Burpengary real estate principal Kathy Sweeney heads to Thailand next month with the challenging task of explaining the value in having property management as part of a real estate business to a room full of broker owners unfamiliar with the concept.
Owner of the award winning RE/MAX Living business, with offices in Burpengary and Woodford, Kathy is a recognised market leader in property management and sales services, a sought-after industry contributor and commentator, and member of the global RE/MAX Hall of Fame.
RE/MAX Australia Managing Director, Joel Davoren, said RE/MAX Living has achieved consistent organic and strategic business growth over the past five years.
“Kathy is an emergent business leader in our network and is already a prestigious ‘Titan Club’ property management service provider.”
Cheryl Luster, Director of Global Development, RE/MAX LLC, approached Kathy when the global company and one of the leading real estate franchisors worldwide was putting the program together for the 2023 RE/MAX Asia Pacific Convention.
Kathy said, “When I took Cheryl through the history of my property management business and what it has generated for and contributed to my overall business over the past five years, she was amazed and hadn’t realised the potential.
“There’s not a lot of property management outside of Australia and New Zealand, not in the sense that we know it anyway, and she believed broker owners attending the Convention would benefit from hearing from me.”
Nineteen regions currently make up the RE/MAX Asis Pacific network. They are Australia, New Zealand, China, Fiji, Guam, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Palau, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Uzbekistan.
Kathys says planning her presentation caused her to put herself in another’s shoes.
“It’s a tricky subject, talking property management to real estate business owners when I’m potentially explaining something that they may know very little about.
“I’m coming from the starting point of where I am physically – Burpengary and Woodford – and I’ll talk about my business over the past five years through real facts and figures.
“I think what will surprise – and get their attention – is that the property management business actually generates sales for my agents, and this might be a real incentive to look at incorporating property management into their businesses.
“They are probably already aware that a rent roll can be an asset when they sell their business, but I won’t take that for granted. They will hear the value of property management in generating a reliable income stream that is relatively insulated from market cycles.
“Property management is a driver of both profitability and stability in a real estate business but I’m showing them that it can be much more than that.
“I hope their take-away from my session is that property management is linked to sales, if they want to control the sales market, they should aim to control the rental market.
“In any market where property investors play a large role, there is a close relationship between property management and sales volumes, and we are serving the same client through both parts of the business.”
Kathy will share her lean toward a portfolio-based property management operation over a task-based one.
“I run a portfolio-based property management department, at around 120 managements per property manager, because I believe a portfolio-base breeds better personal relationships and better accountability.
“In my business, there is a high focus on client experiences, where I call myself ‘heavy-handed’ meaning I’m heavily personally involved.”
Kathy says maintaining the personal relationship is so critical that she is currently in the process of phoning every property owner associated with RE/MAX Living’s 700 managements.
One element Kathy has sured up is what to do about broker owners who want to know more.
“I’ll be referring them to my own business coach, Kylie Walsh, who specialises in customer experiences that drive business efficiencies, profit and culture and assisting real estate business owners to create market share growth and increase revenue.”
Kathy had always intended going to Asia Pacific Convention this year, the first to be held post-COVID. Previous events have been hosted by Singapore, Thailand, Australia, South Korea and India.
“Now I’m both excited about being there and presenting as part of an amazing program of speakers, and I’m very proud too,” said Kathy.
More than 250 are expected to attend the convention from September 10 to 12 at the Marriott Marquis in Bangkok, Thailand.
Contact for media:
Kathy Sweeney, Broker Owner, RE/MAX Living – M. 0410 421 430
Lyn Cox, Public Relations, RE/MAX Australia M. +61 418 793 096
About RE/MAX: From a single office that opened in 1973 in Denver, Colorado, RE/MAX® has grown into a global real estate network with over 140,000 agents in more than 110 countries and territories. Its entrepreneurial culture affords its agents and franchisees the flexibility to operate their businesses with great independence.
