Interview: Patricie Aus

Patricie Aus seems to have her finger on the pulse of the Czech Republic’s real estate situation. Her understanding of this market has guided her in the growth of her two companies, AK Development Group (AKDG) and Ausch Real Estate.

Growing up in Poland and later moving to the Czech Republic, Aus graduated from Empire State College in Prague with a degree in communication and mass media. Before Aus fell into real estate, she first considered PR to be her professional calling, but eventually did not find the job satisfaction she was looking for. It was not a far reach for Aus to transition into real estate and establish her own business, since her family had long been in this very field.

“Creating a real estate agency was a very intuitive decision, and I have never regretted it. Since it is very important to me to feel good about my job and the satisfaction it brings, I feel very fortunate to be able to take care of both my companies and to participate in many interesting and significant business deals.”

It was in 2006 that Aus quit her PR job and set up AKDG, a full service real estate agency that offers representation of the selling party, marketing of the property in relevant media, presenting properties to individual clients, viewings, tax and financial services including mortgages and legal services related to business deals, in cooperation with Priecinska-Hanyk law office seated in Mala Strana.

But over the last few years, Aus also noticed that a generally low standard of quality prevailed in the range of the city’s and country’s real estate services. And services related to investment and luxury properties seemed to be almost nonexistent. It was this observation that led Aus to start up ARE at the end of 2010, which now concentrates specifically on activities for investors and developers.  

While AKDG continues its role as a real estate agency for a wide variety of properties, ARE has a very narrow focus on investment opportunities in real estate, including development projects, lands, brownfields, hotels, and high end properties in Prague, like luxury apartments in the city center and villas in different Prague neighborhoods.

Aus decided to name her newest business after the original spelling of her family name, “Ausch”, in order to honor her entrepreneurial ancestors, and because she is likely the last generation to carry the family name. “[My ancestors] would be happy to see that our family tradition continues,” she concluded.

And Aus carries on that tradition with a certain insight that seems almost instinctual.

“A real estate agency is like a restaurant,” she pointed out. “You cannot afford to make any mistakes because you will not be given a second chance. All services must be perfect because clients do not forget nor forgive. And this is actually a good thing! My greatest motivation, especially in difficult moments, was always the feedback from our clients. Whenever an experienced investor or developer chose my services over the services of big companies, and stayed with me, it reminded me that we are doing a good job, and it is worth all the trouble that comes with every business activity.”

Even as Aus admits that 2010 was a challenging year, as for many businesses, it was still successful, having concluded fewer business deals, yet reaching the same turnover as in past years. She plans to keep ARE the “boutique” real estate agency that it is, “concentrating on quality rather than quantity in order to provide our clients with individual care and to focus on each particular case. In Prague residential markets we can compete in many ways…with multinational companies, but we will always value most our capacity to maintain an individual and personal approach.”