HALF A CENTURY OF EXCELLENCE
The San Pedro de Alcántara branch of the Century 21 global network, which is run under the name CENTURY 21 Blue by Pamela and Nicolas Chouamier, was created with the aim of upholding Century 21’s prestigious reputation by recruiting a team of dynamic multicultural advisors and offering premium services in the purchase, sale and rental of real estate in Marbella, Benahavís, Estepona and its surroundings.
Founded in the United States in 1971 by Arte Bartlett and Marsh Fisher, Century 21 was created as a network of franchisees under the same corporate image and provided training to real estate agents who now serve as a benchmark for quality for the sector. 50 years later, Century 21 is the largest real estate brokerage network in the world and has more than 10,000 offices, over 140,000 real estate consultants and a presence in a total of 88 countries.
Can you share a little of your background?
We are Costa del Sol lovers and have been fortunate to enjoy this area for the past 20 years. We met when we were both studying business here in Spain. Prior to moving here, we lived in Paris, London and Geneva.
I (Pamela) have covered various sectors and my previous role was in executive search, whereas Nicolas has been in the banking industry for the past 17 years and was previously a private banker in Geneva. We have always had an entrepreneurial spirit and felt that joining the Century 21 family and opening our own agency in Marbella would be a great step to convey our love for this exceptional location and the sector.
Why did you choose the Century 21 network?
Century 21 is known for the quality of their services as it offers a rigorous training system recognised as one of the best and most comprehensive in the world. When entering the network, agents and beginners alike must complete in-house training as they learn about the industry whilst being provided the essential tools and skills to become a successful real estate agent.
Another reason for joining the Century 21 family was that we were impressed by its culture where all the real estate agencies around the world create a unique network of collaboration.
As part of a worldwide real estate operation with 50 years of experience and customer satisfaction, what do you see as the biggest innovation in property sales in the last 50 years?
Although it took a while for the real estate sector to catch up to the digital transformation, PropTech is now thriving and shifting the way we buy, sell, and interact with properties. Big data is another innovation, especially amongst bigger agencies with access to more data and insight. The real estate and property management industries are uniquely positioned to benefit from big data, therefore the more data we have, the more data-driven decisions we can make. Moving forward, virtual and augmented reality will make the virtual experience of buying a home even more exciting and accessible, where realtors can create online tours of properties that potential buyers can attend from the comfort of their own homes and buyers who are overseas can also virtually tour properties they cannot physically visit.
With this worldwide network do you tend to get people buying properties from you in other areas or only locally?
Century 21 Blue’s clients primarily buy local properties, yet we also have the opportunity to serve clients in more than 80 countries and collaborate within a network of 10.000 agencies worldwide, which is an advantage of belonging to a truly international real estate network. Foreigners all around the world who want to sell their property here in the Costa del Sol can contact us, and we can provide the highest level of service regardless of the distance.
How would you describe the current real estate market in Marbella in terms of trends, challenges and opportunities?
Volumes have heavily declined since Marbella’s real estate market was strongly affected by the pandemic last year. On a positive note, we have recently witnessed a comeback in our sector as the global situation gradually improves. We believe that the market is fairly priced and has the potential to attract a tremendous amount of interest on an international scale.
The CENTURY 21 brand serves as an international industry leader that is continuously innovating. How do you aim to elevate the consumer and agent experience moving forward?
From an operational standpoint, our professionalism is fundamental to us, and we strive to provide the highest level of service to our clients by following our strict internal protocol. We ensure that elements such as documentation, permission from all owners of the properties and other vital details are managed correctly, with virtual contracts and digital signatures available to sign documents overseas.
Century 21 has the most innovative real estate software on the market, our mobile app incorporates Artificial Intelligence and has revolutionised the process of searching, buying, or selling a home by transforming the entire real estate transaction process into a secure and transparent experience.
Virtual open house tours began during the pandemic when people were wary about visiting homes and property owners did not want their homes being open to many people at a time. This 360-degree immersive experience has allowed the consumer and agent experience to be elevated to a new level, as we can show a house to thousands of people in the safest way possible and provide the option for clients to interact with agents in real time.
What do you consider the three main qualities needed to be a successful real estate agent in this multinational and eclectic marketplace?
We must be empathetic and put ourselves in our client’s shoes and build deep and trustworthy relationships with them as we help sell, buy and rent their dream home. Professionalism is crucial, we always aim to provide our clients with the best service and make the process as smooth as possible while mitigating potential operational and legal risk. We also must provide constant feedback and a high level of communication to the client. Relentlessness is another characteristic that is very important, and those who consistently provide a premium level of service and are dedicated to the client’s wants and needs make a successful real estate agent.
What type of team culture do you promote? Is it a collaborative environment or does everyone work independently of each other?
We provide a collaborative environment, as we harness the different strengths and skills of our real estate agents and collaborate with each other as well as other players in the market. Although clients have one point of contact in our agency, there is also a full team working and facilitating the process behind the scenes and everyone has the client’s best interest at heart.
Your reputation as a fully inclusive team being able to converse in every language certainly sets you apart. What nationalities are currently underpinning the Marbella real estate sector and what type of properties are they looking for?
Our team is very international, we currently speak more than 8 languages fluently however we are always open to integrating people from different nationalities and backgrounds.
In the Costa de Sol, the Spanish are evidently very prominent, and the English continue to be well represented in this sector, followed by Swedish, French and Belgian clients. All in all, Marbella remains a very multicultural environment and a home to many different nationalities. Due to events that have dramatically shifted people’s lifestyles, clients are now looking to buy bigger properties than before, with vast open outer spaces.
After half a century, the success of the Century 21 network is based on the integral understanding of the needs of the local market to guarantee the highest quality of service to customers. With the help of an international and professional sales team combined with a portfolio of properties adapted to the demand of the local market, Century 21 has established itself as a brand oriented to global strategy and has proven to be successful in gaining customer trust by demonstrating their commitment to offering the best real estate brokerage services worldwide.