Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房屋), the nation’s largest real-estate broker by number of offices, last week said that revenue in the first half of this year grew 20 percent and it added 70 new outlets during the period, even though the COVID-19 pandemic kept most people at home from February to early May.
The revenue gain bucked a 2 percent decline in housing deals nationwide during the same period, according to government data.
The group operates under three brands: Yung Ching Realty Co (永慶), U-Trust Realty Co (有巢氏) and Taiching Realty Co (台慶房屋).
Evertrust chairman Sun Ching-yu (孫慶餘) attributed the strong performance to the company’s policy to disclose real-price transaction data for all products on hand, including their exact addresses, which allows people to better guide to their decisionmaking process.
The government’s real-price transaction platform limits such disclosures to the neighborhood of the houses sold, leaving room for ambiguity.
“The transparency policy, adopted last year, has helped all three brands to win the trust of customers and increase market share,” Sun said in a news release.
Related details are available free of charge at the company’s more than 1,100 offices, he said.
Liu Pin-yao (劉炳耀), president of the group’s franchise department, said the joint sales strategy also lent support to business growth.
Revenue and transactions made through joint sales both increased by 30 percent, Liu said.
Full data disclosure and joint sales have become the foundation upon which Evertrust and franchises conduct their business, Liu said, adding that the strategy has proven successful in light of business gains.
The number of outlets rose by 70 to more than 1,100 across Taiwan, roughly in line with the group’s plan to open 150 outlets this year, Evertrust communications officials said by telephone.
Chuang Chih-cheng (莊志誠), general manager at the franchise department, said that several outlets posted revenues of NT$40 million to NT$60 million (US$1.35 million to US$2.03 million) in the first half, adding that it was a remarkable achievement amid the virus outbreak.
Chuang said joint sales would continue to drive transactions, as the era of doing business single-handedly is over.
All three brands should continue to pool resources and benefit from business growth, he said.
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