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Published by the CIPS Network of the National Association of REALTORS®
Second Quarter 2004
The Power of Many
By Maire Rosol, CIPS, CRS, e-PRO, GRI
Most of us have gotten business by marketing ourselves as international specialists. We position ourselves in our local markets as unique brokers and sales associates-professionals with specific training and experience in helping clients buy or sell foreign property, one of the few in the market with our global skills. We might believe that our small numbers-our uniqueness-is good for business. After all, less competition means more business, right?
Actually, I'd argue that in the longer view, international real estate as a very small niche market is bad for business because the larger, solely domestic segment of our profession is blind to the global issues affecting local markets. I'd say that what's good for us, and for the industry as a whole, would be for all real estate professionals to see their local business with a more global eye. Our entire profession would be more sensitive to actions that seem productive from a domestic viewpoint that indirectly hurt the marketplace.
Globalization Affects All
In my last column (Global Perspectives, First Quarter 2004), I wrote about the power of one-the ability of a single voice to make a difference in the world. I called upon you to be an advocate and I continue to encourage your advocacy on specific global market issues like the one that Peter Schaefer describes in this issue's cover story. But for the purpose of this commentary, I want to focus on a broader issue: The development of a common global vision for all real estate professionals, and the subsequent expansion of the international niche market.
Real estate markets benefit from foreign investors and buyers, and are hurt by domestic policies that inhibit foreign sources of money from affecting the market. The pros and cons of globalization are much debated, but no one denies that global events have an effect on us locally, whether in the value of our currency, in immigration laws, or in job creation/outsourcing.
One example of this is detailed in a new Issue Paper from the Urban Land Institute and Columbia University's Paul Milstein Center for Real Estate, "The New Exports: Office Jobs."i The paper states that a cumulative total of 3.3 million knowledge-based jobs are expected to leave the U.S. by 2015. It estimates that the resulting decrease in occupied inventory in U.S. office buildings will total 580 billion square feet. Although it expects the vibrancy of the U.S. economy to eventually create new knowledge-based jobs, the study predicts that, in the forecasted near-term circumstances, real rents are unlikely to rise, the cost of tenant improvements and concessions are unlikely to fall, and the effect on the value of commercial office buildings will be negative in the next 11 years.
Widen Your Global Eye
My point is this: our industry is not isolated from global influences, and those influences are not always direct or easily seen. Our best business strategy is to embrace global influences, to seek to understand them, and to take positions on specific local and national matters as informed global thinkers.
When have you last attended a real estate event sponsored by a foreign organization? It's an opportunity talk to people about the issues of the day and learn how their views may differ from yours and why-a great way to expose your business to new markets, and learn a different way of seeing things.
Involve yourself in organizations that have transnational interests-a Sister Cities program, a Council on Foreign Relations, a World Trade Center, or a civic group with an international component, such as Rotary International. Your area chamber of commerce or business association can guide you to these groups. Check out your city's Web site-a few minutes online can unearth many outreach opportunities.
If your time is limited, pick up a newspaper targeting a specific ethnic group. Read the Op-Ed pages. Use the Internet to scan news stories from leading foreign newspapers about national events. Most world cities have an online newspaper in English-the language of global business. Internet chat rooms can be a place to monitor public opinion. Look for groups that are global in nature. Will endeavoring to understand non-domestic points of view change your thinking on issues? Maybe. Maybe not. But regular exposure to other national perspectives will broaden your worldview.
Open Some Minds
Most of you are already global thinkers. The challenge I bring to you is to transform the view of your colleagues. Invite a domestically-focused broker to your next cultural outing. You don't even have to reveal your underlying purpose-make it networking or a social activity. Use the opportunity to raise his or her level of global awareness. Clip and share, or e-mail selected news articles that challenge conventional domestic thinking. Spend 10 minutes at a sales meeting discussing how diverse perspectives on local issues can affect the market.
If you've been in the business a long time, your challenge may be great. Begin with new practitioners who are eager to learn. In the U.S., you can organize "Expand Your Market" or "At Home with Diversity" training programs through your firm or your local association. Ask every local CIPS to bring at least five brokers/agents who might benefit from a global eye. Ask your local association to add a segment on global business opportunities to its a new member orientation. Get people thinking about local business with a global perspective!
I believe we can move international real estate from a specialty niche into the main stream, which is good for our industry. Those who see beyond the immediate domestic nature of things can make more informed business decisions, tap into new business opportunities, and enhance their standing in the local market. More competition? Yes, but as a global thinker, you know that expanding the worldview within our industry moves the international segment out of a narrow niche market into the mainstream. And, what's good for the industry is good for you!
i Download a copy of the full report at http://research.uli.org/Content/Reports/PolicyPapers/IPS_Lachman.pdf
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