Mr Terry Chu began his career in estate agency in 1987. In 2000, he relocated his practice to the Mainland. He is currently with a real estate consultancy company there with special responsibilities for operations in all parts of Guangdong except Shenzhen.

What prompted Mr Chu to turn to the Mainland for further development in his estate agent's career? He told us that, since the Asian financial crisis in 1997/98, the real estate market in Hong Kong has embarked on a trend of decline. On the other hand, the sale of privately owned properties in the Mainland was just beginning to boom, and the growth potential was enormous. Just as he was contemplating trying his hand at the Mainland market, the Hong Kong operation of the company where he worked was taken over by another estate agency company. This prompted his move to the Mainland Department of the company and marked his entry into the China market.

There is, of course, a lot of difference between estate agency practice in Hong Kong and the Mainland. Mr Chu told our correspondent that, in his many years as a practitioner in Hong Kong, he had concentrated on the secondary market. However, in the Mainland, property purchasers would only consider first sale properties as the secondary market was still far from being mature. Legislation governing property transaction and sales practice were also very different from what is being followed in Hong Kong and so there was a lot to learn when he first started. He remembered that, when he first joined the company's Guangzhou office, he had to go to a three-hour training session every day after work for many weeks so as to learn the essentials of agency practice in the Mainland!

The practice of estate agency in the Mainland encompasses a lot more than it does in Hong Kong. Here, whether handling properties in the first sale or secondary market, the role of the estate agent is basically that of an intermediary. In the Mainland, however, the estate agent has a much wider portfolio than just introducing properties for sale or tenancy. In many cases he is expected to act as a consultant to the developer, offering him advice from the time he acquires the land for development. The estate agent will give his opinion on the development of the site, market research, architectural design, promotion strategy and sale and marketing schemes. When the property is about to be launched, the estate agent will be responsible for the decoration of sample units, the compilation and production of the sales brochure, as well as the documentation required for transaction. Hence an outstanding estate agent in the Mainland has to be familiar with local market conditions as well as the mentality of both developers and potential purchasers, and such knowledge can be acquired only over time, with lots of efforts to learn through contact with various clients.

Our correspondent asked Mr Chu whether experience gained in Hong Kong would be helpful to an estate agent who wishes to practise in the Mainland. It is the view of Mr Chu that estate agency is a service industry, and fundamentals such as interpersonal and marketing techniques, which are universal, are relevant to the Mainland situation. However, legislation governing property transactions in the two places are not the same, and there are also considerable cultural, ideological and lifestyle differences which make it impossible for what works in Hong Kong to be immediately applicable to the Mainland. If a Hong Kong estate agent only banks on his experience gained in Hong Kong and refuses to learn the mode of business practice in the Mainland, then his Hong Kong experience will become an impediment to him. Furthermore, there are qualifying examinations for estate agents in the Mainland at standards considerably higher than those in Hong Kong. Thus a Hong Kong practitioner who wishes to develop a career in the Mainland has a lot of preparation to do.

For estate agents who wish to practise the trade in the Mainland Mr Chu has some earnest advice. In the Mainland, putonghua is the standard means of communication and so a fluency in the language is essential. It also has to be borne in mind that lifestyle in Guangdong province is relatively close to what we are used to in Hong Kong because of the proximity of the two places. However, the difference will be much more profound and take a longer time to adjust and adapt in other cities and provinces. Also, an estate agent working in the Mainland will have to be psychologically prepared for long periods of being away from Hong Kong. Mr Chu also indicates that, in the Mainland, market trends are more susceptible to the influence of political rather than economic factors, a fact which practitioners would do very well to remember.

For details concerning qualifying examinations for estate agents in China, please browse the China Institute of Real Estate Appraisers website at http://www.cirea.org.cn/.