A new approach to property sales and rentals in Sandton is proving the value of collaboration as the FIRZT Property Group now fields a 24-member team working collectively across all of the area’s major residential suburbs.
“This team initiative is based on a simple premise: When buyers are looking for a home in Sandton, they are usually not interested in just one suburb,” says FIRZT MD Stephen Whitcombe. “Their search could include large areas like Bryanston, Morningside and Woodmead, for example, or they might be focused on Hyde Park, Illovo and Sandhurst, but most will be delighted if an expert is able to introduce them to property that exactly matches their needs in another suburb such as Parkmore, Benmore, River Club, or Wendywood, perhaps, that they might not even have thought of.
“So rather than having our Sandton agents operate individually within specific suburb ‘silos’, we’ve created a network in which they can share their knowledge, buyer enquiries and listings to create a more comprehensive and efficient service for home sellers and buyers as well as landlords and tenants.”
The concept turns the traditional estate agency model on its head in several important respects, he says. Instead of a property effectively being the responsibility of a single agent and marketed primarily to that agent’s database, the wider FIRZT Sandton team can work together to identify potential buyers and promote suitable properties.
“For sellers and landlords, it means that their property has the potential to gain exposure to a much broader network of prospective purchasers or tenants. An agent who knows that a particular buyer is currently looking for a home in Morningside, for example, may be able to introduce that buyer to a suitable property in Bryanston or River Club through a colleague in the team.
“Similarly, a buyer who approaches a FIRZT agent looking for a property in one Sandton suburb does not necessarily have to start their search again if their requirements change. The agent can draw on their colleagues’ knowledge of neighbouring suburbs and help the buyer to explore a wider selection of properties through the same network.”
Whitcombe says this type of team effort is particularly relevant in Sandton, where the distinctions between suburbs can become less important to buyers or tenants once they have identified their budget, lifestyle requirements, security, retail and school preferences and any need to be close to a commercial centre or health facility.
“A family may initially focus on Bryanston because of its schools and family lifestyle, for example, but then discover that a property in Morningside or River Club offers them a better specific combination of location, security and value. A professional working in Sandton’s business district may consider Illovo, Benmore or Atholl as well as Sandown, while a buyer seeking a larger property may broaden their search to Hurlingham or Gallo Manor.”
“And the new FIRZT team structure is designed to ensure that an agent's role is not simply to sell or let what he or she has listed, but to help the buyer or tenant find exactly the right property, even when that property falls outside the agent’s immediate area of expertise.”
At the same time, however, the model retains the value of local knowledge. Agents who have built up specialist expertise and relationships in particular suburbs continue to bring that knowledge to the table, but can now combine it with the expertise of colleagues operating elsewhere in Sandton, he says.
“This creates what FIRZT believes is a very powerful proposition: Specialist local knowledge backed by an area-wide sales network, to ensure that the right property reaches the right buyer as quickly as possible. Instead of relying on one agent’s contacts, the property can potentially be matched with buyers known to 23 other agents working within the same market and same group, so there is no conflict of interest or risk to the seller.”
Whitcombe notes that the initiative reflects FIRZT’s focus on making the property transaction more efficient while delivering greater value to both buyers and sellers. “We believe that by working together rather than operating in isolation, our agents can offer clients a deeper level of market knowledge and access to a much wider pool of opportunities
“The formation of this team also reflects a broader evolution in the estate agency industry, where collaboration, technology and access to comprehensive market information are increasingly important to the way consumers buy and sell property. For us, though, the underlying philosophy is that the more effectively agents work together, the more effectively they can serve their clients.”
