Jon Clarke (Publisher & Editor)
WITH its stylish decor, ample space and clever use of natural light, it would certainly win an award for one of the hippest real estate offices on the coast.
And, of course – being Swedish – the new Fastighetsbyran office in Estepona is almost entirely furnished from Ikea.
“We wanted to create a bit of a wow factor, using a mix of the usual Swedish style and a few local Spanish touches,” explains boss Olle Westerling, 63.
A calm, good humoured chap, he and his business partner Kent Schanke, 55, have been working on the Costa del Sol together for 15 years.
Before setting up their first office in Centro Plaza, in Nueva Andalucia, the pair ran the private banking arm of one of Sweden’s biggest banks Swedbank.
And now they are expanding their property business, having just opened the stunning new office in Estepona, as the market really starts to pick up.
In total, Fastighetsbyran now has 12 offices in Spain and an incredible 250 in Sweden.
“We have a lot of Scandinavian clients, but the British market, both with sellers and buyers, is growing fast,” explains Kent.
“Obviously speaking perfect English and our good affinity to the UK helps.”
He continues: “It has been a great year for the group so far and we are on course to sell around 1,000 properties this year. April was our best month ever.”
As regards the differences between banking and property, Olle makes it quite clear.
“You walk and drive a lot more, talk a lot more and, above all, listen a lot more. That is the most important thing.”
Since opening their new office on Avenida Espana, in the heart of Estepona, they have been getting a nice trickle of visitors.
“A lot of people have been showing interest, which is no surprise,” says Olle.
“We realised we were already selling a lot of property in Estepona from our Marbella office and figured we should get a decent central office here too.
“Come along and meet us and see what we can do for you.” Visit the new Fastighetsbyran office in Avenida Espana, in Estepona or call 952 807 652 for more information
Bankers turning into estate agents. Pretty much sums up the problem with the real estate market in Spain lol.
Not very good marketing to choose that name. Not exactly catchy is it…household name indeed. Ha ha ha.
Very good Bryan, if I were them I’d rebrand with something catchy like ‘Se Vende’ at least that would be seen all over the coast, 1000’s of signs already in place, Lol