By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

A real estate expert is predicting an average of 12.5 percent annual growth in real estate professionals entering the business over the next five years.

Matt Sweeting, chief executive officer and real estate expert at 1oak Bahamas, told Tribune Business yesterday he expects to see 100 new real estate professionals enter the industry next year to add to the 800 strong pool of realtors registered with the Bahamas Real Estate Association (BREA) and 100 every year after that for the next five years.

Mr Sweeting added: “That interest in becoming a real estate agent has become a more appealing career option for people as well.”

There are people entering the profession as a second career along with a lot of older professionals who see it as a retirement plan.

Mr Sweeting also said: “I’ve been in the industry for 15 years now and this is the greatest interest among the younger generation. There is also a lot of interest from young people coming out of school to aspire to be a realtor, this is becoming more of a reality in the market now. I think that social media plays a big part in that and also because of HGTV (a cable channel focused on homes).”

The vast amount of mediums real estate professionals can promote themselves is having a positive effect on how the profession is seen by onlookers.

“The younger people are always promoting themselves online, so it is becoming a more appealing career option for younger professionals within their third year in corporate Bahamas or in some other field of endeavour,” Mr Sweeting remarked.

The time to enter the real estate business couldn’t be better because the market is “red hot” right now with the local market “very motivated” to buy real estate. “There is very little options between the $250k and under range and so properties that are listed at that price point sell within days or weeks,” he said.

Mr Sweeting also said that other dynamics impacting the real estate industry is the emergence of cryptocurrencies and that as long as The Bahamas continues to develop “crypto friendly environment” that we should expect to see more transactions taking place in cryptocurrencies. “Our agency is one of the few agencies in the country that is assisting clients in making purchases in crypto, and I think we’re going to see more of that in the future with the movements in the crypto market,” he added.