Fairfield, Litchfield, New Haven, Middlesex and New London Counties, Conn., Westchester County, N.Y., and Berkshires, Mass. – March 7, 2018 – William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty announced today that the Sotheby’s International Realty® brand reported that in 2017 its affiliated brokers and sales professionals achieved approximately $108 billion USD in global sales volume.
“In 2017 we witnessed the expansion of the global economy,” said Philip White, president and chief executive officer, Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. “The Sotheby’s International Realty® brand is in 69 countries worldwide, so we were well-positioned to both contribute to and benefit from that growth. The success of the global economy, coupled with our strategic goals, yielded outcomes better than we could have ever anticipated in 2017. We look forward to carrying that strength into the new year.”
Global Growth
The Sotheby’s International Realty brand also reported growth across its global network. At year-end, the network totaled nearly 950 offices and approximately 22,000 sales associates worldwide.
In the United States, the Sotheby’s International Realty brand achieved over $96 billion USD in sales volume in 2017 and added six independently owned and operated residential real estate firms to its network and 58 new offices. This past year witnessed continued significant growth by the brand’s existing affiliate companies through talent attraction as well as mergers and acquisitions, most notably increasing the brand’s market presence in the San Francisco Bay Area; Castle Rock, Colorado; and in Southern Florida and Key West. The brand also entered several key new markets last year, namely: Roseville, California; Avalon and Stone Harbor, New Jersey; the Central and Western Adirondacks regions of New York; Greater Greenville, South Carolina; and southeast Wisconsin.
Outside the United States, the Sotheby’s International Realty brand achieved over $12 billion USD in sales volume in 2017 while continuing to expand into key markets. In Europe, the brand grew its presence in Spain into the coastal cities of Valencia and San Sebastián, and in Belgium to Antwerp and Waterloo, as well as expanding to the Greek island of Rhodes. The brand also sold the rights to the Asian countries of Vietnam, Indonesia and Sri Lanka to establish a future presence, and grew within India to include the key markets of Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune, Goa and Kolkata.
“The exclusive marketing partnerships and global network that the Sotheby’s International Realty brand offers are unmatched in the luxury real estate industry,” said Paul Breunich, President and CEO of William Pitt and Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International Realty. “We are proud to be part of this network of extraordinary professionals and look forward to being a part of the company’s success in the many years ahead.”
Reaching the Consumer
The Sotheby’s International Realty brand website, sothebysrealty.com, saw another record year with nearly 27 million visits, a 25 percent increase year-over-year, with 60 percent of visitors coming from outside the United States and 17.5 percent of traffic being from new users. An exclusive alliance with the Nikkei, the most influential news publication in Japan, was launched in 2017.
The alliance enables the brand to generate Japanese buyer interest through the Nikkei’s digital platform, which reaches over 29 million monthly readers. The Sotheby’s International Realty brand is the first real estate brand to present property listings outside of Japan to readers of the Nikkei, giving Japanese consumers access to residential real estate offerings in nearly 70 countries and territories.
“In 2017, the brand launched a dedicated effort to establish meaningful connections with the emerging affluent consumer,” said Kevin Thompson, chief marketing officer, Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. “Data from sothebysrealty.com indicates that we are already well-positioned among this demographic, showing that nearly half of the traffic coming to the site was from the 25-to-44-year-old age group. As personalization has begun its reign over the luxury mindset, the consumer journey has also experienced a shift; it is our mission, as a preeminent luxury residential real estate brand, to continue to identify and execute new and authentic ways to connect with discerning clients.”
The Sotheby’s International Realty brand was the No. 1 real estate brand represented in two of the six categories that comprise the 2017 REAL Trends/The Wall Street Journal “The Thousand” for the second year in a row. The brand claimed 46 of the top 250 sales associates in the REAL Trends Individual Sales Volume category, more than any other real estate brand, and had the highest combined individual sales volume from sales associates in the same category. In addition, the Sotheby’s International Realty brand had the most individuals represented in the Individual Average Sales Price category.
William Pitt and Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International Realty offers exclusive Sotheby’s International Realty marketing, advertising and referral services designed to attract well-qualified buyers to the firm’s property listings. In addition to the referral opportunities and widened exposure generated from this source, each brokerage firm and its clients benefit from an association with the Sotheby’s auction house and worldwide Sotheby’s International Realty marketing programs. Property listings from William Pitt and Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International Realty also are marketed on the sothebysrealty.com global website, as well as on the firm’s local website, williampitt.com.
About William Pitt and Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International Realty
Founded in 1949, William Pitt and Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International Realty manages a $4.2-billion portfolio with more than 1,000 sales associates in 27 brokerages spanning Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Westchester County, New York. William Pitt and Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International Realty is the largest Sotheby’s International Realty(R) affiliate globally and the 31st-largest real estate company by sales volume in the United States. A full-service real estate firm headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, William Pitt and Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International Realty provides ancillary services including commercial services through its affiliation with Building and Land Technology, a second-generation development company based in Stamford, Connecticut; William Pitt Insurance Services; and an award-winning global relocation division. For more information, visit the website at williampitt.com.
Sotheby’s International Realty’s worldwide network includes more than 21,000 sales associates located in 930 offices throughout 69 countries and territories.
William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty Contact:
Andrew Wood
Director of PR and Content
AWood@williampitt.com
(203) 644-1938
