Professionals in the Real Estate Management industry buy, sell or lease real estate; manage commercial, residential and industrial property or provide related services such as auctions and appraisals of property.
Major groups in the industry include Savills (UK), Sotheby’s (US), Mitsui Fudosan (Japan), China Vanke (China) Pam Golding (South Africa) and the Westfield Group (Australia).
The real estate industry is a highly competitive one. Demand is driven by the economic situation in a country and demographics around population growth, personal income, employment rates, interest rates and access to capital also play a role. Real estate companies typically either specialize in residential or commercial property.
The internet has become a major marketing tool for realtors across the board, in many countries even eclipsing traditional methods of reaching consumers such as newspapers or brochures.
The profitability of individual companies depend on property values and demand. Real estate companies also rely on the supply of investment capital, thus large companies often have competitive advantage based on bigger financial resources and broad geographic reach. However small companies can compete effectively by focusing on local or regional markets.
Current challenges facing the industry are limitations on land supply and an increasing demand for greater social-corporate responsibility when it comes to the development of property.