Q.1: Mrs. Callegari, you have been in this business for a long time and you are certainly occupying a privileged position. Could you tell us something about the background of "NORMA CALLEGARI PROPIEDADES"?
A.1: This real estate firm started business 40 years ago and was founded my father. He had the ability, the luck and the privilege to open an office at the Avenida Alvear. We think of this part of Buenos Aires as a small part of Paris. The firm started to operate with the sale of the "Galería Promenade" which is next to "Hotel Alvear". My father had the offices in the "Hotel Alvear" itself. At that time, flats could also be sold in the hotel rooms. It was a good investment for a long time, then a building was erected next to it and it was turned into a condominium. I stated working here at that time. That was a very special building because it was erected at a time when many firms and executives who came to the hotel decided to put up for 2 or 3 months. That was why they preferred the flats that had all the services included. They are what we consider short rent. That was the first apart hotel. We were the first real estate firm which worked with flats with one or two bedrooms with all the elements and services included. Afterwards we bought two business premises in the "Promenade" Gallery where we are now doing business. Foreigners understood that it was very convenient because the square meter was cheap and it was convenient to buy flats in buildings of such quality. We rented them on their behalf and we rotated them because they came every six months and they just demanded them to be free for a month. Afterwards they withdrew the rents. Some of them still have them. This was the beginning of our real estate business. I feel passion for this profession.
Q.2: In which real estate segment did you concentrate the business and which clients are your target?
A.2: Our principal activity is mainly the residential market. We buy and sell real estate, we let them and also we manage dwelling units. We have been managing facilities for a long time and we generally work with real estate located at Recoleta, Palermo and Barrio Parque. In this last location there are big mansions or houses for the diplomatic service or very important businessmen. Time passed and the Avenida Alvear grew. Then we had to change our target towards the commercial area. The Avenida Alvear was not prepared to become a commercial neighborhood. Many "petit hotels" have now been set up. We had to convince many ground floor owners to open shops there. All the shops along the Avenida Alvear are first class foreign firms.
Q. 3: How do you contact foreign clients?
A.3: We enjoy great prestige in Argentina because we are located in a strategic area. The Hotel Alvear and the corner we are at, give us many advantages. The hotel is a very important source of income because there we meet people who are trying to rent land, offices, dwelling premises, condominium units, etc. Also we are members of two or three Argentine chambers. I am also a member of the FIABCI (Federación Internacional de Profesionales Inmobiliarios - International Federation of Real Estate Professionals). The FIABCI has its central office in Paris and branches in more than 80 countries. It usually organizes an annual congress where we can contact people of different countries of the world. This gives us the chance to speak with colleagues and take our product everywhere. There we also put forward all our plans and projects. We first relate with one another as a group and then we make person to person connections. In congresses we also meet bankers and investors. Furthermore we have a regional market in the Southern hemisphere formed by Chile, Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia and Argentina. Here also annual congresses are held in different countries. There we also submit our plans and projects that may be needed at the regional level. We enjoy a very good relationship with the people from Brazil. Due to the big population of that country we always find somebody who needs something there. Also they look up to our country. We have always had very good Brazilian clients. Chileans clients, on the other hand, have the advantage to have access to credits at a very low rate of interest.
Q.4: You will soon have a new Web page to promote your services more efficiently. Which are your expectations?
A.4: The best. The fact that you are in the Internet enables anybody to reach your page and see photographs of all sorts of houses: dwelling places, for a diplomatic mission, for famous tailors or offices. It is very much easier to choose such locations if there are photos available. Buenos Aires is getting bigger every day. We have both offices and shops. The City of Buenos Aires has changed now. Now it has started protecting the historical buildings. Some years ago they were pulled down to build new towers. Also new firms investing in the country were obliged to look for an area. That was why industrial estates were created with some advantages since in the nearby area they found the environment those firms needed such as security for example. This development started 30 or 40 kilometers away from Buenos Aires and access to the city became more and more difficult. Banks and courts were all in the city. As a result, good, well lighted and secure roads were built in a very short time. As time passed a great part of the commercial, legal and banking activities also developed away from the city, everything was found there and there was no need to come to the city any more. Enclosed neighborhoods were created were the people who work in the industrial estates live. There they have security, tennis courts and services to make it easier for them to rest and feel comfortable. The educational infrastructure was also present. There are now fabulous universities. Hotels are also an example, I can mention the case of the Sheraton.
Q.5: As you know, our readers are mainly foreign executives. Which are these clients' preferences?
A.5: There are two main areas: one is in the city of Buenos Aires, in an area called Barrio Parque and the other is in the province of Buenos Aires. Barrio Parque has dwelling places for people on diplomatic missions and for high level businessmen and executives whom we generally rent the locations they need. They generally work for firms with their offices in Puerto Madero or Catalinas. There is also a district in San Isidro Chico at about 33 kilometers away from the city of Buenos Aires which is very near the industrial facilities. This is an area which has a lot security with good parks and residences. On the other hand, a minor executive who needs something smaller and easier to keep than a big house, chooses the Recoleta area where there are very good flats to let, and some of them with a swimming pool, sauna, etc.
| Q.6: The real estate business has been very much affected by the economic crisis the country is going through. Is it possible to assess how much the value has been reduced of the objects in this business segment?
A.6: The reduction has been sharp, especially in the last three years. Globalization has affected all of us. What happens is that the building industry is also subjected to the unemployment problem. This sector groups 73 trade unions. The building industry is paralyzed after its growth of the last 10 years. In spite of all this Argentina is a very convenient place to make an investment since the square meter in the best places are the lowest registered in the last years. Re-activation will soon start. I am talking about making an investment in the commercial district always with the idea of thinking about establishing there. At present we are doing business with very important firms that are coming to establish here.
Q.7: You are talking about investing in a market that is now registering the lowest historical prices so that after some activation there is a considerable profit. Which are your grounds for being so optimistic?
A.7: There are some signs that mark such tendency. Such re-activation is going to be slow. We still have to wait two years. But it is going to take place because some drastic measures have been taken. This is the only way. Politicians must finally understand that this is necessary. Still other drastic measures are to be taken that are definitely going to affect many people but the present situation must change and become more equitable. Some of us are going to suffer a lot. Also such change will demand a very strict legislation framework which shall bring about a reduction in the level of corruption that is affecting our society. People shall start paying their taxes more regularly that are now too many and expensive. All this is going to generate some re-activation. Also foreign firms will find more protection in such legal framework.
Q. 8: Which are the concrete measures that shall attract new investors?
A. 8: In the real estate sector, the dwelling and residential area still remain active. The agricultural and livestock sector together with the industrial one are suffering because credits are very expensive. Nobody can purchase credits at high rates of interest since there is no investment that can pay it back. One of the things that must be modified is the reduction of the rate of interest. First the industrial sector is going to be activated and then the building activity.
Q.9: Are we to expect a new urban planning code for the city of Buenos Aires?
A.9: Such new code would bring about a re-zoning of the city and keep it as we want it. It has to be like this because it is what happens all over the world. Also new industries are going to settle and we have to offer them different areas.
Q.10: When there is a crisis, there is more competition than ever. Does this show in your relation with your competitors? How would you like to be considered different from them?
A.10: My competitors are not my enemies although we are completely different from them. I have the advantage that my clients are regular lodgers of the Hotel Alvear. They have bought property in Argentina and contacted me because they were acquainted that my firm has been in the business for a long time. That was why they trusted it. Also our work is highly personalized. I have been in this profession for 34 years and I have become a consultant of many colleagues of the area. I have known the Avenida Alvear, its dwellers and the building doorkeepers for a long time and I have walked its streets since I was a child.
Q.11: Could we learn the names of some of your clients?
A.11: In the commercial area I am dealing with two very important firms that are settling in Argentina. Furthermore, there is one I have brought myself. Sometimes when there is a very hard competition, we do not have to wait for them to come to us. I had to show the best option to property owners to be able to have the best clients. These strategies were useful for me to attract other property owners. As I was able to convince GUCCI to come to Argentina, some of them have asked me to get them this type of clients for their units. Then I had to look for them in the USA or in Europe. Also each one of them have different responsibilities for the Latin American areas.
Q.12: Which was the commercial transaction you enjoyed most?
A.12: It was one I carried out three times in 1994. I had a client who followed my advice and bought a 1000 square meters Petit Hotel for rent. Soon he wanted to sell the property. I suggested it was not convenient at that time. He accepted my suggestion and sold it at the right moment making a good profit. The new owners decided after this operation to sell it again. They turned to five or six competitors. Each one of them put very big notices in the unit and I managed to sell it in ten days I enjoyed exclusivity over the property and at a higher price. They had it for some months. In one of these trips I mentioned before, I obtained a third client for the same property. I had fight for it, side by side with brilliant colleagues and with very important banks. I tried hard using the best strategy to obtain the best price for the client and the highest profit for me and I did it.
Q.13: What do your foreign clients think about Argentina?
A.13: My clients now are expectant to see what is going to happen. Right now I would advise them not to change their investments. Many entrepreneurs have had to reduce their staff and have downsized their firms but in spite of such a situation they still want to stay. Others had too great expectations and have not grown as they had planned. Such is the case of the food industry, supermarkets and shopping centers. The re-activation is going to take place because we have good firms. We need to improve the agricultural and industrial sector because they are the ones that have suffered the most.
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