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Young people seeking careers in real estate sales must be patient and innovative and make it a priority to get accredited, says someone who should know: Mhlonishwa Winston Kunene, the founder and group CEO of Libertalia Group. He told Business Times that black South Africans are under-represented in the profession — just as they are as property buyers. “I’m very passionate about the community, especially young people. That’s usually my target audience. [They are] not necessarily the people I sell to, but the young people that I empower,” Kunene said.“But I am in a business that is obviously dominated by the older generation. So, these are people who are buying the most expensive homes… According to stats, there are only a few first-time home buyers below 35.”According to statistics released last year, of the estimated 50,000 accredited estate agents in the country, only 12% are black.Kunene, 29, already has extensive experience in a number of related sub-sectors, including property management, guesthouse management, rentals, residential sales, commercial sales, consultation, sector training and empowerment.Libertalia Group includes a non-profit organisation called the South African Youth in Property Association, which helps young people find training, learn about regulatory standards and generally get exposure to the property sector. Kunene said that with mentorship, guidance and a willingness to prove himself he navigated the struggles of getting into the sector and became an agent within an exceptionally short period of time.“It’s really [a challenge of] access to markets. I experienced it as a young person at 18. I joined Pam Golding, and was mentored by one of the top-producing agents. My very first job was to just put up ‘for sale’ signs for her.I was promoted three months later to become an intern estate agent — just because I helped her increase her sales as someone who only did ‘for sale’ signs at the time.“I might not have had the experience and qualifications to sell houses at that time, but because I’m a fast learner, [and thanks to] my ambition and willingness to learn, I was promoted three months later to become an intern estate agent — just because I helped her increase her sales as someone who only did ‘for sale’ signs at the time.”He said Pam Golding’s brand was instrumental to his growth as an agent before he branched out on his own. “I managed to pivot through those challenges. Resilience was one of the things [that helped me], and the second thing is I documented the little wins that I got. I would reach out to 100 owners, and only seven would give me business.”Kunene said there was a high drop-out rate among would-be property agents. He hopes to establish a real estate institute that will offer courses, prerecorded lectures and seminars at affordable rates for young people. Young people were innovative, and they needed to leverage that to complement the institutional memory of older practitioners. Kunene cites AI, which he believes the younger generation is adopting more quickly than their elders are.“When an agent goes out there and takes pictures of houses, they need to advertise those properties…That is an opportunity with photography… where young people can equip themselves, without necessarily having the licensing. Young people are tech-savvy." Thato Ramaili, CEO of the Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority, said the body wanted to see a more inclusive property sector. There had been progress in terms of blacks gaining high-level posts but whites continued to dominate senior, principal and director positions.“Women now represent 54% of registered property practitioners, and previously disadvantaged individuals comprise 30% of the national demographic profile, a modest but important step in redressing historic imbalances.”Business Times
