I’ve already been with Thilo in many congresses around Europe. We have shared and enjoyed many conversations about real estate, and I always note down a good idea coming from Thilo. Today I would say that he is more than an international collaborator, he is a friend. He is always capable of surprising all of us in every congress with his splendid and unique jackets. Below he gives a detailed explanation of his company and of the Vienna real estate market.
Can you explain a little about your company and your market?
My company was founded 1999 in the Vienna region as an insurance broker company with long term 1.000 customers. In 2006 the customers succeeded after some years to convince me to do real estate business as well. So I’m in the positive situation to be really well supported by great long term relationship to my real estate costumers. Some sold and bought houses and flats with the advice and help of my company for several times and we are always recommended to new customers. Our goal is not to grow bigger than a 10 people company because I want to keep the contact to my customer and keep on the pulse of the daily business. Because of that our focus is not to grow the company but to intensify our network. So we work together in Vienna with 14 other independent brokers within AIB and promote our service together. From the elegant 1.district we serve our customers all over Vienna and in the surrounding area. Also we have now a focus on Venice and one partner in Turkey working with the Boerner brand.
Which other nationalities are buying in your area today? And why do you think are they interested in Vienna?
We are lucky to serve our customers in the historical and cultural important town of Vienna. For many years international tests and rankings put Vienna on the top position of places to live. It starts with the healthy nature, because the climate is not too hot or too cold. You can drink water from the normal pipe so that you could fill our normal water from the Alps in bottles and export it as high quality water. Vienna has a high security standard and high potentials who are used to go out at their home country only with bodyguards or live in condominiums can walk in Vienna without any guidance like you meet our minister or the president also alone shopping. This freedom in combination with the high cultural offer of 3 Opera houses, concert halls (Vienna philharmonics – music of Strauss, Mozart and Beethoven) famous museums and the Habsburgian history make Vienna unique!
For investors the stability of the market is outstanding
We say in Vienna “We are always 10 years late and half intense with all crisis in the world“ and so we missed the international economic crisis of 2009 and till up now the real estate prices grow up steadily! Nevertheless Vienna is still cheap compared to Moscow, Paris, London or New York. We offer as Börner Ihr Hausmakler GmbH from small flats of 40m² for 100.000,- (2.500,-/m²) up till exclusive Palais in the city center for 40.000.000,- (18.000,-/m²) .Historically the Germans are the largest buyer group in Austria. The following places always compared to the international situation. A lot of Russians send their families to Vienna. Also the emperor houses of the Middle East and Arab countries prefer the high security and school and university standard to grow up their children. With the starting of the economic crisis Italian and also Spanish investors appeared to become remarkable investors. The Americans where strong investor before the Euro got strong. Now with the weak Euro and the improvement of the American economic more and more can fulfill their dream to come to Vienna where a lot of houses are older than America was visited by Columbus.
From your point of view, what are the benefits of belonging to associations like Luxury Real Estate or Prestige-MLS?
For me it is essentially to look always over the border to see what happens in the world and learnfrom other brokers worldwide. Prestige MLS has a strong focus on Europe and is based in France. We exchange every night automatically around 3.500 properties with other Prestige MLS members.
We can offer our customers a wide range of high class properties all over the world in cooperation with the best of the best brokers as Amat!
The partner brokers can offer their sellers a value ad on to be prominent promoted on the Austrian and German market, because we have our own strong web www.boerner.at. Additionally we offer properties on 28 platforms on our German speaking market. Luxury Real Estate is based in Seattle and stronger in making outstanding conferences. The real estate market and the MLS system is high developed in US and Canada and so we can benchmark with the best brokers from the highest developed market. This gives us an outstanding position and knowledge and also advantage on the local market. For sure this is one point why we won in January last year the Immy. This is a mystery shopper test of the brokers of the Vienna region and we were selected as one of the 20 best of 3.800 brokers in town! At least it is for me very important to build up a security net for my sellers. What I mean by that? You need around 3-5 years to build up trust with foreign brokers till real good business appears. So it would be too late to start international business when a crisis comes. We build up already strong connections to a lot of good brokers worldwide like you. So if a crisis occurs and local buyers would disappear the marked would fall down and would be immediately even more interesting for international buyers. So we build up a net for our customers. We didn´t need it till now. But nevertheless even in this good times approx. 20% of our buyers have foreign heritage.
In the last Luxury Real Estate International Symposium we heard about many interesting marketing ideas and techniques, which was the one you liked the most?
We worked out in the LRE conference that you have to service an international buyer far more intense. Because he can not judge as well as the local buyer if the price is high or low compared to the micro region. You have to inform the international buyer about tax and law and business rules that variate from country to country. As an international broker you built up a basic network for your international costumer to make it more easy for him to get the boots on the local ground.
Do you know Barcelona? What do you think people like about the city?
I love Barcelona for decades now. I have seen the Sagrada Familia without roof and open to a lot of sides and then all one or two years I watched the process of finishing. The Rambla and the fish market are fascinating every time. Since the “W“ is built I stay there when I come to Barcelona. I love the tapas bars, the shop designs in the small streets, the friendly people, the night bars in the harbor and the lower part of the Rambla and the festivals on the streets. I remember well walking down the street in November with 17 degree at 10.00 pm and the streets where full with happy people going for dinner and later dancing or chilling. On daytime you can relax on the beach or enjoy a cafe. A lot of galleries I also attended and the sea world is a place to be. Barcelona combines the advantages of a great holiday location with one of the most pulsating main towns of the world. For me Vienna, Barcelona and Venice are the best places to be in the world.
Guifré Homedes
International Manager
