On October 23, Minsk hosted the first RE: real estate market congress in Belarus. The forum brought together the largest real estate agencies in Belarus and Russia, the best experts and specialists in the market, representatives of one of the top developers in Kaliningrad, eminent coaches and the best entrepreneurs. The experts shared the latest developments in the field of construction and sales based on the example of the unique Happy City eco-neighborhood in Kaliningrad, and also signed a cooperation agreement between the associations of the two countries. Read about this and other results of the conference in the article.

«Neither the pandemic nor the lockdown have stopped the market, and this Congress is proof of that»

The welcoming remarks for the event were made by:

  • the founder of the international platform Realting.com, LLC «„RealtBy“» and «„RealtyProTechnology“», LLC, Alexander Martynenko; 
  • the director of the international real estate platform Realting.com, Alena Martynenko; 
  • the chairman of the Board of the Belarusian Association «Real Estate», Anatoly Zvezdin;
  • the chairman of the Supreme Coordinating Council of the Republican Confederation of Entrepreneurship, Andrey Kopytok.

— Our first real estate market congress in Minsk was organized following the example of the congresses of the Russian Guild of Realtors and RE: Congresses of «„Russian Europe“», which were held in Kaliningrad. We plan to expand on this experience and hold congresses every year, inviting partners from other countries, — emphasized Alexander Martynenko. — All technologies that will be announced here are aimed at bringing together realtors and developers from different countries and establishing international cooperation. 

— It is really important when such conferences happen in our country. I am sure that the guests of the forum will get more than a few contracts out of it, as well as some ideas to develop our economic potential. And real estate in Belarus will grow in all directions. — said Andrey Kopytok.

— Neither the pandemic nor the lockdown have stopped the market, and this congress is proof of that, — Alena Martynenko ensures. -The market has gone further and begun to develop more actively. The events of the past two years have triggered a much faster development in technologies. During the pandemic, the share of transactions concluded online has grown 5 times. In this regard, the openness of the whole world becomes obvious — the real estate market has no borders anymore. And on the Realting.com platform, we plan to unite real estate associations from all over the world. With the help of new technologies, we will connect developers and real estate agencies, help buyers find their desired property anywhere in the world. And now this work is bearing fruit — we are receiving applications for the purchase of real estate from all over the world, and the numbers grow each day.

Anatoly Zvezdin once again noted the importance of teamwork between realtors and developers to achieve the best result.

— The basis of our business is communication. If we know how to communicate correctly, then we will achieve the desired results.

«We are taking on the next height and building a new concept of lifestyle» — said Viktor Ivanyuk about the eco-neighborhood «Russian Europe»

The head of the «Russian Europe» project, Viktor Ivanyuk, presented the project of the Happy City residential complex and emphasized that Kaliningrad is the best city for investments.

— Kaliningrad is a stunningly beautiful city in the center of Europe that I really love and appreciate. That is why I want to make the city special, which means that only truly unique and well thought out projects should be developed in it. These are the projects that AvangardInvestProject is building.

Our construction company has already built the Tsvetnoy Bulvar residential complex, which has no analogues in Kaliningrad, and now we are taking the next height and building a real city within the city — the Happy City residential complex. We want to create a new concept of lifestyle, our own world with the introduction of the latest technologies and developments. Here are just a few examples: the best heat and sound insulation in the inter-apartment space thanks to the «floating» floor, smart space planning, the ability to equip a sauna in each apartment, a panoramic elevator in the house, a private space for meetings or negotiations on the territory complex, plus a fireplace area and a barbecue area, as well as 20 hectares of courtyard area without cars. In addition, the houses do not have balconies — we have excluded them as a class. Instead, each apartment has a terrace and each roof is exploited.

In total, six residential complexes, kindergartens, schools and clinics will be built in the eco-neighborhood. More details about the Happy City RC can be found here.

Since January, it has been possible to buy an apartment in the first residential complex, which is called «„Address of Happiness“». Today, more than a third of apartments have already been sold, and now the cost of a square meter there starts at $1530. 

You can fill out an application for the purchase of an apartment here.

What is the pre-sale auction method for new buildings?

At the forum, for the first time, the method of pre-sales auctions of new buildings was announced — it is the latest technology for financing a project when its success is predicted from the very design stage. The bottom line is that the interested buyer must put down 10% of the apartment’s value into a personal deposit account at the bank — this is project financing, which guarantees the bank to issue a loan for the construction of the entire project. 

Viktor Ivanyuk emphasized that the power of sales is in the unification of realtors and developers.

— We have developed an incentive system that works for both developer managers and realtors. At the same time, we take into account not only real estate agencies as a whole, but also individual realtors, if they work individually. According to our system, we pay 3% of the cost of the sold apartment if the client was brought in by a real estate agency, and 1.5% if the buyer came from an individual realtor.

Apartments are sold through the auction system. And the realtor has the right to book himself the exclusive right to sell an apartment within a month — including through the special IRISKA program, which we have implemented in our CRM system.

What is IRISKA for realtors and how does it work?

IRISKA stands for Individual Referral Interactive Link of a Qualified Agent (agency) in the original Russian. This is an individual link for each realtor, which will allow each individual buyer to be assigned to them. The director of the «Prestige» company and co-founder of ProTechnology Andrey Varinichenko told us how it works.  

— Today there is a big problem with the implementation of the latest sales technologies in the Belarusian real estate market. Practice shows that developers often organize their own sales departments, practically excluding realtors as a class. In the best case, in our country there are 15-20 agencies that work with developers, and in this I see the main problem in the system of sales of new buildings, — said Andrey Varinichenko. — That is why we have created IRISKA, which allows us to unite developers and realtors to achieve the best results possible.

The essence of IRISKA is that the realtor sends their client a referral link and the client thus registers in the CRM sales program through the office of this realtor. Any further movement of the client through the properties will be monitored in the program, and all information will be sent to the realtor directly. Thus, the real estate market specialist is completely protected from any manipulation with the buyer — no more «poaching» or «„sweet“» discounts behind the realtor’s back. 

The Russian Guild of Realtors and BelAN signed a cooperation agreement

An important event was the signing of a cooperation agreement between the Belarusian Association «Real Estate» (BelAN) and the Russian Guild of Realtors (RGR).

This agreement will serve as the basis for further strengthening relations between RGR and BelAN, sharing experience between colleagues from Russia and Belarus, increasing the number of partner sales between professionals in both real estate markets, increasing safe and profitable transactions between residents of our countries.

— The Russian Guild of Realtors and BelAN are signing an agreement according to which they can transfer their clients to one another, exchange information, work on joint projects according to the model of corporate contracts, — said Igor Gorsky, President of the Russian Guild of Realtors.

Anatoly Zvezdin highlighted the importance of partner sales in the work of realtors around the world:

— I am glad that any Belarusian real estate agencies will be able to participate in partner sales with the Russian Federation using the Realting.com platform.

In addition, the Belarusian company «Partner for All» and the group of companies «Russian Europe» signed a cooperation agreement, which also became a landmark event for the Belarusian real estate market. 

The Realting.com team would like to thank its sponsors, media partners, and all speakers, coaches and guests of the congress for participating in the forum. And also expresses its special thanks to the Republican Confederation of Entrepreneurship and personally to Andrey Valerievich Kopytk for his support and good will towards the Congress.

Organizers:

The international real estate platform REALTING
Realty Pro Technology

With the support of:

The Belarusian Association «Real Estate»
The Russian Guild of Realtors