ANTONIE GOOSEN
“ Within a short period of time , we grew our agent numbers , and we became a force to be reckoned with in Stellenbosch . At the time my father went into early retirement and settled in Betty ’ s Bay . He opened a branch for us there , from where we successfully ran operations in the Overberg .”
Virtual Agency Reality
During 2013 , Antonie ' s dream of creating a true virtual agency started taking shape .
“ I partnered up with George Haggar , a close friend and trusted business mentor , who approached me to find out if I would consider partnering with him on my virtual agency concept .”
By the beginning of 2014 , Meridian Realty had developed into a Virtual Real Estate Agency and launched with a grand total of one Agent . “ Today , Meridian
Realty is over 130 Agents strong , and is supported by 17 full-time staff members working predominantly in the Western Cape and Gauteng , with some pockets of excellence in the Eastern Cape , Northwest Province and Limpopo ,” says Goosen with justifiable pride .
" I wanted to launch a completely new and innovative real estate model in South Africa . It was time to go virtual in real estate , and I was ready to seize the opportunity ”
“ We created a virtual model that provides all the bells and whistles agents need to successfully develop , operate and grow their real estate businesses . One of the cornerstones of our business model is the freedom it provides agents to run their business mostly on their terms . As such there are no area restrictions , no minimum commission percentages that we dictate , no mandatory meetings ,
SA Real Estate Investor Magazine SEPTEMBER 2022 25