“Real estate brokerage must evolve into a service industry”Shin Hee-seong, CEO of Remax Korea, “Let’s increase expertise by enlarging the brokerage firm.”
The paradigm of the profitable real estate market is changing. Transactions through large brokerage firms are increasing, not only in large-scale office buildings but also in the small and medium-sized building market. Brokerage firms that previously only handled simple sales and lease brokerage are increasing their scale and revitalizing the market through professional consulting.
Shin Hee-seong, CEO of Remax Korea (picture) said, "The real estate brokerage industry's paradigm has changed to focus on sales and services," and "Rather than fostering it as a separate industry, it should be incorporated into the service industry." He added, “The quality of real estate brokerage service was low because the number of licensed real estate agents and brokerage offices was small.”
CEO Shin said, “In order to improve the quality of brokerage service, there must be many options for consumers to choose from, and individual brokerages or agents must secure the capacity to provide professional consulting,” adding, “However, in the current situation, we must structurally improve service quality.” “It can’t be done,” he claimed.
This is because most real estate brokerage offices are operated by a single licensed real estate agent. CEO Shin said, “Because we operate on a small scale, we are in a situation where there is no information other than a few products in the area where the brokerage belongs,” and added, “So, brokers limit themselves to the areas and products they have secured and encourage consumers to buy or lease them.” “I did it,” he said. As this situation is repeated, it is assessed that the service quality of real estate agents has decreased.
In order to improve service quality, CEO Shin raised his voice, saying, "We must pursue the establishment of a wide area network through enlargement, continuous training and management centered on practitioners, and securing legal, accounting, and financial consulting capabilities."
CEO Shin said, “Service quality increases only when information power is high,” and added, “As the number of people increases, the information increases, and by gathering the increased number of people under one roof, management and analysis of information becomes possible and information power is created,” adding, “There is a need for real estate brokerage corporations to become larger.” mentioned about.
CEO Shin also said, “Comprehensive consulting on selling and purchasing is needed based on the information power secured through enlargement,” and “Consulting is not possible with just one person.” He went on to say, “Legal, tax, and financial advice is needed separately from real estate experts,” and “Large brokerage firms should directly hire lawyers, tax accountants, and financial experts to operate a consulting organization.”
In addition, the expertise of individual real estate agents and agents belonging to brokerage corporations must be increased. Representative Shin pointed out, “Currently, in our country, the real estate agent exam itself is hindering industrial development,” and “only the law is taught and only the law is tested.” CEO Shin emphasized, “What real estate agents need is the ability to discover the value of real estate and match real estate that suits each customer, and work ethics that do not infringe on the interests of customers.”
To this end, CEO Shin advised, “The legal portion of the real estate agent exam should be minimized compared to the current level, and the real economy field, which is closely related to real estate, should be expanded.” He also said, "Instead of expanding the exam and making the questions easier, we need to strengthen practical training through internships at brokerage firms and teach professional ethics." It is expected that this will naturally improve the treatment of agents and improve the quality of people working in the real estate brokerage industry.
To this end, CEO Shin is bringing about new changes from within Remax Korea. CEO Shin said, "This year, Remax Korea will expand the number of franchises and agents nationwide to improve service quality and strengthen practical training for them," adding, "Programs such as advanced marketing techniques, work ethics, real estate market outlook, and overseas real estate market development." “We plan to operate,” he said. He also said, “We will directly hire tax accountants and lawyers in the mid- to long-term to improve the brokerage firm’s expertise.”
◆ Biography of Shin Hee-seong, CEO of Remax Korea
-1988 Graduated from Korea University, Department of Economics -1988 Worked at Ssangbangwool Trading Co., Ltd. -2009 ERA Korea General Manager -2009 Establishment of Wide Partners Co., Ltd. -2013 Establishment of Remax Korea Co., Ltd. -Current Vice President of Korea University Economic Association -Current Director of Korea Franchise Industry Association
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