Luxury Insights

Home Staging and Interior Design Trends for 2010

Many of you know Kay Green and Ashley Jennings from our past Leaders in Luxury events. 

And we all know the importance of good staging.  So, if you are looking for ideas or info on current trends, jump on over to the Kay Green Design site. 

You'll find some good information, including copies of their recent presentations at the International Builders Show as well as seminar handouts and articles.

A Model Website

Back before the holidays Matt Dollinger, the performance coach at @properties in Chicago invited me to preview the new website they were about to launch.   It was impressive. 

There are lots of mediocre broker sites out there, so sometimes it is nice to see something good or even great.  I'd say the new @properties site qualifies. 

 

Here are some of the things that I like about the site:

• Homepage
• • Simple, clean layout. 
  • Key functions front-and-center
  • • Property Search
    • Neighborhood Search
    • Market Reports (great market reports, at a granular neighborhood level)
  • Calls to action
  • • Property search form is right there to begin your search.  No need to choose it in a menu first.  Ditto with Neighborhoods and Market Reports.
    • List with us call out links to concise but powerful benefits page with testimonials (so many sites forget about sellers)
  • Showcase of luxury properties featured prominently in scrolling band in the middle of the homepage.

The folks at @properties understand that buyers aren't just buying a house, they are buying a lifestyle.  In a big city like Chicago that often means that the neighborhood and the location are as important, sometimes more important, than the amenities of the home or apartment (you can always renovate!).  So, in addition to the typical property info they have integrated some pretty rich neighborhood information on the details page for each property.  Coming from NYC, I appreciate seeing the 6 closest restaurants listed with ratings!

• Property Details Pages feature rich neighborhood info
• • Reviews of the closest restaurants, and shopping from Yelp!
  • School reviews from Education.com
  • Neighborhood news from OutsideIn and other sources
  • Google map with the location of the property and boundaries of the neighborhood
  • Summary market statistics for that specific neighborhood (with the full neighborhood report one click away)
  • • Average Sale Price + Trend
    • Average Days on Market + Trend

We know the critical importance to affluent buyers of good market information...

There is a nice, simple layout and great functionality on the Neighborhood Search pages too:

• Big photos for the property listings (good, well-presented photos really help sell homes)
• Easy to switch between views (Gallery, Map, List)
• Clean map view that shows property locations and neighborhood boundaries, with the option to also view locations of local businesses (restaurants, schools, banks...).
• Ability to easily modify the search without have to go back
• Links to save the search or quickly set up an email alert based on the search.

Once users register, they are immediately assigned an agent who acts as a "concierge."  Users can save favorite properties and even define multiple lists (e.g. Husband's Favorites, Wife's Favorites, etc.).  Searches can be saved and automatic email updates configured.

As I understand it, the site also offers some nice functionality for agents.  Among other things agents can:

• Register existing clients on the site
• Generate property fliers
• Set up custom searches and reports for clients which update automatically and can be delivered online or via email
• • Custom property searches (multiple areas and property types)
  • Custom neighborhood updates (including new listings, solds, price changes, pendings, etc.)
  • Market reports
  • Seller reports-custom comps and market conditions,  hits, searches, views, syndication reach, etc.

All-in-all it is a really nice site that features good presentation, functionality, and usability.   If you are looking for examples of good broker sites, I recommend you check it out.

In developing the site, @properties worked with Terabitz and the brainiacs at 1000 Watt Consulting. 

In the interest of full disclosure, we have no relationship with Terabitz or 1000 Watt.  @properties has hosted our CLHMS training courses, and we have trained a number of their agents.

January Wealth Report now available

The January 2010 Wealth Report Newsletter is now available for members.

In this month's issue:

• Retail Sales Rebound
• Luxury rides strong holiday season to best month in two years
• WealthSurvey: Search Engine Usage & Shopping Habits of the Wealthy
• Luxury Brand Marketing: Planning For 2010 by Thaddeus Kubis
• The Inextricable Link Between CRM and eCommerce by Darren Floyd
• Luxury Goods Need New Venues by Steve Steinberg

Members can access this report on our website (login required).  More on the report and the Luxury Institute here.

Custom Branded Market Reports from Altos Research

It is no secret that we are nuts about market data.  You should be too.

True market knowledge and expertise is often a key differentiator for luxury agents, and detailed market updates can be tools for success in the luxury market.  

Since so many of our members use custom market reports and other marketing tools from Altos Research, we thought we do a quick post to highlight one of the new tools available to Altos users.

One-Off Custom Branded Market Reports

As Ricky at Altos notes in a recent blog post:

Altos Research now offers you a quick and cost effective solution to generating personally branded reports for your prospects and clients. With our Pay-Per-Report Feature, you can easily brand the report for your particular client or prospect.

Upload a picture of the home, call it the "Jim & Tammy Stevens Market Update" to really impress your prospects. You can even enter the a property address in the report name field and use this report for your CMA's. You asked, we listened and now your in control. The reports are delivered within minutes as a PDF attachment to your email.

Here's a quick demostration.

If you are not an Altos client, you can find more information on discounts for ILHM Members here.

Global Listing and Referral Platform

As you know, Members of the Institute receive free accounts on ProxioPro, an international MLS and referral platform.  It is about to get even better...

Proxio has some BIG NEWS.  They have announced a partnership with ICREA, the International Consortium of Real Estate Associations to roll out the Proxio Platform to associations around the world and integrate the Proxio platform with the www.worldproperties.com website. 

This will create great opportunities for you to market yourself and your properties to even more agents around the world.

Here's their Press Release:

INTERNATIONAL CONSORTIUM OF REAL ESTATE ASSOCIATIONS PARTNERS TO DELIVER
MULTILANGUAGE TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS TO AGENTS

ICREA selects Proxio to provide cross-border client referral and property listing exchange support in 11 languages for real estate brokers and agents in 40+ countries.

CHICAGO, IL, / CUPERTINO, CA, (Nov. 19, 2009) - ICREA, a consortium of the world’s leading real estate associations, and Proxio, Inc., the international marketing and networking platform for real estate, today announced a partnership to provide the “Global Listing and Referral Platform” a transnational referral platform and world listing exchange application on ICREA’s website Worldproperties.com.  The platform application will serve for 1.7 million ICREA agent/broker members throughout the world affiliated with one of more than 40 leading national and regional real estate associations affiliated with ICREA.

The partnership was presented to the annual Plenary of ICREA, held in San Diego, CA, last Friday, where ICREA association representatives viewed a prototype for a new design of WorldProperties.com, which includes the introduction of the Global Listing and Referral Platform. The site will be re-launched to take advantage of the Proxio technology and to better showcase to agents/brokers and to consumers over 4 million properties from ICREA member associations.

Property listings and agent/broker profiles will be searchable in 11 languages: English, Spanish, Italian, French, German, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, traditional Chinese, simplified Chinese and Korean. Additional languages will be added as the project develops.

“We chose Proxio as our technology partner because they offer a unique set of networking services for real estate professionals, and because they provide all of their services in multiple languages and customizable formats,” said ICREA CEO Thijs Stoffer. “In today’s industry, agents who market themselves and their listings on a global scale are much more likely to do business. ICREA agents and brokers participating in ICREA’s Global Referral and Listing Platform can work in their own languages, and have the option of easily building personal referral networks and promoting listings to other agents worldwide, which helps them grow their businesses.“

ICREA member associations see the Proxio partnership as the foundation of an important member service. “During down markets, agents must be creative in marketing themselves and their listings,” said Stoffer. “While the market may slow in one part of the world, there are buyers elsewhere around the globe looking for distinctive properties for both personal and investment use and WorldProperties.com is the place to find these properties.”

“ICREA is an outstanding organization, promoting professional standards for international real estate transactions and working to provide the best possible information and services to international agents and consumers,” said Janet Case, Proxio’s CEO. “Our technology couldn’t have found a more appropriate application, and we are delighted to have been chosen to be ICREA’s partner.”

ICREA Board Chair Peter Bolton King agrees. “What is unique about WorldProperties.com is that 100 percent of the properties displayed are represented by a professional who abides by a national code of conduct. This gives consumers as well as other agents the assurance they are dealing with a professional,” said Bolton King, CEO of the UK’s National Association of Estate Agents. “The partnership with Proxio will provide enhanced services to our members, allowing them to easily connect with each other and initiate referral transactions—across borders and across languages.”

The newly designed WorldProperties.com site is expected to go live by the end of 1Q 2010.

About ICREA:
The International Consortium of Real Estate Associations (ICREA) is an alliance of the world’s leading real estate associations. The only organization of its kind, ICREA has dedicated itself to the international promotion of its members’ businesses and has had great success in building a partnership that is improving in the way real property is transacted across national borders and in advocating for industry on global issues. ICREA and its member associations are committed to high standards of professional conduct for member brokers. ICREA members include national real estate associations in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, India, Italy, Latvia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, and Venezuela, and also countries organized in regional associations representing Central America (El Salvador, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Costa Rica and Guatemala) and the Arab Region including Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. Learn more about ICREA at www.worldproperties.com or contact ICREA at icrea@worldproperties.com.

About Proxio, Inc.
Proxio internationalizes real estate professionals worldwide by providing property display technology and networking solutions in multiple languages. Proxio’s platform delivers white label marketing and networking applications under license to real estate organizations and enterprises. MLSs, associations, and brokerages use Proxio’s technology and services to extend their reach internationally—to enable their members to transact business across the globe, and to provide a greater value proposition for the clients they serve. Located in Silicon Valley, Proxio’s team of experienced real estate technology professionals is dedicated to creating borderless real estate markets and serving the needs of agents and their multicultural clients. For more information visit
www.proxio.com and follow us on twitter.com/ProxioPro or join our community on Facebook.

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Download Full Press Release (PDF 119k)

October Wealth Report Newsletter now available

In this month's issue:

• Wealth and Luxury Trends: 2010 & Beyond, by Milton Pedraza, CEO, Luxury Institute
• Luxury Institute WealthSurvey-Current State of the Luxury Industry (synopsis)
• Keeping Up With The Rockefellers: Affluent Spending In A Recession
• The ROI Of Hiring Right In The Luxury Business
• Rebooting Luxury Expectations with Tomorrow's Stewards of Wealth

Members can access this report on our website (login required).  Note that the Wealth Report is published nine times a year and this will be the last issue for 2009.  The next issue will be January 2010.  More on the report and the Luxury Institute here.

New Wealth Report features interview with Laurie Moore-Moore

The independent ratings and research organization the Luxury Institute has published the September issue of The Wealth Report Newsletter.  It features an "Excellence In Luxury Leadership Interview" with our founder and CEO, Laurie Moore-Moore.

Here's what you'll find in the September 2009 issue:

Summaries of Recent Research by the Luxury Institute

• Luxury Retail – Customer Experience Excellence
• Wealthy U.S. Consumers - Wine and Liquor Preferences
• Wealthy Chinese Consumers – Luxury Brand Status

Excellence In Luxury Leadership Interview

• Real Estate: Q&A with Laurie Moore-Moore, Institute for Luxury Home Marketing (ILHM)

Industry Insights

• The Rise Of The Legacy Brand In "The New Economy" By Mathew L. Evins, Evins Communications
• A Culture Of Service: Becoming A Client's Trusted Advisor By Robert C. Elliott, Bessemer Trust
• Camper & Nicholsons – The (Super) Yachting Index

Luxury Institute Research Listings 

Members can download this issue, and past issues on the Document Downloads page of our website.

Great new benefits for Members from UNIQUE HOMES Magazine

Our friends at UNIQUE HOMES MAGAZINE have always been a great resource for and supportive of our members.  

We're happy to announce that they are extending some great new benefits to Institute Members.  You can find all the details here in the Members Only section of our website (login required, members only).

Friends and Family

From The Savoy in London to The Plaza in New York, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts has some really beautiful--even iconic--properties in great cities and destinations around the world. 

We all know that one of the perks of working for a company like Fairmont is that employees and their families get to stay at all these great hotels at incredibly low rates. 

Wouldn't it be great if you could pick any of their hotels or resorts and stay at the "Employee Family Rate"?

Well, Institute member and friend Laura Duggan has a real treat for you.  Laura's daughter Kerry Duggan works for Fairmont Hotels and they are sharing the love. 

Now through the end of the year you can enjoy HUGE savings off their best published rates by using the Friends and Family discounts they are sharing with us. 

Laura's always said that being part of the Institute feels like being part of a big family.  It sure feels good to get treated like family.  Thanks Laura!

(Disclaimer: We don't work for Fairmont or have any affiliation or relationship with them.  Nor do we profit from this offer.  We simply thought it was a really great deal and a wonderful thing for Laura to share.  If you have questions about it, or just want to say "Thanks!" email Kerry.)

New Partnership with Napa Consultants, International

We're pleased to announce a partnership with Napa Consultants, International, a leading luxury real estate strategic marketing firm specializing in personal and company branding, website design and internet/social media marketing.

Many of you already know managing partners Ron & Alexandra Seigel from the recent Stand Out or Bow Out! conference call we did with them (recording here) and their Language of Luxury blog. 

This partnership will bring more opportunities to collaborate on calls, webinars, and videos, as well as new benefits for Institute members.  Members can find more details on the new Napa Consultants, International page in the "Members Only" section of our website.

Ron & Alexandra love to talk branding and marketing strategy and host Language of Luxury discussion groups on many of the popular social networks:

Twitter: luxurymarketing
Proxio, BrokerAgentSocial, Plaxo, Linked In, ActiveRain, RealTown, Facebook

Drop by and say "Hello!"