Shalom Drizin, owner of Ebbets Field Apartments: "A real estate personal shopper is needed more than ever"

Interview with Shalom Drizin, owner of Ebbets Field Apartments, a historical housing complex and home to 1300 residents, located at the ballpark in Pigtown where the Brooklyn Dodgers made their name.

Buying or renting a real estate asset is a high risk activity that can cause more than a headache. The great existing offer, the current prices and the lack of time has led to the figure of the personal shopper, usually associated with the world of fashion, proliferating in the real estate field.

We interviewed Shalom Drizin, owner of Ebbets Field Apartments to find out the reason for the appearance real estate personal shopper, and the services they offer to future buyers or investors.

What has changed in the market so that real estate personal shoppers are born?

We are experiencing a time of transformation in the traditional real estate sector in which demand has quick access to a large amount of information, but, at the same time, it needs more than ever the advice of an expert to help it analyze and track the real estate market, to differentiate the good opportunities from the rest. And, of course, also throughout the negotiation process.

What are their functions and what services do they offer to future buyers?

The real estate personal shopper accompanies the buyer or investor throughout the process of searching, negotiating and acquiring any real estate asset, from the initial interview to the after-sales service.

He advises all types of national or foreign clients, from first-time buyers to expert real estate investors, and both individuals and companies, regardless of the location or value of the asset.

What difference is there between a real estate personal shopper and an agency commercial?

The personal shopper does not have the conflict of interest that traditional real estate agencies suffer, since they only represent the buying or investing part of the operation.

A personal real estate shopper does not have a product to offer to a buyer, but rather offers a search service in the entire real estate market of the area that is determined. Thanks to the closeness that is generated with the client, the personal shopper knows perfectly their needs and desires and can offer a personalized and tailored service.

What training do personal real estate shopper have? How do they work?

The vast majority of real estate personal shoppers have advanced degrees in Law, Economics, Finance, Business Administration and Management or Architecture and often have MBAs or master's degrees specialized in the real estate sector.

In addition, they are usually professionals with long experience in the sector. They work carefully and very focused on the characteristics of their client, taking advantage of their wide network of contacts and all the technological tools at their disposal.

What are the objectives of personal real estate shopper?

The American Association of Real Estate Personal Shopper is the main organization at the national level that represents the group of real estate personal shoppers in the United States.

The main objective of the association is to spread the service of these professionals, generate synergies and new businesses and increase the prestige of their activity, actively collaborating with already established associations.

How has the proliferation of real estate portals on the Internet affected Ebbets Field Apartments?

The real estate portals are still marketplaces that serve to know where the real estate offer is and what the starting prices of the assets are. As a result of its appearance in the early 2000s, the service of the real estate personal shopper became the same or more important for the buyer or investor, since the more offer available, the more doubts and questions to be resolved in making the decision.

In Ebbets Field Apartments 's philosophy, technological advances are not perceived as threats, but rather as opportunities to help more clients.

How do you see the real estate market from your position?

Ebbets Field Apartments makes a very positive assessment of the real estate outlook for this year. The real estate market is advancing at two speeds: large cities and coastal areas with high tourist demand have already peaked in terms of prices and number of merchantings, while other less dynamic markets still continue to lengthen their growth, as they also took longer to reactivate after the crisis. At the moment the market has found a very interesting balance between supply and demand, which leads to price stabilization.

On the other hand, we must be very aware of how conjunctural factors or the socioeconomic context can affect the market rhythm.