Exclusive interview with Cushman & Wakefield General Manager Edd Brooks
Cushman & Wakefield is an international real estate solutions provider with 265 offices across 50 countries and a workforce of 28,000 employees spanning Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, and the Americas. Their services include leasing agency and brokerage, investment agency, property management, valuation, investment and asset management, consulting, and research. Their expertise in real estate spans all sectors, including office, retail, hospitality, industrial, logistics, and residential development, making them a trusted partner in Qatar's dynamic real estate landscape.
Cushman & Wakefield Qatar General Manager Edd Brookes has been living in Doha since 2006 and has over 30 years of experience in the real estate sector. Qatar Living Properties was privileged to interview him recently where he spoke about the Qatar real estate market trends and changes.
Watch the complete interview below:
Here is an excerpt of the interview:
Q. How do you stay updated on current market trends, regulations, and industry changes?
A. Being an international real estate consultancy company we have a number of skill lines within our business. The valuation team, the consultancy team, the research team, commercial, residential and leasing teams all hold a lot of information and we make sure they share their knowledge and information with the entire business.
Q. What is your approach to pricing properties accurately for the current market?
A. When it comes to the pricing of a property, we rely heavily on our valuation team to collect information from the various clients they are dealing with. We also have a highly active residential and commercial leasing sales team which have been dealing in the market for a long time. So, it’s a mixture of both historical information that we collect for the work we do and comparable pricing from the deals that are being done that helps us to accurately price properties.
Q. How do your strategies help buyers and renters find the property that matches their specific needs?
A. When we get enquiries from people looking for either property to lease or property to purchase, we do not want to overwhelm them with millions of different ideas. Instead, we try and make sure to tailor-make our responses to exactly what their requirements are. So, it’s all about listening to what people want and giving them just three to four options. Less is more!
Q. Are you aware of any upcoming developments or changes that may affect the real estate market in Qatar?
A. I think the most important change that will be coming into action next year is the formation of the Qatar Real Estate Authority. This is going to be similar to the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA), which is already established in Bahrain and the UAE. What we are expecting from that is to bring in regulations and not just bring in regulations but to enforce regulations.
Q. What are the main differences between buying off-plan and on-plan?
A. In both plans we have positives and negatives. While buying off-plan you get to choose exactly the apartment you want, subject to availability and you get to choose the finishings within the apartment. And the negative I suppose is the worry that the projects are going to overrun, especially if you are taking out finance to buy that project. But bear in mind your purchase contract. That is when your repayments will start, whether or not the property is handed over on time. With regard to completed properties, it is pretty much vice versa. You are going to get assurance the property is ready, but you will perhaps have less options than when buying off-plan. One other thing to mention about buying off-plan is that you can expect to have a bit of a discount whereas if you are buying a ready property, you will probably have to pay full market price.
Q. What are the differences between the Qatar real estate market in comparison to neighboring countries?
A. The real estate market in Qatar, compared to that of the UAE, is less mature. There are more regulations in the UAE and even in Bahrain, where they have now introduced the Real Estate Regulatory Authority which gives buyers and renters more certainty. That said, I mentioned earlier about the Qatar Real Estate Authority which will come into force probably next year. That will give a lot of certainty and surety to purchases and ventures in the market here in Qatar.
Q. Can you tell our audience your tip to consider when renting a property in Qatar?
A. In terms of real estate, the tip I would like to give new people who are coming into Qatar, is to please make sure that the broker you are using is properly licensed and regulated under the Ministry of Justice. All brokers are supposed to have a proper brokerage approved license to operate. However, a lot of companies here operate without that license. So please ask your broker to prove that they are properly licensed.
Q. How has QLP helped you to develop your business?
A. I remember when I first came to Qatar 19 years ago, Qatar Living was a source of information for everything, whether you were looking for a room to rent, a car to buy or to know what’s going on. Qatar Living has been around for a long time and in the last couple of years they have really expanded and developed their real estate offering and we are pleased to be associated with their services as we feel they are giving us a wider audience.
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