Sotheby’s International Realty Network Reports Record-Breaking Year in 2015

Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates (SIR), LLC reported that affiliated brokers and professionals in 2015 achieved around $80 billion dollars in home sales collectively. The brand recorded over 100,000 transactions – the highest annual sale volume ever recorded in its history and a 13% increase over 2015. News from the growing global network The global network of the Sotheby’s International Realty brand also grew to encompass 63 countries and territories worldwide. At the end of 2015, the brand was represented by 835 offices - an increase of 10% in the total number of offices worldwide over the previous year, and around 18,800 associates - or 14% more than 2014. Philip White, president and chief executive officer, SIR Affiliates, LLC, stated, “This year alone, we have also added 12 international, independently owned and operated affiliate brokerage locations to the global network, increasing the accessibility in key luxury markets to the rising number of international buyers.” Outside the US, the Gulf region acquired rights to service Bahrain, Kuwait, Omani, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, while the brand entered countries such as Chile, Finland, Ireland, The Netherlands and Nicaragua, while further expanding in Italy, Queensland in Australia and Buenos Aires in Argentina. In the US, there was the addition of 5 firms and 73 new offices across the US network. Existing firms also strengthened their positions through mergers, acquisitions and recruitment drives. Notably, 75 of the Top 250 agents ranked on The Wall Street Journal’s/Real Trends “Top Thousand” list were SIR associates. This is clearly reflective of the brand’s success at being the voice of luxury. For the ninth year in a row, the SIR brand was named the “Best in Category for Real Estate Franchisee Satisfaction” on Franchise Business Review. The brand also came fourth on the overall Top 50 list and second among the “Top 50 Systems with 250 or more units”.

The brand's expansion worldwide increases accessibility to key luxury markets by the rising number of international buyers.

Philip White said, “Our international footprint is the cornerstone of our global esteem and our events around the world serve as a platform for our network to work together while developing relationships to increase referrals and share best practices.” Extraordinary Marketing in 2015 To mark its 40^th anniversary in the luxury real estate business, SIR brand representatives rang the Closing Bell at the New York Stock Exchange on the 29^th December 2015. It is interesting to know that Sotheby’s is the oldest name listed on the NY Stock Exchange, therefore this was quite symbolic. Along the whole month of December 2015, the luxury real estate brand was featured on a banner video in Times Square, served to over 1.6 million daily visitors.

SIR representatives ringing the Closing Bell at the New York Stock Exchange on the 29th December, 2015

From a marketing perspective, the brand delivered over 1.2 billion impressions along 2015. The focus of the 2015 marketing strategy was to establish relationships with pre-eminent media powerhouses in both print and online arenas, including the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Architectural Digest, Bloomberg, Financial Times and Dwell.com as exclusive real estate partners. Finally, the Sotheby’s International Realty brand’s website was re-launched to provide a fully-immersive, responsive, video-based experience with unique content with a focus on creating the best user experience. Last year, the site saw the most traffic in its history, achieving a 30% increase year over year and a total of 14 million visits. The sothebysrealty.com website was awarded the 2015 Outstanding Website WebAward by the Web Marketing Association and the 2015 W3 Gold Award by W3. All SIR listings are marketed on the sothebysrealty.com global website, increasing referral opportunities and widening exposure generated from this source. The luxury real estate brand in Malta The global brand’s success was also mirrored locally as the brand recorded its most successful year yet. In October 2015, Malta SIR published its second edition of the property portfolio, gathering a collection of the finest properties represented by the firm locally and presenting the extraordinary lifestyle offerings on the Maltese Islands. A free digital and physical copy of the portfolio can be registered for here.

Malta SIR celebrating the office extension event held in November 2015

Later in November, Malta SIR expanded its Sliema office on 200, Tower Road and moved on to enlarge its team in order to better service all its clients. The Malta office started 2016 with much momentum, seeing significant sales and particularly after meeting with the regional director of Marketing, based in London who visited Malta in January in order to deliver brand training and insights.

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For more information about how Malta SIR can help you market your property locally and abroad, kindly direct your request to info@maltasothebysrealty.com.