Haute Residence continued its industry-leading series of live webinars on the current state of the real estate world with a panel of top agents in industry giant Coldwell Banker.
The conversation was moderated by Craig Hogan, Vice President of Coldwell Banker Global Luxury, and featured four of Coldwell Banker's best-known agents from around the world of luxury real estate market: Vanda Demeure (Paris, France), Jade Mills (Beverly Hills, CA), Ricardo Rodriguez (Boston, MA), and Wendy Walker (Scottsdale, AZ). Watch the full webinar below.
Each of the speakers is an expert agent in their respective markets and consistently ranked among the top producers in the company. They provided remarks on the "new normal" approach in real estate, their markets, the industry overall, and expanded on each other's points of view in the engaging and upbeat conversation.
"As a company, we are not seeing the drops people are talking about; we are seeing a strong climate," said Hogan. With a clear knowledge of all panelists' luxury markets and their success in each, Hogan kept the dialogue seamlessly flowing from one area of the world to another. "Getting back to where we need to be, each of them (the panelists) have something wonderful to share," he continued. "Those that are at the top of the game are working harder than ever. They are smarter than ever, and improving on their skills set."
Center: Craig Hogan, Jade Mills, Vanda Demeure. Bottom: Ricardo Rodriguez, Wendy Walker
Highlight quotes:
Vanda Demeure: "In times of lockdown, we try to be close to our clients and adapt to the situation. I closed two deals from a distance, so it's something really interesting because no one came to see the property (in person)... (The business) can work from a distance... Everyone wants space outside, a house or a villa, with quick and easy access to Paris... It's very important to understand that (homeowners) want to have more than just a place to sleep. They want a home. This is a good change. We find them a good place to move and sell their apartments (in Paris)... After the lockdown, we are putting distance in the office. We have special streaks on the floor so people can stand at a distance. Sellers or buyers come to the office but we do not shake hands. The business has changed, so now we adapt to work from a distance. We can now market by video, so it's very easy. We are (acquiring) new technologies to be more helpful and save time for our clients...
Jade Mills: "It has been about nine days (since reopening) and it has been crazy, for which I'm very thankful. We are in escrow on (a property) for $15 million; we have another offer coming in today; and we are in escrow on another one for $14.250 (million) in Bel-Air... Clients have been on our websites. It is really, truly picking up... This is the time that you push hard, connect with your contacts. This is when you should be studying the market, knowing the inventory, and going after listings... I have learned that my buyers are buying what they really want. What I've been advising people now is to step up a little bit and get something that they really want. You don't have to have the best deal for your own home, where you will spend your time with your family. If clients are worried about paying a little bit more to have something that you want, they should go for it... People want a place where they can have the whole family together; a space where people can be for one or two months (at a time)."
Ricardo Rodriguez: "Even though we had restrictions on group size, we were still able to operate during the stay-at-home. I have never been busier. We did not have downtime; we retooled immediately... For me and my business, it has been an exercise in adaptation, paying attention to what's happening next, and shifting and working through it... Luxury is experiential, not about a price point. How you operate should not differentiate between price points. Across all areas, luxury operates as a craft. Consumers are going to look for practitioners that have the best craft... Our personal relationship is what makes the difference. Seeing people, even through a computer screen, is still very valuable... People have to buy and sell. Show your craft and what you can do... The personal relationship is what matters, articulating who you are. All the tools are great, but they are exactly that: tools... Most of the conversations have been around using technologies that have intuitive integration: touchless, voice-activated systems...
Wendy Walker: "Forbes names Scottsdale the #1 place in the United States to quarantine. Our real estate industry as a whole is and always has been considered essential... People are coming from the hotbeds (of the pandemic) like New York, California, from San Francisco to San Diego, Chicago, and Seattle that look at Scottsdale as an alternative... As a team, we sat down and said 'what can we do to serve our clients better?'... We are hands-on; First, check in to make sure everyone is ok. We are in the real estate business, so the conversation goes back to that. We began to adapt our way of communicating and what we were communicating, really showing our genuineness and who we are. We heard over and over, especially from folks that were in lockdown, that they had a yearning for real estate. They were looking at houses online and really wanted interaction with the agent. So we did tours differently. We evolved, and people responded... Buyers are requesting home theaters, home gyms, and outside space... The market has not stopped. People want to move, especially in the luxury market."
To watch more Haute Residence webinars featuring top real estate experts, developers, agents and more, visit www.hauteresidence.com.
