A delegation from the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors (NEFAR) traveled to Goa, India, to attend NAR-India’s 16th annual convention, NARVIGATE, and the simultaneous Industrial Estate and Warehousing Conclave in Goa from Feb. 29 to March 2.
During the last day of the convention, NEFAR 2024 President Rory Dubin signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with NAR-India.
“Members of NEFAR and other invited Realtors from the United States were on hand for our historic signing of a memorandum of understanding with NAR India,” said Dubin. “Over 700 attendees at the NARVIGATE 2024 Conference and trade show witnessed the onstage signing between the two Realtor associations, which promised to be a starting point for increased real estate activity between Northeast Florida and India. This was an exciting step for NEFAR as it was both our association’s first MOU signing and our first real estate trade mission. Vice Chairman of the 2024 NEFAR Global Business Council Christine Baranofsky stated that she hopes and plans to make a trade mission an annual proposition for NEFAR.”
The two-week trade mission was led by Dubin and Baranofsky and organized by Trisha Roy of Gainesville, a National Association of Realtors faculty instructor and the founder of Open Spaces International School of Real Estate.
The group left on Feb. 20 and returned to the United States on March 3.
In addition to Dubin, who is a managing broker for United Real Estate Gallery, and Baranofsky, who is a Realtor with The Legends of Real Estate, three other NEFAR members participated in the trade mission: Ann Marie Wiggins of EXIT Inspired Real Estate, Sharon McNeal of EXIT Inspired Real Estate and Lesley Davidson of Manifest Realty.
The trade mission also included real estate agents from North Carolina, New York, New Jersey, Gainesville and Broward County in Florida.
“We learned a lot about how to properly do business with agents and developers in India,” said Dubin, adding that the group observed several large development projects by Smart World Developers. One DXP by Smart World will be the first development on the Dwarta Expressway, which is expected to cut the amount of time in half that it takes to travel from Delhi to other locations, he said.
The group also visited Trump Towers, a large double tower that was under construction. “The finished condo project will be a golf-themed modern condominium project,” Dubin said.
The NEFAR delegation, which set up a booth showcasing Jacksonville at the EXPO, was identified as “international delegates,” at both the NARVIGATE Conference and the Industrial Estate and Warehousing Conclave, which represents India’s commercial sector. The walls of NEFAR’s booth depicted Jacksonville’s colorful downtown skyline as seen near the St. Johns River and several signs identifying the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors. During the EXPO, the five NEFAR Realtors distributed brochures about NEFAR’s Global Business Council, business cards, REBI (Real Estate Business Institute) course programs for foreign countries.
“We were a highlight of about 700 attendees,” Dubin said.
During the conference, NAR-India also signed an MOU with a delegation from Thailand. Realtors from the Chicago area also attended the conference.
