Chicago is a global city. Our residents represent countries from around the world and foreign investors continue to invest in our real estate market. Therefore, it’s beneficial for us to build strong relationships overseas.
For the past four years, CAR has served as the NAR Ambassador Association to Thailand, meaning we work with Thailand’s real estate associations (Thailand Real Estate Broker Association, Real Estate Information Center and Real Estate Sales & Marketing Association) to share best practices, ideas and solutions and develop strong partnerships with association leadership, members, government officials and real estate practitioners.
In July, just shy of thirty Chicago REALTORS® flew with us to Bangkok. We visited the Government Housing Bank and met with its chairman, toured one of the country’s largest and newest enclosed malls and spoke with representatives of Bangkok, Malaysia, Singapore and Cambodia, who gave our REALTORS® an inside look at the commercial and residential markets in those countries.
Here’s what we took away from the trip:
EDUCATION
In Thailand, we learned that production and tourism make Thailand a great place to invest. We also NewMemberAppOct2019DA learned about the wide range of income diversity in the luxury home segment, and that office space is trading at comparable rates to Chicago. You now have almost 30 colleagues who can teach you about Thai real estate and the opportunities available to you and your clients.
Additionally, NAR was hosting a Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS) certification while we were in Thailand, which gave REALTORS® like Christopher Edwards, Redfin, the opportunity to gain his certification and expand his knowledge further.. “I couldn’t think of a better time to just go for it,” he said. “You get a better understanding of what it means to have the CIPS designation when you’re actually in a different country, experiencing a different culture and real estate market.”
AN EXPANDED NETWORK
It’s just as important to network with foreign colleagues as it is with our peers right here in Chicago. In Thailand, we built relationships with trusted investors and real estate practitioners. This opens up new business opportunities and helps us better serve clients who are either from southeast Asia or looking to do business in the region.
NEW RESOURCES
Since the trip, the CAR Global Real Estate Council has been working on developing a comprehensive “how-to” guide, which will help Chicago REALTORS® interested in conducting business in Thailand and the surrounding region. The guide will outline the region’s real estate market and shine a light on cultural nuances, customs and business etiquette.
THE IMPORTANCE OF SELLING CHICAGO
While we know why Chicago is a wonderful place to call home and build a business, we want to make sure we’re telling the world our story. The trade mission gave us an opportunity to see how other countries view Chicago and where there may be hesitancy in doing business in our city, and we’re working to develop resources to better help foreign investors and practitioners navigate our local real estate market.
CAR looks forward to nurturing our relationship with Thailand to bring more business to our city, as well as help more Chicago REALTORS® open the doors to their global business opportunities. We look forward to future trade missions and always encourage you to explore the world — real estate is everywhere!
Special thanks to NAR Ambassador to Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore Paul Xumsai, Century 21 S.G.R., Inc., and NAR Regional Coordinator Nancy Suvarnamani, Century 21 S.G.R., Inc., who served as experts throughout our trade mission.