Mainstreet HQ, Downers Grove – Mainstreet’s Global community met in late September to take a deep dive into the 2024 International Transactions Survey data. Afterwards, Mainstreet REALTORS® CEO John Gormley and immediate past President Tim Ryan reviewed their recent trip to India before Director of Specialty Divisions Ramona Ruskuls recapped the global resources Mainstreet provides its members with.The content from this webinar was designed for one purpose: “To Enhance Profitability Through Global Real Estate Trends and Insights.”
Being asked to speak during a Mainstreet REALTORS® webinar is always dynamic. Between John Gormley, Tim Ryan, Pradeep Shukla and Ramona Ruskuls it really is a who’s who of world travelers and real estate professionals. This past September we circled the wagons to examine the International Survey Data (click here to view the blog about it), what it means, find out what John and Tim learned during their trip to India and share highlights from my trip to Toronto with Ramona for REALTOR® Quest and the FIABCI USA Spring Symposium.
John and Tim left for India on February 24 and were gone until March 5. During this time, they spent their travels exploring two cities: Mumbai and Goa and attended NAR-India's annual conference. According to John, “the city of Mumbai is massive.” They did mention in the webinar that the travel times can be grueling so before planning a trip be sure to account for the time zone changes. It was not all fun and games for Tim and John because the real reason they were there was to strengthen the already robust partnership with the National Association REALTORS-India who Mainstreet shares a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
After John and Tim capped off their tales of business and memories in India, I took the lead in sharing my experiences about traveling to Toronto for Toronto Real Estate Board's annual conference, REALTOR® Quest. Canada has residents who love to travel and buy real estate in other countries just like the US does. In fact, Illinois is in the top ten destinations list for Canadian citizens to conduct real estate transactions. Fun fact!
We spent part of our time in Toronto touring commercial properties including The Well a unique and modern mixed-use development thriving with retail, office space and condos. The Well is an award-winning property and stands out in its design for sustainability but more than anything else we used this opportunity to network. International travel with an agenda is a balance of work and fun. The valuable connections you make while on a global networking trip are nearly impossible to measure. Reading LinkedIn biographies and following people on Instagram are great steps to initiate contact but meeting face-to-face leaves an impression only found while sharing a meal, a city tour or a cocktail hour in a foreign country.
For anyone who is looking for work in the international property arena, the Certified International Property Specialist Designation (CIPS) is invaluable. Of the 50,000 REALTORS® in Illinois only 118 of them have the CIPS designation. Less than 1%! You want to mention value proposition? Try adding CIPS so that discussion.
Click here to see Mainstreet’s Global Facebook Page.
Click here to visit Mainstreet’s Global resources page.
Click here to redirect to our course and events calendar to register for our next Global event.
Webinar will be available for viewing soon!