Alfredo Pujol, Chairman, MIAMI Association of REALTORS

Invest: spoke with Alfredo Pujol, chairman of MIAMI Association of REALTORS, about how the organization is aligning its large membership through education, advocacy, and collaboration. “Miami is still young compared with other places, and with the influx of business coming in, there is a lot of opportunity,” Pujol said, highlighting the region’s continued growth and global connectivity.

What does it take to align such a large and diverse membership around a unified vision for the real estate industry?

One of the things we do as an organization is yearly planning. We get together and align on priorities. I think one of the things real estate professionals in Miami and the tri-county area have done really well is understand the value of networking, coming together, and partnering up.

One of the things Miami has done well is not just hosting events, but also education. We host over a thousand education events. Whether it is fireside chats or trainings on how to use tools, that is what has helped our industry grow. It starts with education, from the new realtor all the way to someone like me, 18 years in real estate. There is always something to learn.

Our theme this year is One Miami. It is about bringing all of Miami together. We have young professionals, commercial, Jupiter-Tequesta, and Palm Beach boards, and five different boards that we serve. That is how you get 60,000 people to sound like one. We come together and share ideas. For us this year, that includes global reach, technology, and making sure the realtor stays at the top of the transaction through advocacy.

How is the association helping agents leverage real-time data to make smarter decisions in an increasingly complex market?

There are a few different ways we do that. One is through our economic insight report. We have a report that goes out so realtors and local professionals can see what is happening. One of the most current examples is Miami seeing a double-digit spike in domestic migration.

We are seeing people coming in from Chicago, New York, and California, and we also started to notice people coming in from Austin. Some businesses that set up there are now bringing second businesses here. The way we keep the technology and tools in front of agents is with constant updating and by trying to stay ahead of the curve in what we provide. If the real estate professional has that information, then we can help the client or the consumer.

How is the association supporting agents as they navigate cross-border transactions and global buyers?

One of the things we have is over 300 partnerships. We just signed the 300th partnership with MIPIM in France. Last year, I was able to go to that conference. This year, I went to Argentina. Internationally, we were in two parts of the globe at the same time.

One of the things we have done well is share what Miami is doing and bring those business professionals together. We partnered this year with the Beacon Council and the Miami Chamber, and we went to France to MIPIM to share what is happening in Miami. A lot of times, it is communicating with the international side about what is happening in our local market.

We also recently did a report on international buyers. A lot of people were saying Miami was slowing down in terms of international buyers. The reality was they were still coming in, but they were buying new development. Because of our relationships, we were able to find out that over 80% of them were coming in and purchasing, and Latin America was one of the strongest markets buying here. Argentina, Colombia, and Brazil remain strong markets buying in the United States, and they are buying new developments because they are used to buying high-rises or condos.

What role should organizations like the Miami Association of REALTORS play in addressing housing supply and accessibility in the market?

When it comes to housing supply and affordability, we have been able to advocate. One of the things we do is go to Great American Realtor Days in Tallahassee, and we have been able to advocate there as realtors. We were able to help take away the business rent tax. The Live Local program also came from advocacy efforts.

Right now, we are also working on changing financing guidelines. Florida was one of the states where buyers had to put 25% down in some cases, so we are working on lowering that and making sure a buyer can put 10% down. Not everyone has 25% down for a half-million-dollar property. Condos are your first-time buyer or downsizing market, so if we are able to lower the barrier to entry into those, we are able to improve affordability and get people into those properties.

We also did an event at the Biltmore where we had over 75 elected officials, and we shared with them what we are doing and the stories of families that might not be able to purchase. A tweak from 20% or 25% down to 10% or 5% brings a first-time buyer, a newlywed, or someone downsizing into a property. Through advocacy, our Realtor PAC and our political efforts, that is where we have had a lot of success.

How do you make sure members not only receive market data, but actually use it in ways that improve their business outcomes?

Our communications department sends out a lot of weekly information to brokers. I am a broker and a manager at Compass in Coconut Grove, so I get the newsletter or email with a breakdown of what is happening, any regulations, any rules, and anything that has changed.

On top of that, we do a lot of webinars with the legal team, especially if there are contract changes. Brokers are notified and get that information in real time. Then it goes down to the members through brokers, through emails, and through our website, which has a lot of that data.

Education is key. When you have 60,000 members, you cannot watch what everybody is doing. Our goal is education, because that is what brings the broker to remain with the association and see the value, and then educate the client, who is the consumer at the end of the day.

Your leadership theme emphasizes unity and collaboration. What does that look like in practice for agents in their day-to-day work?

Real estate can be macro and micro at the same time. For many years, Miami was more tri-county. You lived in Miami, but you worked Broward. Today, our markets have gotten so big in certain areas that they are more specialized.

I work in Miami. I was born and raised in Miami, but now I live on the border in Miramar. So Miami is localized. Our agents in Coconut Grove, Coral Gables, and South Miami may not go downtown. Some will, but many will not. That is where the partnerships and collaboration come in. You might have someone who is a specialist in apartments in downtown and Brickell, and that is where a lot of us work together.

The same thing applies to Palm Beach. For someone coming from France, Argentina, or another country, they may say Miami, but they may really want Palm Beach. So the theme of One Miami is making sure I can connect with you. If I cannot service that area, I can get it over to an agent or partner there that I know and trust.

Which education or training initiatives are having the biggest impact on agent performance today?

Last year, we identified that a lot of agents forgot what it was like to pick up a telephone. I am retro, so I remember what that was like, but a lot of agents thought social media was it. Videos work, and marketing works, but what we are learning is that social media is your business card. It is your hello, I am here.

The retro ways still matter. Picking up the phone, sending that one-to-one message, having that lunch. With so much AI, we are going back to face-to-face. Even us on Zoom today, we are seeing each other, even though we are virtual.

So we started focusing on training that taught that. We brought in training on how to make a phone call, how to communicate with the client, how to speak properly, and how to communicate value. When we identify something like that, we bring in trainers and speakers, not just local ones, but also people from other states and international markets.

Looking ahead, what do you see as the biggest opportunity for the Miami real estate market, and how is the association positioning its members to respond?

I think the opportunity in Miami is, as someone born and raised here, is that the sky’s the limit. Miami is still young compared with other places, and with the influx of business coming in, there is a lot of opportunity.

If I were advising a realtor or real estate professional right now, I would tell them to pick a sector and really dive into it, whether that is commercial, luxury, or a more affordability-focused market. But I think one of the biggest opportunities will be condos. When financing becomes available in a condominium, you are going to see a lot of opportunities there, including from a rental perspective. There are multiple markets you can serve on the condominium side. There is only so much land that we can build out in the Miami area. We can only build up.

You are seeing that with projects like the new Mandarin, the Waldorf, and the Four Seasons. Even in Coral Gables, they are building condominiums for people selling homes or estates and moving into that product. If I were to focus on a sector, I would really learn a specific area of the market, because that is probably the biggest upside that we have right now.