No substitute for hard work

HAVING been in the real estate sector for over 20 years, Homefield Real Estate Sdn Bhd director Munirah Mohammad believes there is no replacement for hard work when it comes to serving customers.

With her passion and dedication to her profession, the real estate agent has certainly made a name for herself in the industry. Last year, she was one of the recipients of the Million Dollar Roof Top Award at the National Real Estate Awards 2016 organised by the Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA).

“I believe in going the extra mile to serve clients and to constantly learn about the industry,” says Munirah.

“Not only that, I think experience and knowledge about the industry are crucial if you want to be a good real estate agent,” she tells TheEdgeProperty.com at her modest office in Seksyen 13, Shah Alam which belies the achievements of the agency.

She stumbled into the real estate industry when she was diagnosed with dyslexia while pursuing accountancy at Universiti Teknologi MARA, which led her to switch to estate management.

“Actually [real estate] has been calling out to me because most of my family members are already in property-related industries. One of my brothers is working in the electrical industry, the other is a civil engineer while my sister works for a quantity surveying firm.

Munirah graduated in 1989 during the recession and despite her qualification, she took on the job of a receptionist at a real estate firm in Subang Jaya. In her second month there, she volunteered to move to sales instead.

“I managed to sell a landed property in SS15, Subang Jaya for the price of RM120,000. From thereon, I had multiple appointments a day to meet clients.

“At one point, I had 20 appointments a day and I worked around the clock,” she says.

Interestingly, as if taking the cue from her familial involvement in property-related fields, Munirah’s husband is also a registered estate agent.

“We took the [registered estate agent] licensing exam together. I then started Homefield Real Estate in 1996. He joined the agency in 2011.

“My daughter has also taken an interest in real estate. She had worked under a well-known developer for about a year before joining us as a business development manager. She will also be getting her estate agent licence soon,” says Munirah.

Homefield’s present focus is on bulk purchases. It has been appointed by several major property developers for project marketing purposes. According to Munirah, Homefield wants to create a niche in the bulk purchase business segment.

“Out of the 15 latest developments in Shah Alam, 13 are marketed by us. Shah Alam is a unique market where the majority of residents are Bumiputeras.

“Before embarking on any marketing campaign for a project, we always do our best to understand the developer’s concept by helping them to position their brands and products.

“We have to know what we are selling very well — from the architectural concept down to each facility available in a project. It’s our credibility that has gotten us this far,” she shares.

Moving forward, Munirah hopes to see more quality Bumiputera estate agents in the market.

“Compared with when I first started, the number of Bumiputera real estate agents and negotiators has grown.

“However, there are real estate firms who don’t pay much attention to the quality of their agents. Being a real estate agent or negotiator is more than just closing a deal. I hope this can change, especially in the Bumiputera sector,” she says.

This story first appeared in TheEdgeProperty.com pullout on Jan 13, 2017, which comes with The Edge Financial Daily every Friday. Download TheEdgeProperty.com pullout here for free.