Good afternoon Mrs. La Touche-Keller.  Thank you for talking to The Barnacle Newspaper.   

We have come to discuss with you the state of the real estate industry in Grenada. We have discovered that in the last calendar year more than 50 million dollars was generated in real estate. What contribution has Century 21 made towards this achievement?

Good afternoon to you as well.  The first contribution is having an excellent team which helps to achieve the company’s goals. Secondly, it is providing an excellent service to our customers and our clients who we’ve dealt with over the past year, and in most cases over the past four years. We also have very experienced agents who work with us, who guide our clients in terms of purchasing real estate, renting, valuations and property management.  When you come to buy your property, we guide you through the process from start to finish with our knowledge and professionalism.

During the last four years there has seriously been a change in the way real estate is done. Who has set that trend?

Century 21 set the trend.  I’ve been a real estate professional for the past fifteen years, however I’ve owned Century 21 for the past four years, and we have been setting real estate market trends during this time.  When you interviewed me four years ago when I just started the company, I shared my vision with you in terms of what I had for the real estate market.

Within the last four years, I’ve realized that one of the main visions was creating the Century 21 Grenada Market Real Estate Report which had never existed before.

We produced the Report and have done a lot of marketing and promotion locally & Internationally.  We have been very visible, especially on social media making us the most reviewed Real Estate Agency in Grenada online so we’ve gone through all the different ways to make people know that we are here and that we are here to serve and give them the excellent custom service that was missing in the market and was awarded 2015 GCIC Customer Service Excellence Award.

You’ve been in the industry for fifteen years, you’ve owned your business for four years.  What is it that the industry was lacking before you came in that you have been able to introduce?

People wanting to buy real estate in Grenada did not know what the trends were, where to buy, who was buying – nothing like that was available.  The Grenada Real Estate Market Report gives you in-depth market analysis and insights on this.  Secondly, signage, signage, signage.  In real estate, people didn’t know what was for sale.  Yes, you could have gone onto a website, but seeing visual signing and having a face on that sign, let people know who they were dealing with.  That never happened before, and this is one of the ways we have been able to change the image and give that personal feel of dealing with a Century 21 Agent.

The other vision I had was having a real estate website that was user-friendly, up-to-date and where you can find the property easily, get all the information you need on it, including virtual tours and be focused in your search.

The innovative use of social media – posting beautiful property photos, videos, letting people know what was just listed or sold, giving them that personal feel, that we care about them and we care about one the biggest decisions they will ever make by purchasing a property – all of this was lacking.

What are the key components of real estate – its quality of products, quality of projects, especially in the terms of rental aspect of it? Since you came into the market what have you been able to do to ensure that the properties, especially the rental properties, have been able to raise their game to people who put them on the market?

First of all, we advise our clients about the real estate market.  When we go to list a property, we inspect the property and then have a sit down with the owner and to say ‘Look, if you looking for a certain type of market, for instance the SGU market, this is what that market is looking for and this is what you need to do in order to achieve that sort of rental rate per month’.

We give our clients guidance, recommendations and suggestions, and in some cases, we go as far as helping them to achieve that by getting involved with them from starting to finish.  We prepare the leases and help them understand the terms and conditions contained in the leases.   We take quality photos of their properties and suggest to them to stage their property well by removing clutter and personal items.  This guidance and knowledge we provide to our clients ensure that they can achieve high rental rates on their property.

We are seeing the emergence of more and more outfits in the name of real estate.  How important is it for Grenadians and others to see real estate as a business?

It is important that you see real estate as a business.  Like I said, buying a property is one of the biggest decisions anyone will make during their lifetime, and it has to be one that is taken seriously.  You need to get guidance to do so, you make sure that you deal with the professionals who understand the market and can guide you through the process.

For instance, when you are going to buy a piece of land, a real estate professional will guide you in getting a surveyor to confirm the location and size of the lot.  If you’re getting a mortgage, you have to make sure that you’re qualified to buy the property you have selected.

So, there are many steps that need to be taken when purchasing a property and if you’re not guided properly during that process, you could end up in a situation where you buy the wrong lot, or where, after you purchase your home, you realise that there are structural issues which you did not discover because you did not hire an engineer to inspect it.

Your real estate professional should also take the process seriously, so that in the end, you’re happy  and comfortable with your purchase.

In the last calendar year, who has been interested in Grenada’s real estate market?

I am proud to say that 81% of purchases in Grenada’s market has been by Grenadians themselves, whether they are Grenadians living abroad or living in Grenada, as compared to 19% of the real estate purchases which were by international buyers.  This shows that the domestic market is what been supporting Grenada’s real estate.  This includes young Grenadians.

Of that 50 million dollars your industry has recorded, outside of the hotel development, outside of the CBI is Grenadian purchases, a great 31% or 39% is by local purchasers?

Correct.  I’m happy to see that Grenadians are confident in the economy.  They are confident in purchasing real estate in their own country and I think it is a good sign for the country.  Land has been the top category in real estate purchases.

The banks have also contributed to that in terms of offering lower interest rates and 100% financing, which is helpful because a young person might find it difficult to come up with 10% deposit as a down payment to buy property.

There is a notion that seems to be gaining ground that foreigners are buying up all the land you are in the industry.  What have you seen, and do you support this notion?

No, I do not support this notion. I think it is not based on facts, but on people’s perception.  The facts are in the numbers, and we are seeing that the numbers are saying that 81% Grenadians are the ones purchasing. You cannot argue with numbers.

The foreigners, yes, they do come and buy, but they are not buying at the rate of Grenadian purchasers. The CBI projects are where most of the foreigners are going, as you know, so that notion is wrong, and I am here to correct that and to say that most of the properties that are being purchased in Grenada are by Grenadians.

It is also a fact that a great percentage of the real estate business that is done, is done to accommodate SGU students. How have they over the years helped to build that industry, and what role also is the CBI playing in the development of luxury hotels?

Right, so in terms of SGU what we’ve done is to constantly advise our clients about the market, letting them know what the trends are, what people are renting, what the rental rates are, what the students demands in terms of the quality of the product they are looking for and what they’re willing to pay.

We advise them in order for them to be able to rent their properties.  The majority of persons who are building in True Blue are getting loans, and it is important to make sure that the monies borrowed can be repaid from the rent gained.

Being in the industry, we’ve advised a lot of apartment buildings in terms of the amenities and features that they should put into the buildings. As we speak, we are currently working with one building, and we’ve advised them to do renderings, so before the project started, the students could visualize what the space would look like and book it in advance.  So, we have been providing consultancy service to these clients in terms of making their investment a success.  That’s our contribution to the market.

In reference to the CBI aspect, we see that some owners are able to build SGU housing as part of the CBI project. This is a good thing because developers can now build an apartment building for SGU students and put it in the CBI program. In some cases, the student’s parents could purchase one of the units and put the students to stay back in that unit.

I noticed that you also mentioned in your Report that the presence or the development of the hotel industry is helping you gain ground…

Yes. The CBI project offers a lot of luxurious room stock that we would not have or haven’t had over the past years. This attracts a different type of market to come into Grenada, which will  boost the real estate market in terms of increased investment, since the people who come and stay in hotels will see how beautiful Grenada is, and ultimately purchase property here.

Secondly, we have AirBnB, which I’ve spoken about in the Report.  We’re seeing AirBnB having a two-pronged on the market – giving people the opportunity to rent and to get income and giving that budget traveler the opportunity to come to Grenada and see what Grenada is like. The more people coming into Grenada, the more opportunities we have as a country for people to see us and to invest in our beautiful island.

Everything has its balance of course, so I don’t want to sound like I want to sell out Grenada in any way as there are always checks and balances with everything, but, tourism, as you know is one of the pillars of our economy, and I think in terms of development, it will continue to be so.

One of the projects the Ministry of Tourism has embarked upon is the Home Stay Program. How have your organization and the real estate industry in general been able to help support that project?

We have not been able to help to support the home-stay program much because it is run by Grenada Tourism Authority. They have tried to include us, but because of the model, we were not able to work with it or connect well with it. It appears that they are working more with AirBnB.

Most of the development in real estate, one can argue, takes place in the southern part of the island. Have you seen a desire for outside of St. George – decentralization of tourism? Are people asking for facilities in the rural parishes? Are you pushing that? Are people requesting that?

The Grenada  Real Estate Market Report showed that 74% of the transactions taken last year was in the St. George’s area.  When you have such a demand in one area, what starts happening is the market in that area becomes saturated and demand will increase for other areas.  I believe that the next area is St. David’s, since it is more affordable, and it still has the nice views and all the amenities, and it is not far from St. George’s and the Airport.

10% of the real estate transactions took place in that area last year. As I say it is still affordable and it has all the amenities. When people say St. David’s is far, I laugh, because St. David’s is 15 minutes, sometimes even 12 minutes away from St. George’s. If you’ve gone to St. David’s recently, you have supermarkets being opened up close to that area and the increased of gas stations. So, all the amenities that St. George’s already has, St. David’s is starting to have those amenities.

You have been able to build a successful real estate business with a good team. What drives you as a real estate professional to this level of accomplishment?

Passion, and the love of people. I think you cannot be in this business if you don’t have both. That drive to provide a better real estate service. We’re an international company so obviously our standards are high, and being able to maintain and rise above that standard, that also drives me because I always want to know that Century 21 is leading the real estate market – that we’re coming up with the ideas & trends, we’re providing the service and we’re satisfying our customers because that’s the biggest thing – being able to satisfy your customers, and making sure that when a deal is over both parties are happy, and they can go back and say to their friends  ‘use Century21…they care about you, they’ll take care of you’.

To me, that’s what makes me get up every day, and knowing that I can advise a young person to buy property instead of buying a car, looking at the investment and what can be made in 5 years. To me, that’s the happiness. As long as you love what you do and you love to deal with people.

Is real estate in Grenada a male-dominated industry?

You know, that’s a good question. Truly, I don’t think so.  Based on my colleagues in the industry, I see mostly women doing it, and I’ve never asked the question ‘why’. But, even when I have interviews for Rental Associates or Sales Associates, I find more women are coming to the interviews or applying for the jobs. So, I think we women for some reason are out there more and looking to do more.

What separates Century 21 from the others?

Many different things, but for me, I would say it is the love of people. We love what we do and we work very hard at what we do. I have a great team that is united.  We are like a family, and when you have a strong team who believes in what they’re doing, who are passionate about what they’re doing, it really separates you from the others.

Yes, you can have the best marketing ideas, you can give the best guidance to your clients, but if you don’t have a team that believes and works tirelessly to execute your vision, then you’re no different than the others.

What role does technology plays in this business?

I would say 99.9%. Everything that we do is done by technology. I consider my company in some ways more of a technology company in terms of executing and everyday operational stuff than anything else. Everything we do – phones, laptops, tablets – we have everything stored in the Cloud. I could leave here in the morning and go on a plane and work from wherever I am, the only thing is that I won’t be physically here to show the property. My phone is actually my office on a daily basis.

With technology, do you ever get away from this business?

It’s a good question. It’s very hard to get away. I must say that it has been a challenge for me over the past four years in trying to maintain my home life and my work life, because I have two families, and that has been a challenge. With the instant world, I think people forget that sometimes you do have a couple of hours that you sleep, to rest and regain your energy, and that you need time off to just reflect and to get going again. With the instant world it makes it difficult.  As I build the team, I’m trying my best to separate the two, but it’s a challenge.

What do you expect for Century 21 going forward, and what are your predictions for the real estate market?

For Century 21 Grenada, I want us to continue to grow as a strong and supportive team. I want us to improve on our real estate offerings, the quality of service, keep on setting the trends,  being a step ahead of every Real Estate company, continue to provide the excellent service that we are doing, and finding ways to use technology to build on what we have right now. For me, that is the vision that I have for Century 21, and as the market grows we will find different avenues and aspects that we can offer – see the opportunities and continue to grow in that direction. What I don’t want to lose during that time is the personal touch from Century 21, because I truly believe that the love of people comes first.

As the election is completed and all these new hotels are coming and people are coming to Grenada…as we attract foreigners, what is it that you predict?

Grenada’s real estate market is going to continue to grow as you have seen over the last four years. Actually, we made over 50 million last year, look for that number to increase this year by at least 10%. That is my projection in terms of the market moving forward.

I would like to give Grenadians advice. I truly believe that we have a lovely country and we have opportunities to invest as Grenadians, but sometimes we see those opportunities and we’re not willing to come together  and create partnership to take advantage of same. What we tend to do is, we see the opportunity but do nothing about it for various reasons. Then when a foreign person comes in and they see the opportunity and  take it, we say ‘Foreigners are buying up Grenada.’

But the opportunities are there, and if we’re able to take advantage of those opportunities, take it now. Don’t wait until the market gets to the point where you can’t afford to buy in St. George’s anymore. Currently what you see happening in True Blue, the prices are getting really high – so the affordability, for instance in True Blue, is becoming a little bit of a challenge for Grenadians to purchase property. But, True Blue has been sitting around there for a very long time with affordable lands. Maybe at the time, one person could not have purchased it, but if two people came together and pooled their resources, maybe they could have afforded it.  I’ve seen that, that’s what the foreign market is good at.

I would say, because the Grenada market is growing, take a look at the opportunities that exist.  Come talk to us. In our Grenada Real Estate Market Report we shared some of these opportunities. Contact us and see how you as a Grenadian can invest in your country.

Mrs. La Touche-Keller, thank you for speaking to the Barnacle.