By Heino Molls
It is an irrefutable fact that there is no better country to live in than Canada. North America is the most highly sought after destination in the world for people who want to leave their country and immigrate to another. I have beaten that drum so many times that even my friends are tired of hearing it. And I mean both of them.
So what? Well it means everything.
It means that this is the country where it all matters the most. This is the place that sets the example of stewardship for the world. We are the ones who set the bar for conduct toward the environment and the way we treat each other in all things we do. We are the ones who are responsible to show the world how to live together. If none of that was true, then all these people would not want to immigrate here.
Do people want to immigrate here because Canada is the biggest country in the world? No. Russia is bigger. There sure is no line-up to immigrate there. Collectively the countries of Africa are bigger too, but nobody I know is desperate to live there either. As for Europe and its high degree of development, it does not even come close to the level of desire there is world wide to live in Canada and North America.
In fact there are a lot of countries that are losing population.
Stop for a moment and look it up for yourself. Google “population decline” or look it up on Wikipedia. Here is a partial list of countries where population is declining according to reports from the United Nations: Japan, Russia, Ukraine, Estonia, Hungary and Italy. Countries rapidly approaching population decline include: Greece, Spain, Iceland, Denmark, Finland and Austria. There are plenty of others. The point is that as these populations decline, hundreds of thousands of people are clamouring to get into Canada and North America.
What does that have to do with real estate? Well I’m thinking a great deal. There was a piece in the media recently about how immigrants are driving housing demand. If you didn’t catch it in the mainstream press, surely you saw it in REM. You can look that up too. Go ahead and check it out for yourself.
There is a demand for home ownership in this country that runs right across the board from coast to coast. It is a demand that will continue to flow into our country for years to come.
Today property buyers are far more educated, substantially more sophisticated and far more aware of the elements of home buying and selling than ever before. They can look at Realtor.ca and see properties they would like to buy before they talk to a Realtor.
That does not mean that the buyers and sellers of today believe they can traverse the critical path necessary to complete a real estate transaction on their own. It means that they are now smart enough to respect and understand the expertise that a good Realtor brings to the table, just like they expect that you are now smart enough to respect their expertise in their profession, whatever it may be.
Make no mistake, to be a good Realtor today means you must possess that expertise. You must have the communication and information systems that are the delivery tools of the trade. You must always upgrade and stay aware of what’s new in the industry. And by far the most important element you can have is a good reputation. Integrity is the hardest piece of the sales puzzle that a good Realtor must deliver.
The only other task a Realtor needs to achieve success today is well-thought-out promotion and marketing.
The real estate profession continues to be one that does not require a prohibitive investment of money to enter compared to the rewards that can be achieved in a reasonably short period of time.
Oh, to be a Realtor today. Do you already have your license? Then you are way ahead of everybody else already. Success is within your grasp.
Because you live in the best country in the world, you have a customer base that is growing. All you have to do is truly be good at what you do. How lucky you are.
Heino Molls is publisher of REM. Email [email protected].
