Adopting a global outlook in real estate

ON a sunny Wednesday, at the small yet smart headquarters of boutique agency Property Hub Sdn Bhd in Mont’Kiara, Kuala Lumpur, a few of the agency’s well-dressed agents and negotiators are seen looking through stacks of organised files, while the rest are busy replying emails and answering phone calls at their respective cubicles.

“This is how we normally are every day,” said co-founder and senior vice-president, Christopher Lim Hwa Seong, nonchalantly, as he introduced the key people in the office.

“We believe in having a structure, a strong work culture and corporate values. We try our best to have regular meetings, a breakfast club and so on, to keep everyone on the same page,” added Lim.

This systematic approach has led Property Hub to become one of the most active agencies in the Klang Valley in a short period of time.

It won the Residential Agency of The Year (medium-sized category) at the Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA) National Real Estate Awards for four consecutive years, from 2012 to 2015.

Specialising in upmarket residential and commercial properties in Mont’Kiara and other areas in the Klang Valley, the agency has a current network of over 100 agents, with property sales of close to RM800 million, in 2014.

But what truly sets the agency apart is its progressive and global outlook on real estate. In November last year, Property Hub sent a delegation to the REALTORS Conference and Expo in San Diego, California.

“I felt truly honoured to be one of the flag-bearers for the ceremony,” said Lim. “It was a rather eye-opening experience to see different real estate practices and systems,” Lim reflected.

Property Hub was the sole representative of MIEA and Malaysia at the REALTORS Conference and Expo, an annual event by the US-based National Association of Realtors (NAR).

Since its inception in 2009, it is clear that Property Hub has grown in leaps and bounds with Lim’s leadership, strategic direction and business insights. “It all started with a solid idea.”

A strong vision

Born in Alor Setar, Kedah, Lim was set to become an accountant. “I was born into a family of accountants, which is why I studied accounting and finance at University of Western Sydney in Australia. Somehow along the way, I realised that the accounting industry was not for me, so I started exploring other options,” said Lim.

Upon his return to Malaysia, Lim had joined Meru Utama Realty. Established in 1988, Meru Utama Realty was founded by entrepreneur Patricia Ng, whose businesses range from advertising to real estate. For the first two years as a budding negotiator, Lim had achieved a total sales value of over RM70 million. In 2006, Lim was appointed the general manager of Meru Utama Realty.

“Back then, I remember yearning for a prestigious work environment. In order to convince our clients to purchase million ringgit properties, we needed a more conducive corporate environment in real estate,” said Lim. “To realise this vision, I went into partnership with my mentor Patricia Ng and my long time real estate collaborator Benjamin Tee to rebrand the agency and we established Property Hub in 2009,” said Lim.

It was a definitive moment for Lim too, as he pushes ahead with the company despite his personal struggles. “My daughter was down with a serious illness at the time. I was thankful my partners and colleagues were really supportive in helping me get through the rough patch. It was a turning point, I knew that we had the right people at Property Hub to move us forward and to be successful,” said Lim.

Apart from Property Hub, Lim has also directly managed property investment funds with a turnover of RM100 million in the last five years. He has also overseen a development land purchase with a gross development value of RM250 million for his family’s investment company, Keystone Sdn Bhd.

Building a foundation

For the first five years of the business, Property Hub focused on laying its brand vision and corporate strategy. “We introduced a three-tier corporate structure within the agency (of proprietors, managers and agents). It was challenging at first, to move into a three-tier organisation. Most agencies remain as two-tier agencies. However, we have seen tremendous changes since we introduced the management team. We have records showing our agents making three times more. There is also more consistent decision-making,” noted Lim.

The agency also offers learning courses called the Property Hub Success Course (PHSC) with 10 CPD (continuing professional development) hours,” he added.

In 2014, the agency recorded impressive sales of about RM800 million. “Our results last year have yet to be concluded. However, we are projecting at least about RM700 million sales despite the poor market sentiment,” said Lim.

Among the notable transactions by the agency in 2015 was a rented factory in Petaling Jaya to a Japanese multinational corporation (MNC) for RM250,000 per month and the sale of (approximately) one-acre of prime residential land at Embassy Row in Kuala Lumpur for RM25 million.

Property Hub has three primary divisions in terms of its business focus — marketing: of secondary projects (80%), development projects (15% to 18%), and international projects (2% to 3%).

Broadening their horizons

Other than strengthening its corporate culture, the agency hopes to achieve significant global outreach. Since 2013, the agency’s international projects division has marketed RM150 million worth of properties in the UK, Australia and Singapore. “We have our local developers branching out with projects abroad. Why not real estate agencies?” said Lim.

“Since 2009, we have been actively attending real estate conferences in Singapore, Indonesia and Japan to connect with other agents’ associations around the world,” noted Lim.

“Our trip to San Diego for the REALTORS Conference and Expo has exposed us to the real estate industry in the US. We are grateful to be sponsored by MIEA, and to be given the opportunity to learn the different practices and real estate systems out there,” said Lim. The agency had sent eight of their top agents and negotiators to the event. The REALTORS Conference and Expo had witnessed 20,000 realtors and guests from 60 different countries last year.

The event included the leadership idea exchange forum where American associations shared ideas on community outreach, fundraising, dealing with staff changes, shared reports, new ways to empower members and global investment tips.

“It is important to learn how real estate agencies are progressing abroad, so that we can measure and compare our standards. We realise we still have a lot to catch up, especially in terms of systems and technology. There is plenty of room to find better solutions,” said Lim.

“There was positive perception of our country during the expo. We are one of the strategic countries in Asean and we are being recognised. We also took the opportunity to build more connections with the other countries,” he added.

“The expo is an important way for us to network and to find potential collaborations and we have established rapport with agencies from countries such as Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia,” said Lim.

Moving ahead, the agency is also looking to enhance its business systems, team development, succession and to spread its wings in both West and East Malaysia.

This year, Property Hub is establishing new branches in Kota Kinabalu and in the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC). (The KLCC branch was officially launched on Feb 19). “We are looking to have more branches in the future. It is our hope that our culture maintains, and that we can adapt what we gathered in our international excursions to enrich the local real estate industry,” said Lim. “We are already in talks to attend another event by NAR in South Korea this October,” concluded Lim.

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This story first appeared in TheEdgeProperty.com pullout on March 4, 2016, which comes with The Edge Financial Daily every Friday. Download TheEdgeProperty.com here for free.