Sotheby's International Realty Enters French Polynesia

Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC today announced the brand’s luxury real estate services are now available in French Polynesia with the opening of French Polynesia Sotheby’s International Realty.

The firm, which is managed and owned by Jacques C. Menahem, will serve the luxury residential real estate market throughout Tahiti and the islands in French Polynesia. The first office is scheduled to open in the second quarter in Tahiti.

“Expansion across French Polynesia continues the brand’s commitment to providing access to the Sotheby’s International Realty network’s exclusive real estate services in luxury real estate destinations around the world,” said Philip White, president and chief executive officer, Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. “French Polynesia has a distinctive luxury residential market and is one of the most coveted vacation home destinations for Europeans and international property buyers. I am proud to welcome Jacques Menahem and his team to our global network.”

According to Menahem, French Polynesia benefits from both its location in the middle of the South Pacific and its 118 beautiful islands, of which the most well-known are Tahiti, Bora Bora and Moorea. “As well, the few 280,000 inhabitants make French Polynesia a welcoming destination,” he said.  “The luxury residential real estate market in Tahiti is beginning a period of expansive growth and we believe the Sotheby’s International Realty brand will help us meet the needs of high net-worth individuals internationally looking for luxury homes in French Polynesia and overseas using the brand’s global platform.  Our focus is on providing comprehensive service at every stage of the process. The quality of our service is based on detailed knowledge of the market and its dynamic, precise and proven procedures, and a motivated, responsible and skilled team. We are delighted to become part of the Sotheby’s International Realty worldwide network, and look forward to bringing French Polynesia’s extraordinary properties to the far-reaching corners of the world.”

The Sotheby’s International Realty network currently has approximately 17,000 sales associates located in approximately 800 offices in 61 countries and territories worldwide.  French Polynesia Sotheby’s International Realty listings are marketed on the sothebysrealty.com global website.  In addition to the referral opportunities and widened exposure generated from this source, the firm’s brokers and clients will benefit from an association with the Sotheby’s auction house and worldwide Sotheby’s International Realtymarketing programs.  Each office is independently owned and operated.

This article originally appeared on SothebysRealty.com.

The PSBJ Lists Realogics SIR as the Sixth Largest Residential Real Estate Firm in the Puget Sound (Sales Volume 2014)

The much anticipated Book of Lists for 2015 will soon be published by the Puget Sound Business Journal but the results are already in for the Largest Residential Real Estate Firms in Puget Sound (ranked on residential sales volume for 2014). Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty (RSIR) improved its position from #10 in 2013 to #6 in 2014, according to the survey results. With $560 million in gross sales volume represented by just 111 active brokers and three branch offices in 2014, RSIR is now acknowledged among the most productive, fastest growing and largest brokerage firms in the region.

“We are proud to join our many peers amongst the largest brokerage firms in the region – congratulations to all of the companies that made the list,” said Stacy Jones, Owner of RSIR. “Yet we are even more proud of our many fine brokers and we thank them for their tireless efforts every day. This is really their acknowledgement and we are the ones that privileged to work alongside their success.”

Jones states she has no illusions about being the largest real estate organization in the region nor having the most brokers. Her goal is to make a meaningful difference in her broker’s business and to optimally represent the interest of their clients – one sale at a time.

“Our growth in the region has always been very organic,” says Jones. “While we are always open to new business ventures and new brokers we find the best opportunities are referred to us by our current brokers and even from other brokers at other companies. We are fortunate to have a distinguished ourselves from the pack in just five years of operations. We like being innovative and creating a new model in the industry.”

NOTE: RSIR is an independently owned and operated franchise network with branch offices in downtown Seattle, Bainbridge Island, Kirkland and coming soon in Issaquah. Unlike the other franchise networks surveyed, the statistics do not incorporate the production from other Sotheby’s International Realty affiliates in Washington State.

IMAGINE: Introducing the Launch of the Newly Designed SIR.com

We are excited to announce the launch of the Sotheby’s International Realty® brand’s newly redesigned website, sir.com, which was built to showcase the network’s listings in an immersive and visual way that is unique to the industry.

“The new sir.com was created to tell the story of a home in a more editorial way, not the commoditized approach that can often be found in our industry,” said Wendy Purvey, chief marketing officer, Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. “We believe the art of marketing a home is based on showcasing its soul, so every aspect of the new site works toward this goal.”

The design changes include an increased focus on full-screen, high-definition video throughout the site, from the homepage to property detail pages, to allow for a more immersive consumer experience. High-resolution photography also plays a more prominent role. The property detail pages feature: slideshows that tell a home’s story via the captions, custom video, location overviews that provide insight into the local area via video and text, and a seller or expert quote that offers a personal view of the property.

Consumers still can search for a home based on lifestyle and amenity but now have the ability to sort their results by various home features including pools, kitchens and views, and compare visual images of that feature among their search results.

“At the foundation of the Sotheby’s International Realty brand is our focus on lifestyle,” said John Passerini, vice president of interactive marketing for the brand. “Our lifestyle search is more visual, and our focus on video and photography allows our affiliates to showcase the various lifestyles a home offers that cannot be properly articulated in words only. Our fully responsive site works on any mobile device and allows our network members to do what we believe they do best: uniquely showcase extraordinary homes around the world anytime, anywhere and in any language.”

“We are proud to be part of the Sotheby’s International Realty network and believe consumers worldwide will benefit from the groundbreaking features of the new brand website,” said Dean Jones, owner of Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty. “The homes Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty represents are unique, and the new sir.com allows us to showcase the heart of what makes them so special.”

Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty, which has offices throughout the greater Seattle metro area, offers exclusiveSotheby’s International Realty marketing, advertising and referral services designed to attract well-qualified buyers to the firm’s property listings. In addition, the firm and its clients benefit from an association with the Sotheby’s auction house, which promotes real estate referral opportunities with auction house clientele.

As a Sotheby’s International Realty affiliate, our firm also has the unique ability to refer its real estate clientele to the auction house for jewelry, art, unique furniture and collectible appraisal services. Property listings from Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty also are marketed on the sothebysrealty.com global website, as well as on the firm’s local website, RSIR.com.

Immerse yourself in the new sir.com.

The Sotheby’s International Realty network currently has more than 16,500 sales associates located in approximately 760 offices in 60 countries and territories worldwide. Each office is independently owned and operated.

The Elements of an Extraordinary Lifestyle: Art & Home Magazine, March 2015

The Sotheby’s International Realty brand and Sotheby’s Auction House recently entered into a literary collaboration, publishing a new magazine Sotheby’s Magazine/Art & Home.

This new larger format magazine enriches readers with sophisticated content related to the art and real estate world, featuring properties from around the globe, upcoming auctions and articles on various lifestyle topics. With a distribution of over 50,000, the printed magazine is sent to top auction clients, all 70 Sotheby’s offices around the world, and distributed at high profile auction events in New York City, London, Los Angeles and Hong Kong.

Read the most recent edition of Art & Home here.