As part of our long term commitment to real estate professionals to promote networking opportunities, mentorship and professional development programmes, we have embarked on a series of AgentConnect Property Workshops which we plan on hosting biannually. We relish the opportunity to work for the industry instead of just in it!
The AgentConnect Property Workshop that was held on 27th June 2019 at Aspire Centre Nairobi was the first series in the year. We invited industry experts to talk about industry related trends and promoted professional development for our partners.
The workshop discussions revolved around:
- Estate Agent Registration Board (EARB) Mandate and Responsibility
- Online Advertising
- Market Trends and Analysis
- Building in Kenya
- Insurance products related to real estate
To help unpack these topics and delve into their impact on real estate professionals, below are snippets of how the discussions went.
Table of Contents
Estate Agents Registration Board (EARB) Mandate by Nelly Mbugua – Chairperson EARB Board of Kenya
Nelly noted that the Estate Agents Registration Board (EARB) is a regulatory body under the Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning and established under the Estate Agents Act Cap 533, of Laws of Kenya. The main vision of the board is to promote the development and integrity estate agency sector in Kenya.
A key highlight of her presentation was that after the revision of Estate Agents Act Cap 533, it will be mandatory for all estate agent to be registered in order to transact.
{Watch a short summary video of Nelly’s Presentation}
Online Advertising: by Geoffrey (Jeff) Gakuya – Business Development Manager – Google Kenya
Online advertising in Kenya has significantly grown in the past few years with an estimation of 5.8 Million Kenyans online every single day. Another interesting statistic he mentioned was that Kenyans are on their phones 150 times a day, from the time they wake up to when they go to bed. Click To Tweet Internet penetration is at 53% and by 2025, 9 in 10 mobile phone users in Kenya will also be internet users.
Real estate searches on Google have been on an upward trend, with a high propensity of online users searching for rental listings, followed closely by home loans & mortgages thus reaffirming that Kenya is still a rental market. For real estate business to succeed in the micro-moment world, they need Be There, Be Useful, Be Quick and Connect the Dots.
{Watch a short summary video of Jeff’s Presentation }
Ruaka Market Trends and Insights by James Waweru – Sales Manager – BuyRentKenya
BuyRentKenya has detailed knowledge and understanding of property seekers needs having established long-standing relationships with developers, agents, investors, landowners, housing associations, local authorities, banks and building societies. Our in-depth research on Ruaka has revealed, There has been an over 200% increase in the ratio of property seekers to property listings over the past 5 years in the area.
Our data and predication indicate an 8% increase in apartments for sale by 2020 and in the next 12 months, besides Ruaka, areas near and around Ruaka will witness rapid growth and demand especially affordable townhouses/houses.
{Watch a short summary video of BuyRentKenya Presentation }
Building in Kenya by Robyn T. Emerson – President of Women in Real Estate (WIRE)
Building in Kenya is a one-stop informational resource that contextualises the Kenyan real estate development market through information gathered from interviews conducted with sector professionals and consultants.
{Watch a short summary video of BuyRentKenya Presentation }
Resolution Insurance Cover by Harrison M. Karuga – Team Leader
On average, Kenyans spend about Ksh 130,000 to furnish their households. We live in estates that don’t have proper security. Furthermore, people are paying rent or a mortgage for their homes, without considering any form of insurance to protect their homes. Most homeowners ignore home insurance as it’s seen as an extra cost.
How much do you really loose in an unexpected event such as a fire in your home, theft or damage of property as compared to the cost of paying for a home insurance premium? These are the conversations that real estate professionals should be having with property seekers in order to provide maximum value to your customers.
{Watch a short summary video of Harrison’s Presentation }
Be on the lookout for our next AgentConnect Property Workshop which will have impactful conversations around how different stakeholders can come together to grow in the real estate sector.
