Property firm bucks trend and hires staff

(CNS): The last two years have been difficult for the Cayman property market but local Real Estate firm International Realty Group (IRG) has said it is making an investment in two new additions to its team in anticipation of the long awaited upswing and both of them are Caymanians. Despite the markets continuing fragility Jeremy Hurst, President and Owner of IRG says the chance to take on two experienced professionals was one not to be missed given his cautious optimism about the future of Cayman’s real estate market.

 “There have been good signs of market stabilization in late 2009, although I would still characterize the situation as fragile right now,” Hurst said. “Even so, when the opportunity to add two strong Caymanian professionals to our staff, Mario Sanchez and Trisha Johnson, we decided we could not pass it up.”

Mario has most recently worked in the hedge fund services industry with local branches of Citi and Ogier.   He attended Cayman Islands High School before pursuing a degree in architecture at the University of Miami. “Real Estate and architecture have always been a passion of mine,”he said. “IRG is known for its personal service and professional attention to detail.  I look forward to working with this talented team and learning from its wealth of experience.”

 Trisha Johnson has worked in the Florida real estate market for several years specializing in the condominium and middle income home sector, which she describes as “quite the roller-coaster ride”.  She says that Real Estate is not a typical career choice for Caymanians but she encourages others to consider the profession as it can be very rewarding. “Working with an eight person team at IRG is a great fit for me. Clients receive very personal and professional service and that fits with my approach to the business,” said Trisha who achieved top honours on the Cayman Islands Real Estate Brokers Association (CIREBA) exam.

She will be focusing on the condominium and middle-income residential market, an area that IRG is diversifying into after being known primarily as a high net worth residential and commercial property firm.

Mario will be using his corporate experience and relationships to provide additional support to the commercial side of IRG’s business as well as use his local contacts to further increase the company’s middle income residential market share.

 “IRG is proud to add two enthusiastic, well trained individuals to our team,” Hurst added. “They fit in perfectly with our firm’s culture of hard work and excellence in what we do.  We remain cautiously optimistic about the real estate market in Cayman during 2010 and believe these moves position us well in the current market as well as for the next upturn.”