Ireland's Overseas Property Boom
Noreen Hynes, the managing director of Aquarius Properties, which markets homes in Spain, Portugal, Italy, eastern Europe and America, said:
"People nowadays want more information. They will have done some research and when they come to you they want professionalism and integrity. They don't want bull and misinformation."
Hynes stressed the importance of relationship marketing when selling overseas property.
"Face to face is the only way to communicate. Clients will want to build a relationship with you in case they want to buy again at a later stage."
She predicts that, in the future, people will be able to ring up their "friendly, local property adviser" in much the same way as they would currently ring their stockbroker. "They will be able to say, 'I have €50,000 to invest. What have you got for me?' " Aquarius advertises its properties in newspapers and on the radio.
"We find this effective because it gets people to look at our website. The site is really important to our business. We've had it up and running from day one,"
said Hynes.
In addition to the usual selection of property profiles and a drive to get viewers to sign up for a monthly newsletter, the site also offers potential buyers the chance to book subsidised viewing trips abroad. "Viewing trips have always been around, but the days have gone when you could just send a bus load of people to look at different properties," she said.
"Investors want to be made to feel special. We make individual arrangements for people and they will be met abroad by an agent who will they know exactly what they want."
From the Sunday Times