CEBU CITY – Putting emphasis on inclusivity, a summit for real estate stakeholders was held in Bangkok, Thailand recently where over 400 Filipino brokers, salespersons, real estate companies, and business leaders attended.
ANTHONY Gerard Leuterio, founder and president of Filipino Homes, speaks during the 1st Asian Real Estate Summit in Bangkok, Thailand on July 14. (Contributed photo)
Spearheaded by Anthony Gerard Leuterio, founder and president of Filipino Homes, the 1st Asian Real Estate Summit on July 14 allowed those in the real estate industry to share their best practices and tackle issues and trends in the industry amid a digital-driven economy.
Leuterio highlighted the importance of collaboration for the industry to prosper during the summit with the theme “Revolutionizing the Real Estate Industry: The Power of PropTech and Digital Marketing in Asia.”
“We want to become an inspiration of the industry that whatever we do, we want all the practitioners to be inclusive and we want to co-exist and collaborate with other realty companies and other developers,” said Leuterio.
Leuterio reminded participants that the only way to become a successful salesperson is to collaborate with each other.
“Because we are Filipinos. We have to be one. The only way to be successful is to help each other. That is the secret to success. You cannot have everything. Don’t believe with your talent alone because that’s the start of your downfall,” said Leuterio.
Leuterio said the summit in Bangkok is the first of many that Filipino Homes will be hosting.
Bringing the summit to Bangkok will give the industry a big boost, Leuterio added.
“This event is just a trial because there was a clamor to do a big event abroad. We did it abroad in order to share experience, share values, and collaborate from other countries. It’s very important to know the economy of Bangkok compared to the Philippines and how we're going to promote it and how we will use the strength of Bangkok to the Philippines,” said Leuterio.
Aside from Leuterio, the summit had 11 other speakers that included Joe Soberano III, president and chief executive officer of the Cebu-based Cebu Landmasters Inc.
One of the summit speakers was Elddie John Benigay, a sales agent who used the power of social media to entice buyers.
Benigay has uploaded more than 200 home tour videos on his TikTok account, which already has 1.2 million followers and 17 million likes.
He said he was able to secure over P200 million in sales by just using social media platforms.
“The videos translated to more inquiries and more questions. The thing about that…the mindset why I’m doing it on TikTok, is I have to change the path that instead of just inquiring on TiKTok, it will drive them to Facebook. They will see that I’m a trustworthy agent, I can be trusted and that I’m a real professional sales person,” Benigay said.
Benigay said he had a recent deal where a buyer in Manila inquired about a house in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental that he posted on TikTok. He said through the video, he was able to sell the house in less than 24 hours.
As salespersons are turning to social media to take advantage of the advent of technology, Leuterio reminded the public to always conduct a quick background check when dealing with them.
“The only way to check is to ask for the license of the salesperson and the broker. Ask for the license of the project because some are getting duped or misled because what some agents are selling are unregulated projects. You have to check the license, the agent, and the developer,” Leuterio said.