and give him feedback. He said that the more closed the chamber was to disruptive business models, the more strongly they could be countered.
In the second presentation, Barbara Krähenmann, real estate expert and lecturer, addressed the question: “What power do emotions have when buying residential property”. She vividly presented typologies of people interested in buying. As different as their expectations are, they must be included in the sales process in a differentiated way.
The highlight at the end of the General Meeting will be the live launch of the “Object Gallery” on the website (www.maklerkammer.ch) of the Chamber of Real Estate Agents. This offer platform was developed at a rapid pace of only eight months in cooperation with www.newhome.ch. In the future all real estate offers of the CREA members are to be offered first on this platform and be visible only in a second step with further real estate portals. With large joy the present ones toasted with a glass Champagner on the new offer of the broker chamber. Herbert Stoop, president of the Maklerkammer is convinced: “the object gallery is a milestone in the history of our chamber and will help us to further increase our degree of popularity!”
