EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Kevin Goos, Managing Director at ShweProperty.com

For the third consecutive year, Miami Beach was the backdrop to yet another successful Global Online Marketplaces Summit. 

Over 230 attendees from around the world took part in three information and networking-packed days, among them Kevin Goos, Managing Director at ShweProperty.com.

Shweproperty.com is one of the largest and most recognized property portals as well as real estate event management companies in Myanmar. The company has over 70 staff, and they boast 200,000 listings, over 35,000 sales inquiries monthly, over 1,000,000 page views and 35,000-90,000 unique visitors every month.

Kevin Goos joined ShweProperty.com in 2017 in the role of Managing Director, when he was headhunted from Century21 Cambodia where he held the position of Chief Executive Officer. Goos earned a masters in management from Bangkok University, and a degree in business administration and management from the University of Montana. 

ONLINE MARKETPLACES: Describe what you see as your biggest challenge(s) in the emerging race to the transaction model.

KEVIN GOOS: Our biggest challenges are also our biggest opportunities as Myanmar is a frontier market, lacking regulation, few licensed agents, and no centralized government database of property. We have capitalized on this by filling in the gaps and engaging the consumer in a new way to buy and sell property by developing an online to offline transaction platform that makes the home buying process easier, faster, and more reliable. Our sales teams utilize tools integrated into our advance property portal to convert sales inquiries to property transactions in as little time as possible, streamlining the home buying process. 

Last year, we implemented online home loan application products with a 24-hour pre-approval process on select properties from our online database and free consultation by a Shwe Property Home Loan Officer or Sales Representative. We have successfully established the online home loan industry in Myanmar and currently act on behalf of the nations biggest banks and exclusive partners in executing home loans, which is significantly driving our online and offline transaction business growth.

OM: What new, or innovative products, methods or processes are you or your company implementing?

KG: Our mission is to shorten and simplify the home buying process. Myanmar has a population of over 52 million but has been closed off from the internet and international community for over 50 years, meaning the property buying process has remained stagnate for the better part of that time. In an effort to bring the Myanmar Property market online, we are always enhancing our suite of tools and products in order to engage users in every stage of their home buying process. Our Integrated digital dashboards, CRM and property matching and reporting tools is tightly connected across our entire platform allowing us to see user activity and engage the user by matching the correct property quickly in an easy and automated manner at the lowest cost possible.

OM: Is there anything that your company is doing now, or has done, which you believe sets you apart from other property portals or competitors in your market?

KG: Our integrated Tech is by far more advanced than most emerging markets, and this has helped us take a clear market leader position in Myanmar.  This year we have also launched the Myanmar National Real Estate Awards, which celebrates the nations finest property developers across a national level on a wholly inclusive platform, with 53 Awards in 23 categories, recognizing such areas as Best Developer of the Year, Best in Architectural Design, and Best Heritage Renovation Project. Our Tech, combined with other innovative nation building events allows us to have a higher strategic relationship with our exclusive clients and continues to position Shwe Property as the leader in the market. We are the only online property portal in the country to establish an integrated service offering including an awards recognition platform. 

OM: If you had to pick two things, what would be your two takeaways from the Miami summit?

KG: I always enjoy the opening remarks by Simon Baker, to get an overall worldwide update on where property portals are heading and how they are transitioning into marketplaces. Another key takeaway during the conference was disruptive models in real estate with an emphasis on transaction platforms and portals offering direct sales, highlighting Zameen, Shwe Property, and Dot Property as clear innovators in their respective markets. 

Join us November 12-15 for the Property Portal Watch Conference Madrid 2019.