“Lettings is where we started,” says Jeffrey Buttigieg, RE/MAX Malta CEO and co-founder of the original RE/MAX Malta franchise with Kevin Buttigieg.
The real estate giant has returned to its roots over the past year, with Buttigieg retaking the reins at RE/MAX Lettings Malta in a bid to inspire a greater focus on quality, performance management, customer service and agent professionalism across the country’s rental market.
“When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the rental market at once felt the impact,” Buttigieg continues.
“As the market continuously shifted throughout 2021, we shifted with it, to pioneer an improved and more client-focused lettings industry – and the success of that approach is already visible through the incredible achievements of our lettings associates.”
Awarded the top three places for most service fees generated overall in 2021 at RE/MAX Lettings Malta, Trevor Gauci Maistre, Malcolm Caruana and Jason Aquilina are prime examples of the ongoing success and post-pandemic recovery of the sector.
“I am so honoured to have won this top award,” Gauci Maistre says, a sentiment shared by both the award’s first and second runners-up, Caruana and Aquilina.
“Just a few years ago, this was just a dream for me and today, it’s clear that joining RE/MAX Crown Lettings has been one of the best decisions of my life,” Caruana, who brings to the table a lifetime within Malta’s real estate industry, says.
“I am very proud of my achievements in 2021, made possible by the knowledge, network and tools given to me by RE/MAX, which have formed the foundation of my real estate career and enable me to deliver outstanding customer service.”
However, the many achievements of agents at RE/MAX Lettings Malta were hard won over 2021, within a rental market that still struggled with the negative effects of the pandemic.
This was another year of uncertainty due to COVID-19, but we managed to challenge these difficulties and turn them into opportunities
“This was another year of uncertainty due to COVID-19, but we managed to challenge these difficulties and turn them into opportunities,” Aquilina, whose main focuses are commercial premises and high-end properties, explains.
“In real estate especially, the ability to bounce back after each failure – and come back even stronger than before – is so important.”
To this Caruana adds another important aspect, saying that “you need to have passion for the job if you want to succeed in real estate”.
Amid the industry’s challenges, Gauci Maistre points to other characteristics of lettings associates – and their teams – that are also vital to weathering the storm.
“My personal secrets to success are believing in yourself, hard work and perseverance,” he says, looking back on his more than 15 years with RE/MAX Lettings Malta, with the past eight spent specialising in office leasing.
“Plus, the support and dedication of my colleagues has once again resulted in our team at St Julian’s winning two top letting office awards! This job isn’t for the faint-hearted, but if you are ambitious, dedicated and ready to work then, it is limitless in what you could achieve.”
Meanwhile, the career development opportunities at RE/MAX Malta have long pioneered the international real estate industry and those working within it. Renowned trainers and entrepreneurs deliver the brand’s targeted and market-leading training programmes, so that agents of all levels can reach their full potential.
“RE/MAX is a massive brand worldwide and gives you the opportunities that someone in this career needs,” Gauci Maistre says.
For these top three lettings agents, and others working across Malta’s rental market, the sector is nevertheless continuing its upward trajectory – while reacting to changing customer demand in the wake of COVID-19.
“Today’s customers give a special importance to workspace and outdoor areas; these are now two major reasons for looking for a new home,” Caruana notes.
“Since the pandemic has changed our lives, many have embraced the new reality of work, inspiring an even greater demand for luxury property, which could accelerate the growth of the rental market in Malta.”
Aquilina echoes this in conclusion: “After two years of instability, Malta’s rental market is still going strong – and I believe that it will have another successful year, with RE/MAX Lettings Malta continuing to trailblaze a new high standard for the industry.”
For more details, visit https:// remax-malta.com/letting.