Fine & Country changes the face of property awards

Property group Fine & Country South Africa recently hosted a landmark property industry awards ceremony in recognition of its top performers.

According to Linda Erasmus, CEO of Fine & Country SA, the event was unique in that while other South African property groups typically award estate agents according to sales figures only, Fine & Country has identified a number of award worthy categories pertaining to South Africa’s ‘propertyverse'.

Moreover, the awards weren’t restricted to Fine & Country’s 55 South African branches. Indeed, members from across Africa participated, thus broadening the base of the assessments while emphasising the multinational referrals strength of the group within the Fine & Country global network.

The event took place in the evening of the first day of the group’s international property convention at the end of October in Cape Town at the V&A Waterfront.

The convention revolved, in the main, around Fine & Country developments, trends and exhibitions. The majority of Fine & Country’s national members attended the event, the theme of which was ‘together we are better’. A number of notable international Fine & Country personalities and prominent local South African business leaders addressed those gathered throughout the day.

Fine & Country licensees and estate agents submitted material in their relevant capacity. I.e. as estate agents, principals working as estate agents and principals or business owners directly or indirectly involved with a Fine & Country licence.

Three categories were allocated to estate agents and principals working as estate agents. These included Best Property Presentation, Best Marketing and Promotion and Sales.

Four categories were open to principals and business owners. These included Best Office Design, Best Real Estate Office Position, Best Administration and Sales.

Several external property industry experts were invited to judge the event, thus providing an unbiased result.

Says Erasmus: “We decided to recognise these categories as they are crucial elements of the ‘whole’ that is the property industry. Doing so will encourage our members to think through the entire experience they provide to the client, thus bettering our service delivery overall.”

Under the estate agent banner, Shirley King of Fine & Country Sandton won the award for Best Property Presentation. Jennifer Huber and Lily de Keller of Fine & Country Constantia won the Best Marketing and Promotion and Sales categories.

Remarks Huber: “We believe that marketing and branding plays a crucial role in terms of visibility, creating a presence within the marketplace and engendering trust. As such, we put a lot of effort into this sphere of the business and it’s paid off.

“Being affiliated with Fine & Country has also opened doors and enabled us to take our marketing and service to the next level. We feel honoured to be a part of the global Fine & Country brand and are looking forward to broadening our horizons still further.”

Principals working as estate agents had their moment in the spotlight. Lorraine Webb of Fine & Country False Bay took top honours for Best Property Presentation; Denise Schmidt of Fine & Country Table View won the Best Marketing and Promotion award and the West Rand’s Elna Myburgh got the nod for the highest sales.

Webb has lived and worked in the False Bay area for over 30 years and is well versed in the local property market. Over the years she’s made a point of going the extra mile in terms of property presentations and takes pride in displaying and marketing properties in all their glory. Receiving the Best Property Presentation award was, for Webb, the “cherry on top of a really good year.”

Schmidt and Myburgh both attribute their victory in their relevant categories to hard work and the fact that they took steps to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Interestingly, through their efforts, both Schmidt and Myburgh managed to stay ahead of the pack despite entering their relevant markets at the beginning of the property market downturn.

Principals and business owners were next on the awards list. Fine & Country Franschhoek walked away with the Best Office Design award; Fine & Country Langebaan came out tops for having the best office position; Bronwyn Evans of Fine & Country Knysna was awarded for her superlative administration skills and Jan Minnie of Fine & Country Plettenberg Bay achieved first place in the Sales category.

Franschhoek’s design was a winner for obvious reasons notes Erasmus. “This branch created a functional yet elegant space that mirrors the Fine & Country brand to a tee.”

Langebaan’s award was also well earned. Langebaan moved its offices from the outskirts of Langebaan to the town’s ‘golden mile’ in 2009 a stone’s throw away from the beach. It has reportedly become something of a tourist attraction given its unique triangular external design.

In line with Fine & Country’s mandate, Minnie has made it his business to focus on ‘Plett’s’ top property segment. R20m property sales are all in a day’s work for Minnie who has earned a reputation for being trustworthy and efficient.

In addition to the primary categories, Fine & Country presented a few special awards. A Business Support award was presented to Karin van de Venter of VVM Attorneys; a Black Economic Empowerment award went to Michael Bosch of Fine & Country Port Elizabeth and Maryanne Okonjo of Fine & Country Nigeria was awarded for her Extraordinary Brand Contribution.

Andre van Rensburg of Fine & Country Centurion received a Best Annual Progress award and Pretoria’s Leon Nefdt was lauded for his Extraordinary Brand Contribution relating to Home Purchases.

“The convention in general and the awards in particular were well received,” says Erasmus. “Events such as these are important as they act as a platform for our top performers and serve to showcase South Africa’s property wares to the world.”