The media and research company behind PropertyEU and its sister publication PropertyNL has announced the launch of Ventu, its new database for the Dutch real estate market, on 1 July. The announcement was made at the Provada real estate fair in Amsterdam on Wednesday.
Ventu is a one-stop shop for real-time data on the supply of all types of commercial real estate in the Netherlands brough together from over 2,000 real estate advisors across the country. The database also provides details about transactions and analysis about specific buildings and locations.
The market can only embrace this type of initiative, according to Maarten Vermeulen, regional managing director for RICS Europe, Russia and CIS. 'Of course, it all depends on the quality of the data and whether it meets ethical standards, but initiatives like this are great for improving the transparency of the market,' he told a panel discussion on transparency and the importance of data to investors.
Ventu is a 'unique' system worldwide, Hein Brand, former CEO of ING Real Estate Finance, said. 'This system gives international investors in the Netherlands a massive advantage. It's a unique proposition, I hope we can roll out this system throughout the rest of Europe.'
The system will help brokers help their clients better, according to Jaap van Rhijn, CEO of the Dutch branch of Colliers International. 'Lack of transparency is good for lazy brokers, but I believe systems like Ventu can help us in making deals as well as providing a service. Ventu will be a great help in developing a vision and a strategy. I think it will encourage more investment.'
Asked whether a pan-European database of this kind would work beyond the Netherlands, Van Rhijn said it would be 'quite a challenge' to achieve this on a Eurpean scale. 'Not all markets are as transparent as the Dutch market. The UK is transparent but the Germans have a different tradition. It's a challenge to brokers to be more professional in helping their clients. But this could be a step forward and could be helpful in other parts of Europe as well.'
Transparency is here to stay, Vermeulen added. 'We're seeing greater professionalisation...we're at a start of a trend that we can't stop. It's better to embrace it than to fight it. I would encourage our German members to do the same.'
At present, the Dutch market is very fragmented, Jan Willem de Graaf, chief technological officer at Ventu/PropertyEU/NL said. 'The market needs the local knowledge of local players to get transactions going. It needs a platform to attract interrnational investors and to provide a good insight into where and how to invest. In a few years' time, we aim to have that going throughout Europe.'
Van Rhijn conceded that the Dutch market is very fragmented, but said things will change in the coming years. 'I think we will have a bigger divide between local specialist advisors and the big advisors. I don't think there will be much in between.'
The top four brokers worldwide have a global market share of only 10%, he pointed out. By comparison, the top four in the accountancy world control around 60% of the market, he added. 'The real estate world is not the same as the accountancy sector, but you can see there is potential [for consolidation].'
