CEBU CITY – A group composed of real estate salespersons has been formed to widen their opportunities in helping the thriving industry as a centerpiece of growth.
The creation of the Accredited Real Estate Salespersons in the Philippines (ACRES Philippines) is in anticipation of a strong surge of the real estate economy in a post-pandemic era.
Envisioned to be the voice of the salespersons in the real estate service, ACRES was conceived in 2020 and was formally registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 15, 2021.
“The establishment of this new organization is critical in that salespersons are the frontlines, thus, the lifeblood and significant contributor of the real estate development sales. They also comprise the biggest number of professionals in the real estate service,” said Anthony Gerard Leuterio, president of A Better Real Estate Philippines (ABREP), the mother organization of ACRES.
As one collective body, ACRES’ mission is to enable and empower licensed practitioners to become highly ethical and knowledgeable professionals in their real estate practice.
Leuterio said the birth of ACRES is the first in the industry as most real estate-related organizations in the country are mostly for brokers and other real estate service professionals outside of the sales and marketing service.
“It is high time that our real estate sales force need to be represented and for both industry practitioners (salesperson and brokers) to work together and be united in helping the industry reap better results at post-pandemic,” he said.
ACRES' formation will also help the country craft better policies and legislation to further accelerate the growth of the industry. It will serve as a catalyst to change real estate laws that are now deemed irrelevant and untimely, and represent the industry practitioners in pushing for better and all-inclusive agenda that capture more opportunities for the sector.
Likewise, the group will serve as a watchdog against sale of anomalous properties, unscrupulous developers, and persons that misrepresent projects or land holdings of dubious nature.
“The creation of this organization will help police the industry against the proliferation of illegal practitioners or the colorum salespersons,” said Leuterio.
ACRES will elect its officials per city across the country. Once organized, salespersons will now have a group to run into should they encounter real estate-related problems.
Leuterio said the group is targeting to attract 20,000 to 50,000 salespersons to become members but they must be registered with the Professional Regulation Commission.