Steve Mundinger
Feature: Driving the Market: Christie's Great Estates
January 1, 2007
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Kay Coughlin, President & CEO
Background: In 1987, I left my position
as vice president at Sotheby’s International Realty to found my own company,
known as Great Estates. What I developed was a marketing company with a network
of brokers who specialized in the sales of luxury properties. Christie’s came to
me in 1995 with an offer to buy the company, and thus was formed Christie’s
Great Estates. It was a logical extension of business for them. Their
auction-house clients who buy art and decorative items wanted fine homes in
which to display them. (Click image to enlarge)
Association with Auction House: We’re very close to
the auction house. Our colleagues on the art side often introduce clients to us.
For example, when our trusts and estates department works with the executor of
an estate, not only do they introduce the benefits of selling the contents of
the home at auction but they also introduce us to sell the real estate. Between
the auction house and our international network of realty affiliates, we’re able
to take care of everything.
How They Work: When I founded my company 18
years ago, there were about 150,000 real estate companies. Today there are about
75,000 real estate companies, but more Realtors. The market has consolidated.
The franchise operations were never in the high-end market when I started out.
The smaller boutique firms captured the high-end business, and these are the
firms that have truly been impacted by the process. We’re not a franchise
operation. Christie’s Great Estates performs international marketing services
for our affiliate brokers—essentially, we put the right property in front of the
eyes of the right buyer anyplace in the world. The affiliates maintain and own
their own offices and only utilize the Christie’s brand name on their
highest-value properties.
On the Local Level: Unlike art, you can’t ship real
estate to an auction site, so we depend heavily on our affiliates. We’re in
approximately 30 countries and have approximately 95 domestic affiliates and 35
affiliates in Europe. We put them through a rigorous screening system that
involves getting approved by our advisory board. They must have a demonstrated
and proven track record in the luxury market, which typically consists of
properties priced at over $1 million. Most of our brokers market well and
dominate the luxury market at the local level. We come in at the world level,
which most brokers cannot do. The world has gotten smaller and become more
interlinked. We announced in early 2005 that we were converting to a much
broader scope of business with new services for sellers to reach an
international clientele. For instance, we’ve expanded the distribution of our
own publication to an international level and are aggressively seeking out more
affiliates in Europe, Asia and South America.
Current Listings: 2,900
Christie’s Great Estates, www.christiesgreatestates.com; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
Cima del Mundo is priced at $40 million. 805.565.8863, www.montecito-realestate.com. Photograph by Thomas Ploch. (Click image to enlarge)
Santa Barbara: “It’s about image. One of the things we tell our clients is that
their brochure will be seen in every Christie’s Great Estates office
worldwide.” —Rebecca Riskin, Village Properties, Santa Barbara, Calif.,
whose current listings have an average price of $10 million.
The Penthouse at the Pierre in New York is priced at $70 million. 212.906.9200, www.brownharrisstevens.com. Top and Middle photographs by Richard Cummings. Bottom photograph by Shiran Nicholson. (Click images to enlarge); function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
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New York: “We’ve been responsible for several sales in the $40 million-and-up
range. If you read about a high-end, record-breaking sale in Manhattan, there’s
a 50-50 chance that it was one of ours. The Christie’s name has helped solidify
our standing in that market.” —Will Zeckendorf, whose New York firm, Brown
Harris Stevens, has been an affiliate since the creation of Christie’s Great
Estates and also has offices in the Hamptons and Palm Beach.; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
Hilton and Hyland auctioned Pierre Koenig’s Case Study House Number 21 in
December 2006. 310.278.3311, www.hiltonhyland.com. Photograph by John Edward Linden. (Click image to enlarge)
Beverly Hills: “Part of the reason why we get such phenomenal listings is
because of our link to the auction house. Christie’s is often called in to
appraise the contents of an estate, so we’ll find out about potential homes for
sale before anyone else does.” —Jeff Hyland, Hilton and Hyland, Beverly Hills,
who currently has listings for a $32.9 million Bel-Air estate and a $14 million
Hamptons-style Malibu beach house.
Jacobs has been recognized for his sale of Sydney’s Boomerang house in 2002,
which sold for a record-breaking A$20.7 million ($15.5 million).
+61.2.9328.1422, www.kenjacobs.com.au. Photographs by Tony Sheffield. (Click images to enlarge); function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
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Australia: “We market Australia’s most beautiful homes and have access to an
appropriate local buyer base. Christie’s Great Estates perfectly complements our
business and gives us access to an international clientele interested in and
capable of purchasing premium residences.” —Ken Jacobs, who has been selling
real estate in Australia for more than 20 years.
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