Creativity needed in current climate - Dhalia CEO

Real estate consultants had to be creative in the current economic climate, newly re-appointed Dhalia Real Estate Services chairman and chief executive officer Franco Valletta told staff and associates at the group's annual awards earlier this month.

The awards event was held at the Radisson Golden Sands Resort.

In his address, Mr Valletta, who was reappointed on March 1, shared his views on the implications of the current world economic crisis on the Maltese property market. He emphasised the importance of thinking creatively and adapting Dhalia's strategies to a new marketplace.

Mr Valletta pointed to the reality, at least temporarily, of relying less on traditional feeder markets of property buyers and encouraged those present, through the adoption of networking strategies, to capitalise on new pockets of opportunity currently emerging from non-traditional source markets.

He elaborated on the critical importance of providing quality service and insisted on the ongoing education and training of estate agents.

His address was followed by an audio-visual review of Dhalia's performance last year.

Certificates and awards for excellence in performance, quality standards and customer service were then distributed to managers and consultants.

The Marsascala office was named Best Kept Office; Best Contributor to the Inventory went to Kelvin John Goodwin of the Marsascala office; Most Promising Consultant Award went to Jerry Ellul of the Fgura office; Steve Schembri of Luxury Living was awarded the Dhalia Customer Service Award; Matthew Barry won the Top Letting Consultant Award; and Warren Azzopardi was ranked Top Manager.

Best Consultant of the Year Award went to Damian Whitehead.