Monapart doesn't just sell flats, but stories and emotions

Journalist Elena Sanz publishes an article about Monapart in the newspaper El Confidencial in which she explains how we work and talks about our differential character within the real estate sector.

The Confidential | 08.05.2014 | ELENA SANZ

"A home is not just four walls and a roof. It represents so much more. Houses speak of the people who live in them. They reflect their personalities and, sometimes even, come to assume a fundamental role in the history of their occupants. 

This is how the architect understands buying and selling a home José Luis Echeverría, which she founded four years ago along with the publisher Olga Sala and the journalist Eduard Solé the real estate agency Monapart. It neither views homes nor their owners as a number or just another transaction, but rather goes beyond traditional agencies. 

A philosophy that transcends the words of its founders and guides the day-to-day running of your company, which is enabling you to stand out from the sector. They do not simply sell or rent houses. They sell emotions. The stories of those who lived within them: nights of partying, of passion and sleeplessness…

An emotional component is very much present in the spirit and work of these entrepreneurs, which becomes completely apparent when taking a short journey through their website. The property listings are not your usual advertisements.

«He is showing it to me and his voice forces a ‘but’ as we go over to the window to appreciate them. Seeing how things are, I like the views, but it is obvious that she dislikes them (I had to do it.) The concrete pillars with exposed reinforcement are a problem for her and she doesn’t wonder what lies behind the glass block panels that repeat along the interior facade… She tells me it’s very quiet, but that, with there being a school and what we’re looking at being its playground, there are two thirty-minute spells of the noise of children playing. Her problems aren’t mine and her ‘buts’ are my ‘moreovers’, but the reality is that it doesn’t matter at all, because she’s selling it to her and I’m not here to buy it. A shame.

So goes the ‘caption’ of one of these adverts. ‘Reason’, on the other hand, exposes us with greater coldness to what the home we are about to see is really like: 61 square metres, 198,000 euros, one bedroom, one bathroom… Living room, kitchen-diner and a space that can accommodate different uses (dining room, study, bedroom…).

Emotion emanates from each and every pore of this project. Even through the words of those who have decided to sell their house. «It's not hard to guess—a stray tear gives us the clue—that They will miss living here. But the family grows, the children grow, people come and go and houses remain. Luckily, memories travel with us. And I reckon the leaving party they throw on the terrace will also be hard to forget.» With complete candour and sensitivity, a couple speaks in this video about what has been their home for more than ten years.

//www.youtube.com/embed/ArmYugFNBLM

Precisely because they are special, not every home has a place in Monapart. «Basically, I have to like them myself. They have to be authentic, special, mind-blowing houses. One way or another. That's what sets us apart from conventional agencies. In fact, we tell many vendors that we aren't the right provider to sell their home.», explain the El Confidencial José Luis Echeverría, who criticises this work «it has become overly transactional. It seems that only selling matters. And the decision to sell the house in which you have lived so many experiences and which is full of memories is a life decision that requires calm.

But what does Monapart mean by special? «We are talking about taste, not luxury. For example, we have sold a house for 90,000 euros and another for a million», clarify.

Special homes for special clients

«The 90,000-euro one was a unique space. A penthouse of barely 35 square metres in Barceloneta. No luxury. Very simple. With a perfect orientation and views. The apartment anticipated a very rewarding life experience and brought together all the incentives for having a happy life. That same space on a ground floor wouldn't have been special at all and we wouldn't have sold it, Echeverría insists. 

Your clients or potential clients are also special. «Our flats are nicer than average and our clients more vain, too. But it is not a particularly wealthy individual, rather middle or upper-middle class, typically from creative professions, the worlds of design or fashion, advertising... People whose lifestyle and interests align with the type of homes we sell. 

With this philosophy they have caused a turnaround in the traditional property sales model against which they continually rebel, in every comment, in every word. «What if we revolutionised the property market the way Arzak, Adrià & Co. revolutionised cuisine? What if we turned this trade into art and science?», Echeverría wonders on his account Twitter.

«In 2013, 35,000 homes were sold in Catalonia. There are 10,000 estate agents (API), which translates to 3.5 homes sold per API per year, highlighting that We are looking at a very inefficient sector. It makes no sense for so many people to be competing to sell a flat», laments Echeverría.

This way of understanding the real estate business has allowed them to sell a property in 24 hours. «It's not the norm, but it is possible. If the property is priced correctly, we can close a deal in 30 days», clarify. «And that is not easy because sometimes the owner does not listen to you and becomes your worst enemy. They do not understand that selling their flat is a team effort», points out Echeverría, who rebels against those who are willing to work with clients who also want selling your home privately.

"It is a red line that no agent should cross. In no other sector does the client take such liberties. This happens, to a large extent, because hiring an agency costs the owner nothing. If it were a fee-based sector, if the client were charged whether the property sells or not, many would take the sale more seriously and wouldn't waste our time. All the risk is borne by the estate agent. The client, however, can afford to speculate. And hope for a stroke of luck.

Monapart has turned four years old. He was born in the middle of the property crash. Like so many other entrepreneurs, this triumvirate thought that such an unfavourable economic climate as the one before their eyes it could be his big opportunity to turn the sector around. They opened an office in Barcelona. Subsequently, the franchises arrived of Alicante and Palma de Mallorca, and this year another three more will be born, one of them in Madrid. 

«Not coming from this sector was a very significant handicap. In these four years there has been a huge amount of learning along the way. We have done things well, although we have also made mistakes. The objective is to operate in a new paradigm, and that is precisely what we are working on. We think we are standing out from the rest, but we are aware that we still have a lot to learn», Conclude.