Mr. Jesse Kihoro
Graduate BA Land Economics and Bachelor of Laws, both from Uon.Registered Estate Agent, Registered and Practising Valuer.Full Member of the Institution of Surveyors of Kenya.Director Nile Real Appraisers EA Limited
Chairman, 1st Annual Estate Agents’ Conference Organizing Committee
CHANGE WITH CHANGE
Last year, I met an estate agent who could not hide his joy, after winning a court case against a firm that had refused to pay his commission. He got his registration in the year 2021 after our inaugural estate agents’ conference. “If I had concluded the deal a month earlier, I could not have secured my commission”, he confessed. For him, the conference was an eye opener.
The Estate Agents Registration Board (EARB) has earnestly embarked on a journey to change the industry. This includes redefining our operations: how we engage the estate agents, how we relate with other institutions, how we relate with the general public and how we engage with those seeking registration. All geared towards re-engineering real estate.
One of the key pillars of that journey is the Estate Agents’ Conference. Our inaugural conference—against all odds, Covid-19 restrictions notwithstanding, managed to attract 250 delegates and a good number of sponsors. This number can only grow.
This year’s conference will focus on steering real estate in adversity—Reengineering Real Estate for Emerging Realities. The tumultuous times call for adapting to change, be it behavioural, technological or regulatory. We have no choice but to configure our practice to fit the realities of our time. They say “change with change or change shall change you”.
Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek
On one limb are changes due to technological advancement: Artificial Intelligence, Efficient machinery requiring smaller spaces, Home offices, Co-working etc. On the other hand, are changes caused by adverse human behaviour: war, diseases (Covid-19), changing culture, expanding freedoms etc. Last but not the least, the changing regulatory environment: new laws changing the rules of the game—Data Protection Act, Climate Change Act, Sectional Properties Act No 21 of 2020 amongst others.
The estate agents will need to keep abreast of all these emerging trends. The Board thus extends an invite to all estate agents and other industry players to our Second Estate Agents’ Conference themed RE-ENGINEERING REAL ESTATE FOR EMERGING REALITIES.
JESSE KIHORO
CHAIRPERSON – SECOND ESTATE AGENTS’ CONFERENCE COMMITTEE.