What You May Not Know about Sotheby’s International Realty

I had the opportunity and pleasure of joining Sotheby’s International Realty in 2015 having already started my own business but never worked for an International Real Estate brand before. There is something about this brand that just drew me in. The company, at the time, somewhat wore the name but didn’t fully embrace or leverage the potential that Sotheby’s International Realty could contribute from a marketing and brand recognition perspective.

Previously named “West Coast Villas”, we were well-known on-island but the name was misleading once you ventured past our shores, outside of our 166 sq. miles the name meant something completely different. The decision was made in 2016 to drop the name and fully embrace the Sotheby’s International Realty brand for Barbados. And here is when I started to lean in and really learn and connect with what is Sotheby’s International Realty.

Founded in 1976, the Sotheby’s International Realty network was designed to support independent brokerages with powerful marketing connections and a robust referral program between companies worldwide to connect the most prestigious clientele with the finest agents and to represent them in the sale or purchase of luxury listings all over the globe. Due to the brand’s strong relationships with leading marketing houses and media outlets such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, as well as, our association with the Sotheby’s Auction House and their clientele, we’re able to generate incredible global exposure for our listings.

Sotheby’s International Realty is represented in the most significant markets in the world, acting as a catalyst for lead generation and the brand encourages and promotes a very strong referral program within our network. What I call “true” Sotheby’s agents will emanate loyalty and dedication to the brand that you can witness and experience even before you get into a conversation. Internal brand networking events were very significant pre-Covid and still are, but, in a virtual forum.

The brand continues to step up to the plate with the recent launch of the Sotheby’s International Realty®2022 Luxury Outlook report which is an ambitious exploration into high-end residential markets across the globe. 2021 proved to be a perfect storm for the high-end housing market as the starts-and-stops of the pandemic’s reopening fueled even stronger demand for larger homes and inventory struggled to keep pace. In this report, we follow the trends that are likely to shape the coming months across the world’s prime housing markets from the resurgence of urban cities to the return of the international buyer.

It’s not uncommon for Sotheby’s agents to visit other Sotheby’s offices when they travel and with the UK being our largest feeder market, it’s not a far stretch to think that our UK-based partners also frequent the island on a regular basis. Guy Bradshaw, Managing Director of UK Sotheby’s International Realty, is a long-time visitor of the island. In true Guy style, over text message, he tells me he’ll be in Barbados with the family and would like to look at a few properties while he’s here. No problem! He did mention something about filming and Channel 4 but I didn’t take him on too much until much closer to “the day” when it dawned on me what was actually happening!

As for the filming that day, it formed part of four episodes that Channel 4 jointly produced with UK Sotheby’s International Realty which aired, January 19! Have a look and let me know your thoughts!

If you’re outside of the UK and/or missed the show, email me and I’ll point you in the right direction!

So here we are... what next? I’m not big on resolutions but I’m making a conscious effort in 2022 to continue what Guy started, push my boundaries and leverage our brand even more than before. Plus, he makes it look like so much fun!

If you’re thinking about buying, renting, or selling a property in Barbados, I would be happy to get In touch. Drop me a line at muffin@barbadossothebysrealty.com or subscribe to my blog to stay up to date with what’s happening on Island.

A snapshot of our brand statistics:

Engaged Social Followers: 900 K

Highest Year on Record: $150 B

Annual Visits to www.sothebysrealty.com: 37 M

Sales Associates: 24 K

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