AFZ Realty does not want to leave out Malaysia’s small towns

• “We plan to have 50 branches throughout Malaysia, including in small towns, to help the communities there in managing the purchase and resale of real estate more easily, quickly and safely.”

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 8): The main urban centres are of course the target areas for real estate agencies for obvious reasons, but AFZ Realty Sdn Bhd has a slightly different twist on this.

It is definitely not going to avoid places like the Klang Valley or Johor Bahru, but it does not want to neglect the small towns of Malaysia.

AFZ Realty was incorporated in 2018, and until 2021, it had just one office. Considering itself still new, today, it has three branches and five training centres. Besides Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Johor, it also has real estate agents based in Kedah, Perak, Penang, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang and Terengganu.

Founded by Sr Afizan Mohktar, he currently heads the company with agency director Mohd Aiman Elmidin Shamsudin.  

“We buy, sell and rent properties, where we will assist and consult with the vendor on checking the market value, analysing market price, property inspection, advertising, closing and assisting with the lawyers.

“For buyers, we will assist on viewing, submitting loans, arranging with lawyers and assisting until the buyers get their keys. Besides that, we are also now selling under-construction homes, especially affordable homes,” Mohd Aiman tells EdgeProp in an interview.

“We plan to have 50 branches throughout Malaysia, including in small towns, to help the communities there in managing the purchase and resale of real estate more easily, quickly and safely.

“In addition to that, indirectly we also create job opportunities for those who are interested and are hardworking — even if they don’t have high academic qualifications — without them having to migrate to big cities,” explains Mohd Aiman.

Currently, the company has 210 registered real estate negotiators (RENs) and about 1,000 marketing executives (selling projects).

Mohd Aiman’s role is to make sure everyone is on the same page. “I manage, groom and empower leaders in order for them to coach their teams. I have to ensure that all RENs adhere to standards sets by BOVAEP (Board of Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents and Property Managers) and at the same time, deliver our best service to clients.”

To keep his charges on their toes, they have on-going training to make sure all RENs are equipped with the latest knowledge, skills and technology in order for them to compete and stay relevant in the industry.

“Our number one motivation is ‘You vs You’. We don’t compete with each other, but we strive to deliver the best version of our own self.”

Market outlook

On the current market outlook, Mohd Aiman says: “We see that subsale transactions are now showing an aggressive increase, especially in big cities, and the community's acceptance of new houses has also started to increase, especially for affordable houses”.

On the bumiputera market, Mohd Aiman feels that demand is still concentrated on affordable homes. “There is still low demand for high-end and investment houses.”

He reveals that AFZ Realty recorded transactions worth RM250 million this year, so far.

The company also uses technology to encourage performance. “We use the ERP (enterprise resource planning) system for claim submissions, where RENs can see the dashboard on who’s leading the sales.

“We always ensure that the commission is paid out in less than 24 hours. This will encourage RENs to push their limit — ‘if others can, so can I’,” says Mohd Aiman.

On facing challenges, his take is this: “We always listen to our teams’ problems. We must try our best to solve the problems or at least give directions on how to solve them. We must always be open for suggestions from our teams and not rely on leaders’ opinions only”.

AFZ Realty also signed a collaboration deal with EdgeProp in 2022 to widen its exposure to the Malaysian property market, especially through the digital platform.

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