During 2019, our office in Novi Sad achieved 97% revenue growth!

City Expert, a unique real estate platform, made a giant leap with the opening of the first branch office in Novi Sad, three years ago. To find out more about that adventure, we've talked to the manager of the City Expert office in Novi Sad, Julijana Stojanovic.

- Julijana, how did the business develop in Novi Sad? Did you have to start from zero, or the users were already familiar with the City Expert way?

"Julijana Stojanovic: One can say we started from zero, but we had a considerable advantage because of the great experience that Belgrade colleagues shared with us, together with the online platform – website. A small number of properties were gathered from Belgrade, and from June 2017, we intensified search in Novi Sad. The clients got the information about our way of doing business through direct contact with sales agents. There were some difficulties in accepting the new business model we've developed, but it understandable, because it's new".

- Compared to the classic real estate agency, what is the most significant advantage of City Expert's way?

"There are so many of them. One that stands out is the property presentation – video and interactive floorplan, and the quality of the property information. The clients are thrilled when they see all the detailed info about every property.

What seemed to be the most significant disadvantage, in the beginning, became our greatest advantage. The buyers were surprised by the fact that the sales agent is not present during the viewing of the apartment, but they got used to it pretty soon. They realized that both digitalization, meaning scheduling a viewing on the website and direct communication with the owner, saves a lot of time.

The possibility of quicker scheduling of term for viewing, at any time, day or night, was the best thing. They reacted pretty well to that".

- The newest service in Novi Sad is renting. Has it generated interest? Is there a competition between "short-time rentals," the service that is popular in Novi Sad, like in Belgrade?

"Our new service generated considerable interest. Novi Sad is a university center and the center of Vojvodina, so the quality apartments in the center, especially the most sought after neighborhoods, Liman and Grbavica, are always in demand. Opening of IT companies' branches helped with that too. Even the owners who operate in short-term rental mode showed interest in cooperation and long term rental. The thing is that short-term rentals are more suited for apartments that are in the center, and the success depends on the season. And after first success, the owners face high competition in the market, and wish to have a regular, although maybe smaller, income. Then it's our turn to offer our services.

One more thing that works to our advantage is that our service is free for tenants, so they are very interested in renting a place through us".

- What is your message to the future City Expert users?

"First of all, I would like to welcome them to the best real estate service on the market in Novi Sad. Sellers and landlords, we give you the best service with the most favorable conditions, with the professional presentation of the real estate, making the property highly visible, enhancing the chances to get it sold/rented as quickly as possible.

Buyers and tenants, feel free to check our offer regularly – it is growing every day. And take advantage of all the good stuff: the fact that our service is free for you, that you can communicate directly to the owner/landlord, and that you can always count on our help in negotiating the price. We are not just the ordinary real estate agency; we are a unique platform that has high standards and great plans for the future. We came to Novi Sad to show that things can always be better. Why don’t you join us"?