Global RE/MAX Affiliates Come Together to Strengthen, Support Network

At one point on the weekly RE/MAX Global video conference call, Dario Castiglia and Nathan Yang couldn’t help but pause and laugh.

Castiglia, the RE/MAX region owner in Italy, and Yang, the RE/MAX region owner in Shanghai, China, have both seen how the COVID-19 pandemic has seized operations in the country. It’s been disruptive, shaken up communities and created devastation.

But on this Thursday morning, from their respective offices almost 5,000 miles apart, Castiglia and Yang said the same thing: There is hope.

Hope comes, they say, when leaders lean on the brand, care about their people and communicate, communicate, communicate.

“We just have to change the way we communicate with the world,” Castiglia told the RE/MAX leaders representing more than 80 countries on the call. “Stay positive. We have a strong brand. We have to be leaders, so the day this is over we can make sure everybody is with us and ready to go do business.”

The weekly call brings together RE/MAX leaders from across the globe to share best practices. And when the times are as uncertain as they are now, with real estate boards and governments reacting differently, having a network like RE/MAX ­- with its 130,000 agents in 110 countries and territories – is priceless.

Castiglia and Yang, through journals and photos, detailed what it has been like to live and work in countries hit hardest by COVID-19, how they’ve reacted, what has worked and how they’ve used the time to revamp business. 

Sure, real estate in China and Italy is different. What’s not? Caring about their network, they say, and authentically communicating that.

“I couldn’t imagine having to figure this out on your own,” says Shawna Gilbert, RE/MAX Vice President of Global Development, who leads the calls. “With RE/MAX you have the combined effort of 130,000 people you can lean on. You have this massive amount of resources and support. It’s the most important time to have a brand like RE/MAX beside you and the support of our incredible global community surrounding you.”

COVID-19 has certainly affected countries differently. In China, after everything was pretty much shut down completely, Yang said China started to allow real estate showings again in Shanghai and other parts of the country on March 25. Castiglia, while it’s been difficult, sees light at the end of the tunnel. And the change has allowed him to check into each of his brokerages.

In each case, the two have invested in their agents and brokers. Now is a perfect time to make sure people are investing in education, they say. Now is the perfect time for leaders to invest in human capital.

Castiglia says RE/MAX Italia has opened up its trainings and resources to all real estate agents, regardless of brand. Many RE/MAX regions have done the same. Castiglia says in a time like this it’s important to work to better and support his community.

Current circumstances have revealed how learning to do business online has been paramount. Bernard Raskin, owner of RE/MAX Israel, spoke to the group about moving events online, punctuating the importance of agility, technology and perseverance during this unprecedented time. Earlier, the annual RE/MAX Israel conference had to be postponed because of COVID-19. They have done broker and agent meetings online since, providing the network important assets and resources.

Region owner Dotti Peñate Sosa of RE/MAX Argentina, which also had to move its conference online, could relate. With more than 1,700 people registered for the RE/MAX Argentina Convention, there was a thirst for learning. She says she knows it’s a difficult time, but it’s important to remember RE/MAX is full of leaders.

“Keep your promises. There are no excuses,” she says. “What we do during this time, people are observing. Let’s be leaders in our market.”