Trade Missions: Unpacking International Delegations

For the past decade of his 20-year career, Jacksonville-based Rory Dubin has specialized in global real estate. He credits earning his Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS) designation—one of nearly 50 he currently holds—with sparking his interest in doing business with people from other countries. “That really started it all,” says the managing broker of United Real Estate Gallery, who also serves as District 1 vice president of Florida Realtors®.

Rory Dubin

Last year, Dubin, who served as 2024 president of NEFAR (Northeast Florida Association of Realtors®), participated in a two-week trade mission to India. According to Dubin, global buyers who come to Northeast Florida typically hail from Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany. “We also have a strong expatriate community from India,” he says. “My core area of interest has always been Asia.”

In late February 2024, Dubin and several other NEFAR members joined several agents from Broward, Palm Beaches & St. Lucie Realtors® on the trip.

“[Real estate professionals] from New York, North Carolina and New Jersey joined the seven of us from Florida,” Dubin says, “We visited six cities—New Delhi, Goa, Jaipur, Gurgaon, Ranthambore and Agra. And, we [set up] a trade show booth for NEFAR, which was beneficial because it allowed us to meet hundreds of Indian developers, Realtors® and representatives from allied industries.”

During the trade mission, Dubin was able to sign, as NEFAR president, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with NAR India. “An MOU is a nonbinding agreement that fosters a spirit of cooperation,” he says. “It ensures that when [people from] countries we have agreements with come to Florida Realtors® or NAR conventions, they will have trading partners to greet and host them or introduce them to others.”

Here are Dubin’s tips for a successful trade mission:

1. Define your objectives

Before embarking on a trade mission, figure out exactly what you’d like to achieve. “The purpose of a trade mission is to increase business for real estate in both countries, but it’s also about fact-finding and learning,” Dubin says. “Our trade mission dispelled a lot of misconceptions I had about India and real estate there. I learned how their system operates. Some countries don’t have any kind of established MLS system or cooperation, but we are starting to see that change. Many are adopting some semblance of a code of ethics and a rudimentary type of MLS.”

Dubin and NEFAR went on a second trade mission last spring to Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) Realtor® Quest. “It’s always held in Toronto in May, and around 14,000 people from around the world attend every year,” he says. “Florida Realtors had a presence with their own booth, and so did associations like Miami and Orlando. While there, I spoke with the Canadian Real Estate Association’s (CREA) Sharon von Schoenberg [associate director of Global and Commercial Programs] about doing an MOU between CREA and NEFAR, and at NAR’s convention last November, we signed our second MOU. Last year was very successful because it was the first time we went on a trade mission, and we ended up with MOUs with two of the largest [international buyer groups] in our market.”

2. Do your due diligence

Before traveling abroad, consult the U.S. State Department’s website for current travel advisories and health and safety information applicable to your destination. “See if there are any alerts to be aware of, such as vaccine requirements or other issues that could affect your trip,” Dubin advises.

It’s also important to find out what type of attire is best suited for the particular country you will be visiting. “You’ll need to pack the right clothing not just for the weather, but for the culture, because some are informal and others are formal,” he explains. “India was more informal; we didn’t wear a lot of ties. We bought traditional Indian attire, which was formal [in their context] but not as we typically understand it. Instead of suits, we wore saris or the male equivalent, and even turbans, to show respect. We acquired this clothing early in our trip to wear at a formal state dinner. Our whole delegation dressed in this Indian garb.”

3. Business before pleasure

Of course you’ll want to take in the culture, but when embarking on a trade mission, don’t treat it like a vacation. “Schedule as much bona fide real estate activity and education into the itinerary as possible, so that you aren’t neglecting the fact that your participation is a true real estate trade mission and not just a [pleasure] trip,” Dubin says. “Speak with real estate associations in the countries you’re visiting, and get hosted or sponsored by developers there so you’ll have the opportunity to tour brand-new developments. Sometimes it involves visiting with embassies in those countries to get some of the socioeconomic background and what’s happening with their currency and economic trends.”

Dubin’s group was hosted by some of the larger developers in India, who gave them tours of existing and proposed developments. “We saw everything from base price housing up through multimillion-dollar condos,” he says. “Due to population, there is very little single-family housing.”

4. Nurture connections

You must follow up and nurture the connections that you make on trade missions, just as you would with Realtors® you meet from different states. “It won’t happen instantly, as fostering those relationships can take months or even years. So, make sure the other party knows you are their point of contact in the state you represent.” Opportunities exist, but they require diligent follow-up efforts to keep both parties on each other’s radar. “Several people who went to India with NEFAR have continued the ties and discussions,” Dubin says. “One of the groups I’ve kept in touch with met with an Indian investment group in Jacksonville [composed of] expatriate Indians who live here now.”

Dubin relies on technology tools like WhatsApp, Zoom and email to maintain contact with his international connections. “If you’re communicating with somebody halfway around the world, you have to assess what they’re comfortable with,” he says. “Zoom is more effective than FaceTime or other visual technologies. I did a transaction with a client in Turkey who was moving to Florida, and we communicated mostly [via] Zoom. WhatsApp is valuable for regular communication because it’s encrypted and easily adapts to any time zone. Most of the world doesn’t use Facebook to the extent we do here. LinkedIn is also widely used by the global community.”

Dubin encourages his fellow Realtors to travel abroad. “It’s important to be aware of what life is like in other countries,” he says. “Even if you cannot visit somewhere [distant], consider traveling at least once to Central or South America.”

Leslie C. Stone is a Vero Beach-based freelance writer.