Off-market real estate with Primextate
Tomasz Wozniak 
March 17, 2022
Tomasz Wozniak
March 17, 2022 
One of the top trends that we have been seeing at HIC concerns off-market transactions. These include properties that are for sale without being available to the general public.
We wanted to introduce this concept to our readers and to help us do so we invited our trusted partner, Mr. Bertrand Rassat – CEO of Primextate – to join us for an interview.
Primextate is a private network of real estate professionals specialising in exclusive mandates & off-market properties.
– The following interview has been edited for clarity and brevity –
Tomasz Wozniak (TW): Hi Bertrand, thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us! I know it’s quite a busy time for you on the market so let’s dive straight in. Can you start by giving a quick introduction of yourself, your background and how you got involved in real estate?
Bertrand Rassat (BR): Hi Tomasz! Thanks for having me. My career began in fintech, where I spent over 20 years, living and working between London and Singapore. In 2016 I moved to Geneva where I was working closely with some of the best wealth managers in the world. That’s where the idea for Primextate started – I wanted to change the way people transact properties. Instead of focusing on selling the stock of properties currently available, like you would expect from a typical Swiss estate agent, I wanted to take the culture of long-term relationships, which is fundamental to the world of wealth management, and bring it into the world of international real estate. The result was Primextate – a private club of real estate professionals supplemented by an online platform where members can view exclusive, off-market properties.
TW: I do agree that the culture of building long-term relationships is crucial in all areas of business, especially when it comes to high value real estate. Let’s talk a bit more about Primextate. Can you tell us a bit more about the business model, countries where you operate in and some of the most notable partnerships?
BR: In essence, Primextate works to identify attractive, off-market opportunities, which we can then share with members of our club. All members are vetted by myself and the team and any new members have to be invited by one of the existing members. That allows us to keep the club exclusive and it also gives a lot of comfort to the seller as they achieve confidentiality as well as a wider reach of potential clients. We operate in pan-European markets and our main focus is on London, France (mainly French Riviera and French Alps), Switzerland, the Netherlands and Spain. In London, we are lucky to work in close partnership with The London Broker which gives us access to some great opportunities. We also have a partnership with Four Corners Hospitality Group – where we are acting as their exclusive acquisition partner and with Baerz in the Netherlands. Finally, we are also working closely with Le Collectionist which specialises in rentals of luxury properties.
TW: Thank you Bertrand, that’s all very clear. We mentioned the term “off-market” a few times now so let’s talk a bit more about that. From your point of view, what is an off-market opportunity and why are they so attractive?
BR: My definition of off-market is quite simple – if it’s not publicly visible online, then it’s off-market. Timing also plays a crucial role – if the property has been on sale off-market for six months, is it still really off-market? I would argue that it isn’t. In terms of advantages – from the seller’s point of view there are three things. First, it helps the seller to price the property. Once a property is listed online, the price will stay there forever and any changes to the price will remain visible as well. Off-market allows the seller to test the waters and come up with a price that works best. Second, privacy. A lot of our clients are people that are known to the public who don’t want to attract attention and staying off-market helps with that. Finally, as a seller, you want to only deal with pre-qualified buyers. Primextate does just that – we make sure that any potential buyer is serious and has the means to purchase the property and we do that before the first viewing is organised.
TW: How about the benefits for the buyer?
BR: As a buyer you want to keep the same level of exclusivity as well. Purchasing properties off-market allows you to build a relationship with the seller which can help with price negotiation – you avoid bidding wars that may lead to the inflation of the price. You also might not want to buy the property that was online for everyone to see.
TW: These are all great points and help explain why off-market transactions are becoming more and more popular. Let’s imagine that someone decides to sell the property off-market. What are some of the challenges that they may come across and how can Primextate help?
BR: There are two main challenges involved in off-market transactions – valuation and exposure. There is no data showing comparable properties sold off-market. We work with the seller to ensure that the asking price is in fact in line with the market. We have been working in these markets for years and have the expertise that allows us to price properties to attract potential buyers while maximising value for the seller. In terms of exposure, let’s say that I decide to sell the property off-market. How do I actually show it to potential buyers? That’s where our platform plays a crucial role – we have a pool of pre-qualified buyers that were vetted by the team so sellers can increase the reach without compromising confidentiality. We also insist on signing NCNDAs for each transaction to protect everyone’s interest.
TW: That’s all clear and it shows why the Primextate platform should be considered by anyone interested in off-market real estate. The combination of additional reach while maintaining confidentiality is such a unique feature. In discussions like that I think it’s always good to include an example of a transaction to showcase capabilities. Due to the nature of your work I am not expecting too many details, but could you perhaps give us some idea on exciting transactions that the Primextate team was involved in?
BR: I think two particular examples come to mind. We were connected with a buyer who was looking to purchase a holiday home in Saint Tropez. Initially, the client was reluctant to use our service as he already had a relationship established with a local broker. After looking for a while he decided to join the platform to see available off-market properties. One property stood out to him – it was valued at €5.5M and the sale was actually done via a video call as the client was not able to view the property in person. Another example was a commercial property in Germany. It was one of our German members who posted the property on the platform and we quickly received interest from another member based in Belgium. The members did not know each other, and the only link was the Primextate platform. Process and legal standards for buying properties vary between Germany and Belgium so our team was working as an intermediary to provide a harmonised framework in English to make sure that both parties were comfortable with the transaction. Governance is extremely important to us and we try to make sure that the process of buying the property is well-defined and straightforward for all parties involved.
TW: Thank you Bertrand. I would now like to move on to a bit more of a general subject – in your view, what is the current state of the European real estate market?
BR: Across Europe we are seeing a general shortage of properties. London, Geneva, ski resorts in the Alps,and Côte d’Azur all see demand exceeding supply. This is mainly due to the current geopolitical situation – the real estate market is becoming a safe haven for international capital and we see more and more people investing in secondary and tertiary homes. We are also seeing that real estate holdings are increasing across institutional portfolios – at the moment family offices hold about 30% of their assets in real estate, which is a higher percentage than ever before.
TW: I agree, we are also seeing increased appetite for real estate – that goes for both experienced owners of real estate investments as well as people considering their first investment purchase. With much appetite on the market and demand exceeding supply, what advice would you give to someone considering investing in European real estate?
BR: Best advice would be to work with experienced professionals who understand the local real estate market. Buying the property is not just about the asset. You need a partner that can provide the full picture – that will include advice on the real estate side but also advice around legal and tax implications. Primextate works as an intermediary between the client and all other parties relevant to the deal. We have relationships with most European countries and we will share these relationships with our clients. Any client coming to us will benefit from our entire network of real estate professionals.
TW: I couldn’t agree more. It’s impossible to provide all of the services in-house so partnerships are key in making sure that the client’s journey is as smooth as possible. To finish up, can you tell us a bit about your plans for 2022? What are the main targets for Primextate?
BR: In 2022 we want to focus on three things: Team, Technology and Transactions. We are in the process of expanding the team in Paris and are considering a few more jurisdictions. We think that having people on the ground provides a significant competitive advantage. On the second point, technology is always evolving and our portal is a tool that we use for all transactions so we are always working hard to stay on top of changes in technology. The last point concerns transactions – we are looking to continue building the ecosystem so that our members are able to transact more often and take full advantage of our platform.
TW: Bertrand, thank you very much for your time. It was extremely useful and I’m sure that our readers will greatly appreciate your insights. We are looking forward to working together in 2022 and beyond! Thank you!