Metro Atlanta Realtors Hugh Gilliam and Dan Easton Attend Carter Center Event With Future Implications for the Local Real Estate Market
Atlanta, GA – July 31, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — Georgia Realtors Dan Easton and Hugh Gilliam have long been interested in international real estate. With the loosening of restrictions with Cuba, the two see great future potential. Major U.S. companies such as Delta Air Lines are attempting to start a direct flight from Atlanta to Havana later this year and Carnival Cruise Lines has started to cruise there. The lines of communication and trade are clearly opening up between the two nations.
Gilliam and Easton are two of only seven metro Atlanta agents that belong to the International Real Estate Federation and two of only 22 agents in Georgia to hold the Certified International Property Specialist designation. They are also active members of the World Affairs Council of Atlanta, an organization with a mission “to deepen the understanding of world affairs, enhance the international reputation and help drive the economic development of Atlanta, the state, and the region.”
On July 14, 2015, the World Affairs Council of Atlanta hosted an evening event at the Carter Center entitled, “Defining a New Cuba: A Dynamic Emerging Private Sector.” Guest speaker Dr. Richard E. Feinberg, an international affairs professor at the University of California, San Diego and a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, spoke to the nearly 200 attendees. Easton and Gilliam were the only two Realtors present, as was City Councilman Kwanza Hall and the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce’s Vice President of Global Commerce Economic Development, Jorge Fernandez.
Dr. Feinberg is considered one of the foremost experts on America’s relationship with Cuba and has a vast knowledge of Cuba’s private sector. He predicted a large potential for economic opportunity with Cuba.
“Cuba is a possible new emerging market in many ways,” explained Dan Easton, who also noted that Cuba has to import nearly all its goods. “I handle both incoming and outgoing international real estate. I have been doing a lot of work recently, exploring how and when this could become a new market destination both for Americans interested in Cuba and Cubans with an interest in Georgia.”
Easton, who is licensed to sell real estate in Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina, is also a Resort & Second-home Property Specialist (RSPS). He also just returned from a 20-person delegation visit to Cuba that included Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed. With the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reporting that 21 percent of all transactions in 2014 were for vacation home sales, Easton is working hard to position himself for this future, new international real estate influx. NAR is also reporting that the median vacation home price was $150,000 for 2014, clearly showing vacation homes are no longer reserved for just the upper class.
In addition, respected business publication, The Wall Street Journal, recently issued a report showing Hispanics are the fastest-growing segment of both the first-time home buyer’s market and the luxury market.
Gilliam is a little more cautious about just when these international influences from Cuba will begin to significantly affect the metro Atlanta real estate market. “As an international Realtor, I was very interested in learning more about the emerging private sector in Cuba. While there’s not an immediate opportunity, I always want to explore new options for my business and will continue to monitor developments with this country.”
Long involved with making international connections, Gilliam’s achievements include assisting to create the Cobb International Business Council and leading a trade mission to Belgium. In addition, he is a member of the German American Chamber of Commerce, the Korean American Chamber and, like Dan Easton, a member of both the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals and the Asian Real Estate Association of America. In recent months, Gilliam started a quarterly publication called Doorways International Magazine, which features exclusive properties for sale around the world. The publication is distributed to hundreds of fellow Certified International Property Specialist designees
For more information about the future of international real estate in Georgia, contact Dan Easton, the owner/broker of Three Springs Realty at 706-745-3734 or visit www.ThreeSpringsRealty.com, which can be read in several languages, or Atlanta Communities Realtor Hugh Gilliam at 770-240-2000 or www.HughGilliam.com.
Contact:
TC McClenning, 404-819-0643
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