Read on for industry insights from Peter Rabitz, director of Wetag International, one of LeadingRE’s Swiss members.

What steps are you taking, or would you like to take, to increase your lead generation and conversion, and how are you managing online (e-leads) and offline (broker, relocation referrals) in terms of personnel and organization?

SEO, PPC and PR will be the key factors of our lead generation. We also started to use Propopoly which is happening to be a great success. Editorials are another issue we are looking into, but due to our company size and clientele, it’s quite hard to get good editorials since we have to be very discreet with our most popular and elite listings.

How do you expect to use online social networking as a primary tool of generating new and repeat business?

We don’t think social networking will increase the number of qualified buyers, but we use it as a meeting platform of like-minded people and business partners, to stay in touch or catch up and to demonstrate our credibility by providing good information about our business, but we don’t go crazy about social networking. One major point is that our agents are on payroll and don’t really have to promote themselves heavily like in the U.S. Another reason is that the Europeans, especially older generations, are not as experienced as others in terms of web 2.0.

What gaps do you see between your current sales agents’ technology capabilities and the typical customers you will be working with this year?

If anything, our sales agents might even be more tech-savvy than the average client.

What have been the best cost-saving measures you have taken?

We are focusing more on our key market which is the high-end luxury market where we are the leader in our region and declining business that doesn’t fit our niche, for greater efficiency.

What skills will the real estate agent of the future require? The real estate manager?

We do not differentiate between agents and managers. All will have to provide profound knowledge as well general skills. Everyone has to be tech-savvy in the way that they handle day-to-day business. Furthermore, since we are a multilingual region, all of us need to be multilingual, besides being open minded, communicative, and positive thinking.

Where is your housing market in terms of “the bottom,” what do you forecast for 2009 and why? How are you preparing for it?

The turbulent financial markets around the world have had and will continue to have an impact on global real estate markets. While the Swiss real estate market is not immune to this financial turmoil, the effects so far have not caused any dramatic price slumps that are occurring in some neighbouring countries. According to a recent survey done by Wuest & Partner, the desire to own your own home continues to be a priority and the age-old maxim of location, location, location will continue to be the key in determining demand and price stability. Building is down somewhat, so as that stock is absorbed, we believe there will be a supply shortage in two to three years. Currently, buyers are holding back and don’t want to decide and sellers are still adjusting to the changing market.

What will the physical real estate office of the future look like?

Nicely furnished and well-set office environment, offering privacy to our clients when they visit. Different from the U.S., as there will still be offices since clients like to come to the office to discuss property, legal and financial aspects.

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