In the era of technology, companies who do not keep up with the times are left behind. Real estate, as one of the most popular and competitive sectors in the world, requires innovative developments. The international brokerage platform GEOLN.COM is constantly evolving. “We created a quality IT product, the world’s best real estate search engine,” says Diana Kabakci, general director of Geoline Holdings, parent company of GEOLN.COM.
What is the main mission of the company?
Namely to streamline all the information available in the world about construction projects and real estate, to provide quick and easy access to it, to provide the opportunity for the buyer and the developer/owner to interact directly. Today, GEOLN.COM is more than a real estate search engine; we have implemented IT innovations in the real estate market that provide direct communication with the developer and the owner in the form of online chats, developer offices, the possibility of direct communication between the developer sales department and the buyer, the functions of online booking, convenient tools for searching and automatic comparison, the possibility of individual notes and lists of the projects you like, which significantly saves the buyer time and helps to make a better decision about investing. Since the purchase of real estate is for many a crucial decision, we began to provide professional legal services to users, such as transaction support, online mortgages, remote real estate purchases, as well as specialized services for large investors.
And how does GEOLN.COM operate?
You might agree that it would be unpleasant to spend half a day choosing real estate, and then it turns out that half of the offers are not relevant to you. We understand that the most valuable thing is time and we do everything so that users of our platform can save it. Now let’s look at one more competitive advantage –developers’ offices, which allow them to exhibit their projects, maintain up to date information and communicate directly with buyers. We provide more than 30 functional modules for developers, such as an ability to give access to sales managers, add new construction projects, show affordable apartments, mark sold units, and receive reservations for apartments online. Also, a reminder function is available to every developer, which allows them to improve service quality. There are too many advantages to talk about here, so I’m going to talk about real estate tour, and we will stop there.
Diana, could you tell us about the GEOLN.COM real estate search engine?
The search engine was created for Geoline Holdings, which is symbiotic and serves the global real estate, tourism and investment sectors in over twenty markets. We chose the real estate sector because there lacks a global digital product that professionally serves the industry at an international level. The lack of a single platform on the internet where you can find, select and purchase real estate directly from developers and property owners around the world was the main reason for the development of this global real estate search engine.
What is a real estate tour based on our platform?
This is a service that allows a buyer to select any projects and include them in the tour program, combined with a full-fledged tourist vacation program. We are convinced that before investing in real estate, you need to discover the country not only as an investment location, but also as a place that you will fall in love with. So, we invite all investors to visit Georgia on our real estate tour.
Since figures are always important to Forbes, could you share with us what was your initial investment?
If we talk about initial investments, two years ago we decided to invest more than $700,000 in the development and popularization of the real estate market in Georgia on the world stage and more than $300,000 in travel services. We are glad that we have contributed to the growth of tourism and investment areas; we plan to increase the amount of subsequent investments.
You will agree that this is extremely competitive area, so from your point of view what is your competitive advantage?
We are the first company to introduce the tools of automatic comparison of projects that our clients like on the website, as well as convenient lists and notes on objects, which allows the user to make personal comments on the offers they like. Just imagine, you want to find some real estate from a developer or owner in Georgia or any other country. You have already reviewed more than 100 offers, and in the search process, you can’t remember the advantages of each complex – some of them have an attractive price, some of them have earlier completion dates, and some of them offer more flexible installment conditions. Our toolkit allows you to compare everything in one window and highlight the advantages of each offer you like, which in turn is very convenient for making a decision. But still, our main advantage is the relevance of the offers on the website. Another innovation from our team in the real estate market is artificial intelligence, which recognizes irrelevant offers and removes them from the website.
Why the Georgian market as a new destination for your business? GEOLN.COM entered this market two years ago. Was this due to market development and increased demand for real estate in this country?
The company’s experts and analysts could not investment areas; we plan to increase the amount of subsequent investments.
Two years ago we decided to invest more than $700,000 in the development and popularization of the real estate market in Georgia on the world stage and more than $300,000 in travel services. We plan to increase the amount of subsequent investments.
You will agree that this is extremely competitive area, so from your point of view what is your competitive advantage?
We are the first company to introduce the tools of automatic comparison of projects that our clients like on the website, as well as convenient lists and notes on objects, which allows the user to make personal comments on the offers they like. Just imagine, you want to find some real estate from a developer or owner in Georgia or any other country. You have already reviewed more than 100 offers, and in the search process, you can’t remember the advantages of each complex – some of them have an attractive price, some of them have earlier completion dates, and some of them offer more flexible installment conditions.
Our toolkit allows you to compare everything in one window and highlight the advantages of each offer you like, which in turn is very convenient for making a decision. But still, our main advantage is the relevance of the offers on the website. Another innovation from our team in the real estate market is artificial intelligence, which recognizes irrelevant offers and removes them from the website.
Why the Georgian market as a new destination for your business? GEOLN.COM entered this market two years ago. Was this due to market development and increased demand for real estate in this country?
The company’s experts and analysts could not help but pay attention to the increased demand for real estate in Georgia. In a detailed study of the issue, we were struck by the trends and successes of Georgia in the world arena. An indicator for us was the start of activities in Georgia by international construction companies, such as SYSTEM CONSTRUCTION, with the premium project of Porta Batumi Tower; famous architects of England, Broadway Malyan, and international engineers from RWDI were involved. They were in charge of projecting the wind power of the London Millennium Bridge and the Burj Khalifa Skyscraper.
This provided an understanding of the current investor demand for premium property. Not to mention the economic growth of Georgia, the annual growth of tourism, the absence of crime, the easy conduct of business for foreigners, the country’s high business ratings from international organizations, the simplified tax system, and of course, the generation of real estate income, which is certainly attractive for investors from all over the world.
Who are the people who make it easier for people around the world to buy and sell real estate through your platform?
We have an international team and most of our employees work remotely. Our team has both international and Georgian specialists with high qualifications in various fields – programming, marketing, law, etc. We care about the professional and career growth of employees, so training is an integral part of our corporate culture. Our employees are leading experts in different fields. Our management has a modern approach. For example, our company’s office has lounges, where employees can relax during the working day, there is no strict binding to a schedule, and absolutely no age limit for hiring. I want to note that we plan to transfer the main office of GEOLN.COM to Georgia, since here there are very favorable conditions for the IT industry.
How did the global pandemic affect your business?
In addition to the real estate search engine GEOLN.COM, Geoline Holdings includes companies related to the tourism sector, such as G-AVIA.SALE – an airline ticketing service, G-HOTELS.WORLD – a hotel search, comparison and booking service, a travel agency – G-TRAVEL.WORLD, an online discount offering – GEO-ASK.COM, all of which acutely felt the global crisis of the tourism industry The global pandemic certainly hit the tourism sector of the company; however, we were surprised how demand for real estate in Georgia has grown from around the world. In our opinion, the increased interest in international investment in the Georgian real estate sector is caused by the safe situation in the country during and after the pandemic, which is associated with the measures taken by the state to prevent the spread of COVID.
Effective actions were noticed by the international community, reputable media and now Georgia is actively discussed around the world as a safe place for business and investment. All foreign publications talk about Georgia as a safe tourist destination, thereby popularizing the country as an oasis of calm, the best place for recreation and investment. Earlier, investors considered the Georgian real estate market mainly as a way of passive income and quick payback on investments, but now we see a growing trend when investors from all over the world consider Georgia as a place of possible permanent residence and running business. A vivid example, a client from Kazakhstan, invested over $1,000,000 in hotel apartments in Batumi, with the aim of opening his own hotel business on the coast of the Black Sea. It is worth noting that the transaction was carried out remotely and the infrastructure of the House of Justice contributed to the fact that the procedure was clear and transparent to our investor.
How has the company developed in the market during these years and what international recognition does it have at the moment?
I consider the number of our users in different countries to be international recognition. Today, there are more than 500,000 users of the platform, and this figure is increasing every day. Our platform is chosen not only by buyers, but also by sellers. Therefore, an equally significant fact is the choice of developers to promote and sell their property with us. Today, the number of developers is approaching 10,000 companies. Next year, we plan to enter the markets of America and China, and now we are actively developing the markets of Kazakhstan and Poland.
A large share of the company’s success are experienced and qualified founders. Tell us about your experience in real estate.
I have been in the real estate business for over 11 years. I have an MBA in Economics. The start of my professional career began in the Bulgarian market, after that my career was continued in Spain, Turkey and consisted in the individual support of transactions of large investors. Today, I serve the individual and corporate sector for investing in Georgia, I am a member of the supervisory and coordinating council of the international system for the development and assessment of risk management of investment projects based on G-INVEST.LTD.
I also provide professional consulting services to construction companies in the field of management, marketing, audit, brand development, developer, and sales growth. I am the author of a practical methodology for real estate sales, according to which international construction companies work successfully. From the very beginning, my motivation was to participate in a global project at an international level in real estate. I am motivated by the people around me, the team, and the goal we are working towards.
And finally, what are the future plans of GEOLN.COM?
Now, we are working on the opening of cyberschool.ge – an IT school for children in Georgia, where we plan to teach teenagers how to program and develop their own technology projects. My immediate plan for the company is to launch this project this year. In the real estate sector, we will continue to develop in the Georgian market, we plan to expand functionality for both developers and users.
