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With 15 years of experience in the market, of which 12 are in the Palmela market, how did ComprarCasa Palmela come about? What led Conceição Antunes to go through real estate?

It was a time in my life when I decided to change my professional field. The opportunity arose to be a real estate agent and I was gaining the taste for this area. I have been evolving in the profession and after two years of experience in other companies and franchises I decided to open my company Vicking House – Real Estate Mediation Lda. I was five years in another network and I am now six years in the BuyCasa Network.

What are the reasons that led you to bet on the franchising ComprarCasa?

I decided to bet on the BuyCasa Network because I have a working system with which I identify. ComprarCasa's mission is: "to guide its customers with honesty, quality of service and transparency, overlapping their interests with those of the agency itself. The internal mission of ComprarCasa agencies is the personal and professional achievement of their team. Growing together and moving to success." All the work of this network is done with the values of "Commitment, Transparency, Quality, Empathy."

What has been your strategy in addressing the market?

Professionalism, a lot of training and a greater focus on marketing (street billboards, social media posts, advertisements in various real estate portals, among others).

What kind of advantages do you offer your customer?

We have the offer of the energy certificate for properties that do not yet have, or the offer of the value of the deed for properties that already have said certificate. In addition to this offer, our client will always be treated with the utmost professionalism and with a lot of focus on the personalized human relationship.

How is the real estate market in Palmela currently located? Setúbal and Pamela are cities increasingly sought after by tourists. Is this reflected in the real estate market? Are there more and more foreign investors?

yes, we've been looking a lot. Fortunately we do not feel a drastic break with this pandemic situation and we continue to be sought after by domestic and foreign customers. We have had the difficulty of having more demand than the supply available on the market at this time. We have a lot of foreign investors, but we continue to have a greater number of Portuguese clients and investors, here in Palmela.

How can we strike a balance between the high purchasing power of foreigners who want to live in Portugal and the wages of the Portuguese who also want to acquire or lease housing?

We must be aware that there is a real estate market for all prices, whether for a national client or foreign client looking for permanent or secondary housing in Portugal. Any customer has the opportunity to buy their home, but within their financial conditions. We are also credit intermediaries and try our best to create the best financial conditions and solutions for our client.

The Covid-19 pandemic brought to market a 'new reality', in which human relations were conditioned. In a business that lives in this relationship, such as

reinvented themselves? What measures have you implemented?

The measures implemented were essentially the necessary protection measures at this time, following the guidelines of the DGS and the protocol elaborated by the ComprarCasa Network. In addition, through the ComprarCasa Network we also have access to technological tools such as digital signature, meetings through digital platforms, virtual visits, among others. But it should be noted that the core of the business lies in the physical visit to the property and in the human relationship established between mediator and client. Thus, we have only a small percentage of customers who decided to book and purchase the property through virtual visit, because they are abroad for example, so this percentage did not increase with the pandemic.

Recently added the valences of Universo RH, what is the added value and what services are designed for the citizen?

The addition to the HR Universe arose in order to offer a greater network of services to our customers, facilitating the process of moving house. Since most public services are only operating by appointment, contact with them becomes difficult. At ComprarCasa de Palmela the customer will have their life made easier, since, being an authorized Agent Universo RH, the client can take care of everything with us.

As a businesswoman how can women add value and inspire the business world to overcome the most diverse challenges?

Women have been standing out in the business world. When I decided to come to Palmela I heard several negative opinions of local entrepreneurs, who announced difficulties with the phrase "in Palmela nothing works". I decided to continue my path by intuition of my own and to understand that it was a desirable market with a lot of potential. So I went ahead with my project and I'm proud to be the mediator to sell real estate for the longest time in Palmela. Whether this success is due to whether i'm a woman at the head of the company or not, I don't know, but I take it for granted: willpower and determination are characteristics that have followed me forever. As in everything in life, in the business world too, we must be very persistent, resilient and professional and in this sense I think that the results are in everyone's sight and speak for themselves.

Source: IN Corporate Magazine | Issue No. 21, August 2021