One Company.  One Contact.  Everything you need under one roof

RE/MAX Lettings is synomous in the property rental market in Malta for providing its customers with an all round service.  A fully comprehensive real estate service in Malta with plenty of added value or one can use the cliche of “a one stop shop”.

When JK Properties Ltd., now the owners of RE/MAX Malta, established themselves in 1999, the company started just providing letting, corporate and concierge services to their customers until it evolved into RE/MAX Malta in 2004 when they plunged themselves into the property sales market in Malta. 

Although RE/MAX Malta does offer property sales on a National level through their eight offices, their letting division, RE/MAX Lettings is stronger than it has ever been. 

Some may say that their focus can not be as it used to be however this is definately a misjudgment. Today, RE/MAX Lettings consists of 12 letting associates that are all driven by a man with a mission, Edward Agius.  An orginal from the JK Properties days, Edward has served the Buttigieg brothers for nearly 10 years and has grown within the company from a letting associate himself to Manager.

The company thrives to provide a more superior and serious service than the competition and they make sure of this through its mentoring system.  Mr. Agius is always aware of the whereabouts of his people and what they are dealing with at any given time.  He goes through their client sheets on a daily basis and is there or available on the phone for his people almost on a 24/7 basis.  It’s pretty much the service which he received when he was an associate and it’s always been the philosophy of the company.  There is a hand’s on approach throughout the company.  The Buttigieg brothers like to know whats happening not only to view the sales charts but to assist their people in any possible way.

RE/MAX Lettings deals with all sorts of customers however they still tend to specialise on corporate accounts.  There are a number of firms in Malta with an employ of expatriates that require rental properties in Malta, which is a main service that is the bread and butter of RE/MAX Lettings; however each and every customer that rents a property in Malta may also need a rental car or a simple mobile phone.  RE/MAX lettings provide these services plus really anything under one roof.  Another main service provided by RE/MAX Letting is corporate hotel bookings.  This is something they have been doing for ten years and one can be assured if you have a rate at a hotel that you are happy with, RE/MAX Lettings can beat it.  It is all a matter of company reputation and knowledge of markets.

RE/MAX Lettings clients have ranged from individual clients that require standard rental apartment in Malta to gambling companies, local and foreign banks, major project companies like AGIP, Blue Water, Malta Shipyards and Nortel Networks that have required rental apartments, hotel accommodation, car leasing, bank account set up, tax consultation, mobile phone account management, maintenace services and more.

Any company coming to Malta should feel rest assured that RE/MAX Letting’s experience, knowledge of markets, ability to negotiate and loyalty to customers is the main reason why they are celebrating 10 years in this busines.

If you are interested in renting a property in Malta or require any corporate services contact RE/MAX Lettings for a more superior and serious service.

Tags: RE/MAX Lettings, - Malta, RE/MAX Offices, property in malta, Renting property in Malta, letting, News, Property to Let/for Rent

In a very competitive real estate market like in Malta, one of the things that is vital to your success in selling your property in Malta is how well your property shows in comparison to the other properties for sale in your area.  There are simple things that one can do to increase their odds of selling, and possibly even add a few euros to their pocket at the same time.

 

At RE/MAX Malta we thrive in providing our property owners a superior service so that they can achieve the correct price for their property in Malta.  Through our heavy investment in training our real estate agents, we ar (more…)

Tags: Selling Property in malta, to let, selling property, real estate malta, Home improvements, buyers, Property For Sale, professional advice, estate agents in malta, property in malta

Property in Malta that has been overpriced by inexperienced developers is seeing a correction to more realistic values.

 

Mr Buttigieg, who with his brother Jeff, added Malta to the world’s largest real estate network in April 2004, says his franchise has seen sales for the first quarter of this year rise by 15 per cent on the same period last year. He attributes the increase mostly to first-time buyers acquiring property in the €112,000 to €200,000 bracket. That is double the first-time buyers’ figure for the corresponding period in 2008, and 200 per cent over the first quarter in 2007.

“This is the best time to buy – it is a buyers’ market and the interest rates are attractive,” Mr Buttigieg points out. “People are seeing they can afford to take out a loan for a better property and grab opportunities when they arise. It must be pointed out that if sellers have their own financial difficulties, like making losses on the stock market, and suddenly find that they need to sell their property quickly, the price is reduced for a quick sale. It does not mean that property prices actually went down.

 

“It simply means this person had to sell because of unforeseen circumstances at a lower price to carry out the transaction quickly. Unfortunately people see this as a drop in price. It is not the case at all.”

 

Buyers, he says, are also becoming more demanding. The onus is on developers to offer better quality and the agents to provide a better service.

 

The property market, he points out, witnessed “massive growth” between 2000 and 2007 as developers fuelled a boom and up to 50 per cent of property was sold on plan. Mr Buttigieg, who says only one in four property sales in Malta involve agencies or freelance agents, insists many buyers who entered into promises of sale for properties during those years, often failed to lay down specifications for finishes. Quality on completion was often poor or far from expectations.

 

Developers – from large organisations to owners of villas and terraced houses – saw that people were willing to pay and upped their prices by 10 to 20 per cent a year in areas like Sliema and Madliena. As the craze caught on, developers operating in Fgura, Żabbar and St Paul’s Bay raised their prices to up to 20 per cent. Sales began to slow down when prices became unrealistic.

 

Mr Buttigieg believes buyers overspent on property in the period between 2005 and 2008 and it was not long before the brakes were applied. He says valuations and pricing determined according to a trend are slowly fading as more agents price property according to size per square metre as is the norm overseas. Remax’s 70 agents in Malta use electronic measuring guns to be able to supply clients with the measurements of every room in a property – one way, Mr Buttigieg says, to save both clients and agents time.

 

The recently established Federation of Estate Agents has been pushing for the government to issue a house price index periodically so that owners and estate agents may have a reliable guideline on which to base valuations and prices.

 

“In most countries overseas, agents are able to access official statistics on a database to find out what property in the area or even in a particular street was sold for in the past,” Mr Buttigieg explains.

 

“In that way, agents are able to show sellers and buyers that a determined price is realistic. It would help no end to have this facility here. Many people are disappointed when they make plans for their future on the basis of what they think their property will fetch, and are bitterly disappointed when the return is far lower than they were led to believe it would be.”

 

With the experience gained in selling property in Malta for only five years – he says transactions prove Remax is the top seller of Malta’s high-end property developments - he contends that the days of buyers signing on the dotted line blindly for properties still on plan are over.

 

“People are more exigent nowadays,” Mr Buttigieg points out. “Everyone wants more luxury in a property, and more and more people can afford it. Finishes will often determine if a sale is closed or abandoned, whether the property is intended as the buyer’s residence or as a rental investment. People also want their money’s worth. That is why the economic crisis will bring about a clean-up.”

 

All the “cowboys”, he says, will slowly be driven out of business: the sloppy developers, the shady professionals, and the turnkey contractors finishing properties with seconds imported from the East. The more professional agents who don’t like the look of a development are already refusing to be associated with low-quality properties.

 

Mr Buttigieg has noticed that developers with property on their hands which they have failed to sell are correcting their mistakes and replacing shabby finishes with upgraded materials and accessories.

 

He insists attention to detail makes all the difference. Even estate agents have to work harder. There was a time, he recalls, when agents acted like taxi drivers, scurrying clients from one property to another around the country, armed with a set of keys.

 

In the same way as the practice does not work with overseas buyers, it does not work with the Maltese. Clients expect agents to be familiar with properties before a viewing, know of every minor detail and even help them arrange meetings with the banks, and recommend furniture, furnishing and fittings suppliers.

 

“Within three years of kicking off a career in this business, most agents will earn their commission from repeat business – 75 per cent of their sales usually involve past clients or referrals. It is essential that quality service is offered to clients,” Mr Buttigieg insists.

 

“Besides, as a trainer leading a Remax programme overseas said recently, ‘a crisis is a terrible time to waste’. Crisis or no crisis, we plan to expand with another four offices on the island so there are franchise opportunities available for the more entrepreneuring agents”.

 

Mr Buttigieg also calls on the government to lend the developers and the stronger estate agents more support to promote Malta better. He says that, on the whole, the industry has really not done its bit to market the country. He points out that the developers and agents are ready to do it but they needed the government’s support.

Written by Joanna Ripard – Times of Malta

 

 

Tags: Remax Collection, Terraced House, remax malta, to buy, developments, News, property malta, Property For Sale, remax, St Paul's Bay

Recently in the Times of Malta, Kevin Buttigieg, Managing director, of RE/MAX Malta, the real estate company, was interviewed by the Times of Malta where he claimed the figures.  Read the following interesting article written by Herman Grech from the Times of Malta.

Property prices in the first quarter are down by 15 to 20 per cent compared with the same period last year, according to a preliminary report by the Chamber for Commerce, Enterprise and Industry seen by The Sunday Times.

However, there are also indications that the downward trend is “probably being reversed” as confidence slowly returns to an industry that is one of the major contributors to the economy.

The report was compiled by the chamber’s director general Kevin Borg, following a review among members in the Real Estate Business Section and of the Federation of Building Contractors (FOBC). Some its contents were published in the chamber’s monthly publication, The Commercial Courier, last Thursday.

According to Central Bank index, the price of advertised residential property in Malta declined by 2.7 per cent during 2008 but the FOBC believes this figure is underestimated because prices are being slashed further during the negotiations stage.

The FOBC believes that, in general, property prices fell by around 15 per cent in 2008 (compared with 2007) and by around 15 to 20 per cent in the first quarter of this year.

Tax revenues from property sales in January and February declined by 31 per cent while the number of Promise of Sale Agreements signed during the first quarter of this year declined by 6.7 per cent, compared with last year.

The FOBC confirmed that orders are down drastically and profit margins have been squeezed to a minimum.

The slowdown in the sector, together with the fall in price, is attributable to a number of facts, according to Mr Borg.

Despite its size, Malta clearly has an oversupply of real estate. The latest census in 2005 exposed 53,000 vacant properties, but since then thousands of others have come onto the market. Many have remained unoccupied.

Owners of large houses were encouraged by high prices to develop their properties into apartments for a profit, but various operators who took part in the chamber’s exercise said that the oversupply related mainly to ‘substandard’ tiny apartments.

Property development in Malta also boomed as a result of government amnesties enticing the public to bring back their foreign investments. Buoyed by relatively low interest rates, they converted houses into tiny apartments not realising that the property bubble was about to burst.

“Real estate agents do not regard this stock of substandard properties as sellable – certainly not at the demanded price,” Mr Borg said.

Although the market appears to be holding out in general and there is no particular rush to sell, owners of these so-termed ‘substandard’ properties will need to cut their losses and try to improve them to meet the standards demanded by the market.

Mr Borg said that contrary to public perception, the slowdown in the market was not caused by the international recession, which only marginally contributed to the existing over-supply situation due to a drop in foreign demand (especially British) for local properties. Some real estate agencies in Malta have meanwhile diversified their marketing efforts towards Scandinavia with reasonable success.

“Following a decade of rapid escalation, the pressure in prices was bound to cool off at some stage. This time round, what brought it about was an over-supply situation as investors – both new and established – rushed to the market,” Mr Borg said.

But while construction operators reported increasing difficulties in their activities, including shortage of demand and cash-flow since the start of the year, there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel for the real estate sector. Mr Borg said that preliminary figures show that the sharp drop in confidence and price expectation reported between November and January has started to reverse.

Given the clear oversupply situation in real estate and low investor confidence, developers, building contractors and other stakeholders should be encouraged to shift their effort and resources towards other forms of long-term projects with clear and tangible benefits to the private sector and society alike, Mr Borg said.

“We need to learn from mistakes and the authorities need to vet the applications properly to help a volatile market,” Mr Borg said.

In fact, the chamber is recommending that new permits for seemingly substandard developments be scrutinised thoroughly by the authorities to ensure adequate housing facilities. After ensuring that unsold poor quality properties are altered to acceptable standards, the chamber is suggesting that the government should enter into agreements with the private sector to utilise vacant buildings for social housing purposes.

The chamber is also recommending a review in the conditions surrounding the status of ‘special designated areas’ and a fine-tuning of capital gains tax.

Mr Borg said: “Above-all, short-term business and economic objectives should not come at the expense of environmental concerns.

“This will ensure a healthy balance between present and longer-term prospects for the sector and the Maltese environment in general.”

In the coming days, the chamber will be releasing the full data emerging from its perceptions and expectations surveys, which it conducts in conjunction with PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Written by Herman Grech – Times of Malta

For real estate in Malta you may contact one of the RE/MAX offices by going to www.remax-malta.com . 

 

 

Tags: real estate malta, real estate industry news, property in malta, prices, News, converted house, - Malta