Update | After breakneck expansion, new real estate agency China's Qfang wants to optimise strategy

After a few years of breakneck expansion, pioneering real estate agency Qfang needs to pause and optimise its strategy before picking up the pace again soon, its founder Liang Wenhua said.

Qfang is built on a traditional agency Shihua Real Estate Company Liang founded in Shenzhen in 2000. But it is different -- as now is the internet era.

“Our dream is to activate all real estate in the global village through our platform,” said Liang, who started working in the property industry since 1992.

Last Friday, Qfang signed a strategic collaboration agreement to sell homes built by Dubai-based luxury developer Damac Properties.

Qfang has also been branching out quickly in Hong Kong since March, led by a team of former executives from Midland Holdings.

Over the past year, Liang aggressively grew the number of offline outlets to over 1,200 across 19 Chinese cities from about 200. On the other hand, he has been trying to establish an open online platform to connect home buyers, sellers and agents.

That is a race Qfang and its rivals, including fangdd, Soufun Holdings and Homelink, must win to define their industry position before the dust settles in the next three to five years. Meanwhile, challengers can spring out any time, armed with better ideas.