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Real estate brokers are not too difficult to shop for, but the holidays could be made more meaningful with gifts that are seemingly tailored to their profession
As a country with a significant fondness for Christmas, gift-giving in the Philippines also extends beyond friends and family. Many go as far as shopping for their teachers, building custodians, church-mates and even accountants. With that, we explore gift ideas that are ideal to give to real estate brokers this Christmas, or even for other occasions.
Whether it is for a broker who helped you find or sell a house, a broker you are friends with, or a member of the family, here are some profession-tailored gift ideas to help inspire you this Christmas.
1. Restaurant or Café Gift Cards, Certificates, and Vouchers
While gift cards, certificates or vouchers to restaurants may seem impersonal, they can be the perfect gift for real estate professionals. Typically working outside the office, and at times on nights and weekends, brokers often do not have the energy or time to prepare a proper meal. Restaurant gift cards, certificates or vouchers can help avoid settling on fast food, and help facilitate those deal-making restaurant meetings.
For those on a budget, gift certificates to cafés or coffee shops are the next best thing. They help ease the expense of using cafés as an out-of-office workplace with Internet access, or as a meeting place with clients. This is very convenient for brokers working in Metro Manila and other major cities, as most commercial districts here have a number of Starbucks, Seattle’s Best, or The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf branches in the area. Gift cards and certificates to restaurants or cafés can commonly be purchased in Php100, Php500, and Php1,000 denominations.
2. Fuel Cards
Like gift cards, fuel cards may seem impersonal but can prove rather useful, especially when most function like a cash card that can be reused many times over. Real estate brokers are constantly on the road, traveling from one meeting or property showing to another, so assistance in this unavoidable expense will be much appreciated.
Fuel cards are readily available from major retailers like Petron, Caltex, or Shell, where denominations at a minimum of Php1,000 are available. These big brands also offer fuel-card users plenty of other benefits, including discount promos, loyalty program points and giveaways.
3. Event Planner or Organizer
There is a notion that it is easier to remember something when you jot it down, making a traditional event planner or organizer an ideal gift for someone juggling various meetings and property showings in their schedule. While there are virtual or electronic planners or organizers, a physical planner seems more personal as a gift, and looks more professional among the belongings of a busy real estate broker.
Bookstores and other retailers have already begun carrying planners and organizers since the start of the latter half of the year, as some variants feature pages and calendars for a year and a half. Prices of course vary depending on brand and size, but Moleskine, one of the most popular planners on the market, commonly sell between Php700 to Php1,500.
One can also fill two needs with one deed by opting for the previously mentioned gift cards or certificates to big brand cafés like Starbucks, Seattle’s Best Coffee, or the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. These coffee shops offer cobranded planners to patrons who meet a required number of stickers by purchasing beverages during the holiday season.
4. Personalized Pen
While coming across as a purely luxury purchase, a personalized pen is exactly what it sounds—personal. As a present, it exemplifies the thoughtfulness of the giver, making it a cherished gift. In terms of use, it can be a tool for inspired work for a broker, encouraging him or her to provide service as personalized as the fancy pen bearing his or her name.
Cross and Parker remain the most popular brands among luxury pens, with their line of products available in most major bookstores and office supply chains in the Philippines. One can also have these pens personalized in-stores.
5. Digital Camera
Digital images quickly and professionally showcase a listing, and today’s technologically savvy buyers and renters appreciate the convenience of a virtual tour for both long distance and local relocations. While cameras that include smartphones are understandably easier for a broker to utilize, the quality of photos one can get from a digital camera is unsurpassed, when having a property stand out from the numerous others listed on major sites such as Lamudi Philippines.
The camera need not be of the DSLR variety, but at least must come with a wide-angle lens as standard (at least 28 mm) or accepts an optional wide-angle converter to show off a property’s interior features. One with good flash can be thrown in for good measure. Such cameras on the market include the Canon EOS Rebel T1i / 500D, Nikon D5000, and Fujifilm FinePix F200EXR, to name a few.
6. Brand New Smartphone
While smartphones are not the most ideal option for photography, they are quite useful for many other functions, the most obvious being their communication features. Apart from being able to call and send text messages to clients, brokers are also able to communicate via messaging and email apps, available for download on the latest smartphone. Meetings, viewings, and other plans can also be organized via different calendar options and organizing apps.
The range of smartphones on the market can be quite wide, so one would have to take into consideration the broker’s personality and affinity for technology. Safe bets are the models that have been released for the current year, as these would have the memory and processing power to accommodate apps like Lamudi, Instagram, Skype, and Google and related apps.
Prices may be a little steep for some, so it is best to stick to mid-tier models that provide great value while sitting at the Php13,000 to Php15,000 price range. These include Samsung’s J7, Motorola’s G4 Plus, and Sony’s Xperia XA, among others.
7. Membership or Plan in a Serviced Office or Co-working Space
It cannot be stressed enough how much time real estate brokers spend outside their actual home or office. With a profession revolving around meetings and property showings, it is not always the best use of time to trek back home or the office to get emails sent and paperwork done. As enjoyable as coffee shops are, they can sometimes get a little too loud or crowded to work in.
Give the gift of the best working conditions with a membership to a serviced office or co-working space. While pricier than the common Christmas gift, membership to serviced working spaces provides access and utmost convenience via a professionally kept venue in the midst of the business district. These places provide venues where one can do work or conduct meetings, as well as serve as a professional address when needed.
Providers like Compass Offices or Regus offer a myriad of solutions, from serviced and virtual offices, to meeting rooms and co-working spaces, as well as other business solutions. Minimum plans are commonly set at a period of one month, which provides ample time for your broker to get a feel of the space.
Ultimately, there are many other gifts that a real estate broker can appreciate and find a great use for, most of which can be given any time throughout the year (although the holiday season seems like an optimal time to also buy since there are a number of holiday discounts that may apply). What’s important now is that the thought behind what is given embodies the spirit of the holidays.
Main image via Shutterstock
