MBR_Issue_29 -March 2017 ALL

COVER STORY OF THE MONTH
Malta Business Review
Background
RE/MAX LLC. was founded in 1973 in
Denver, Colorado in the USA by Dave and
Gail Liniger. RE/MAX is world’s largest real
estate operator, with presence in over 100
countries, with over 7000 offices opened
accommodating 110, 000 plus agents . In
2004 Malta was the 45th country to join the
worldwide brand and today has 23 opened
offices and over 350 sales and letting
associates covering Malta and Gozo.
Over their 13 years with the company, Kevin
and Jeffrey have received the “European
Award of Excellence” and “European Region
of the Year” whilst they have also received
awards for their office achievements. The
RE/MAX Malta CEO and COO respectively
met with MBR publications at their new RE/
MAX Headquarters in Portomaso Marina to
discuss this milestone:
MBR: RE/MAX Malta affiliates have
recently scooped various prestigious
awards at the international convention
Las Vegas, USA. What is the significance
behind this achievement?
KB: One of the big significance for us
is that winning these awards was done
on merit and won on accomplishments
reached by our team. It is not easy to win
such awards. Actually, we finally won one
of the award categories, namely “Global
Region of the Year” after two years being
nominated. To be honest with you we had
our disappointments as well, where we
thought we were going to win an award
and we did not. However, this year has
secured the fact that we won it and it is
not just based on commissions ; it has been
a momentous year for us, culminating in
these awards.
MBR: What has contributed to this
meaningful achievement?
KB: : We won these awards because of what
is happening and what RE/MAX is doing in
Malta. Besides our growth in operations,
per capita income and community service,
RE/MAX LLC also take note of the valuable
input that we put into the European and
Global markets through assisting other
regions. This year I shall be speaking at
three of the other regional conventions. I
just delivered a presentation in London, I
shall be speaking at the Greece Convention
and last year spoke in Romania. Most likely
I shall be speaking in the Spanish and Italian
Conventions, and also at the RE/MAX Europe
Regional Owners meeting, taking place in
Malta next May. These involvements have
a significant contribution towards reaching
such milestones.
MBR: What can you tell us about the
RE/MAX delegation that went up to Las
Vegas?
JB: The RE/MAX Malta delegation
consisted of fifteen team members. We
invite any agent who wants to make the
trip, registering them and most of these
agents are the ones who have won awards
and have been singled out for outstanding
achievement. The most noteworthy of
these has been Cherton Caruana. She
has won the Global Award for most
transactions done by an individual agent.
That is a top accolade, although it is not
the first time we had agents win a top
global award, albeit it is remarkable. Malta
is a small nation, yet it’s heaving up quite a
punch In the Real Estate biosphere and in
the RE/MAX world we were recognised on
a global stage.
MBR: How many delegates does this
event attract, and how does it feel for a
team of fifteen people?
KB: 7,000 world-wide delegates and over
the thirteen years that we have been
participating we are neither the quietest,
nor the shiest of delegates. Everybody
knows us. The biggest thing that I enjoy
is that everybody is very happy for us.
There is no animosity and people share
your joy, even to the point of stopping,
congratulating and hugging us for our
achievements. All RE/MAX associates
offer a toast and its great fun. Obviously,
it is an outstanding achievement that no
other real estate company in Malta has
ever managed to achieve!
Malta is a small nation, yet it’s
heaving up quite a punch in
the Real Estate biosphere and
in the RE/MAX world we were
recognised on a global stage
JB: Our per-capita earning rates are
the highest. Our initiatives from a
community point of view are well known.
Our strategy and input throughout the
European regions has been acclaimed and
established to the point that other foreign
regional owners come down to see how
we operate. We always love to share our
ideas and also learn from other regions all
the time.
MBR: How do you recognise and appraise
your team of achievers?
KB: Firstly, being taken to Las Vegas is
already a huge acknowledgement to the
team. Within our group we try to run and
manage this business as a family. One
thing for certain is that from the beginner,
to the smallest achiever, up to the biggest
achiever; we treat them all equal. We are
always listening to people and encouraging
them.
MBR: In 2016 you registered another
record year with an overall turnover
of €600M. What are the key factors
attributing to this and what is the
winning strategy here?
KB: Our main attributes to this is training
our agents to understand what they need
to do, setting up the right management
structures, following up and being always
involved because every single one of us
is enmeshed in sales on a daily basis, we
all get our hands dirty, we have a great,
great management team, and in which
over the years we have nurtured them
to grow their own businesses. Therefore,
our main attributes to this is that within
RE/MAX you have an opportunity to grow
with the company, you can manage your
own business with the company, and
you can become a leader with RE/MAX,
as everybody is a leader! The property
market is in a so called boom at the
moment, with various different elements
attributing to this boom, where we service
a lot with first-time buyer and cover
the whole market. We are the largest
wherein foreign investors are concerned,
the biggest in buy-to-rent and the reason
why we lead on every single section of
the real estate market boils down to the
fact that we have people focusing on the
Cherton Caruana, Letting Associate, winner of
most transactions as an individual
www.mbrpublications.net
7